The Day of Atonement

16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence^(A) of^[a] the Lord and died.^{(B) 2} The Lord said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he may not come whenever he wants into the holy place^(C) behind the curtain^(D) in front of the mercy seat^(E) on the ark or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud^(F) above the mercy seat.^(G)

⁶ “Aaron will present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household. ⁷ Next he will take the two goats and place them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁸ After Aaron casts lots^(A) for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other for an uninhabitable place,^{[a][b](B) 9} he is to present the goat chosen by lot for the Lord and sacrifice it as a sin offering.^{(C) 10} But the goat chosen by lot for an uninhabitable place is to be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement with it by sending it into the wilderness^(D) for an uninhabitable place.

¹⁵ “When he slaughters the male goat for the people’s sin offering and brings its blood inside the curtain, he will do the same with its blood as he did with the bull’s blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it. ¹⁶ He will make atonement for the most holy place in this way for all their sins because of the Israelites’ impurities and rebellious acts.^(A) He will do the same for the tent of meeting that remains among them, because it is surrounded by their impurities. ¹⁷ No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the most holy place until he leaves after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel.^{(B) 18} Then he will go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the horns on all sides of the altar. ¹⁹ He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse and set it apart^(C) from the Israelites’ impurities.^(D)

²⁰ “When he has finished making atonement for the most holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar, he is to present the live male goat. ²¹ Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess^(A) over it all the Israelites’ iniquities^(B) and rebellious acts—all their sins.^(C) He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness^(D) by the man appointed for the task.^{[a] 22} The goat will carry all their iniquities into a desolate land,^(E) and the man will release it there.