Leviticus 16-18

New American Standard Bible

Law of Atonement

16 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after ^(A)the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died. ² The Lord said to Moses:

“Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter ^(B)at ^[a]any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the ^[b]atoning cover which is on the ark, or he will die; for ^(C)I will appear in the cloud over the ^[c]atoning cover. ³ Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with this: with a ^[d]bull as a ^[e](D)sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. ⁴ He shall put on the ^(E)holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his ^[f]body, and he shall be wrapped about the waist with the linen sash and the linen turban wound around his forehead (these are holy garments). He shall ^(F)bathe his ^[g]body in water and put them on. ⁵ And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel ^(G)two male goats as a ^[h]sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. ⁶ Then ^(H)Aaron shall offer the bull as the ^[i]sin offering, which is for himself, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household. ⁷ He shall then take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ⁸ Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for ^[j]the ^[k]scapegoat. ⁹ Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a ^[l]sin offering. ¹⁰ But the goat on which the lot for ^[m]the ^[n]scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make ^(I)atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness ^[o]as the ^[p]scapegoat.

¹¹ “Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the ^[q]sin offering ^(J)which is for himself and make atonement for himself and ^(K)for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the ^[r]sin offering which is for himself. ¹² He shall take a ^(L)firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the Lord and ^[s]two handfuls of finely ground ^(M)sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. ¹³ He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud of incense may cover the ^(N)atoning cover that is on the ark of the testimony, ^(O)otherwise he will die. ¹⁴ Moreover, ^(P)he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it ^(Q)with his finger on the atoning cover on the east side; also in front of the atoning cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

¹⁵ “Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, ^(R)which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the atoning cover and in front of the atoning cover. ^16 (S)He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall do so for the tent of meeting which remains with them in the midst of their impurities. ¹⁷ When he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. ¹⁸ Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it; he shall take some of the blood from the bull and some of the blood from the goat, and ^(T)put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. ^19 (U)With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and consecrate it from the impurities of the sons of Israel.

²⁰ “When he finishes atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. ²¹ Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and ^(V)confess over it all the wrongdoings of the sons of Israel and all their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall place them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands ready. ²² Then the goat shall carry on itself all their wrongdoings to an ^[t]isolated territory; he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

²³ “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off ^(W)the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. ²⁴ And ^(X)he shall bathe his ^[u]body with water in a holy place and put on ^(Y)his clothes, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. ²⁵ Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar. ²⁶ The one who released the goat ^[v]as the ^[w]scapegoat ^(Z)shall wash his clothes and bathe his ^[x]body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp. ²⁷ But the bull of the ^[y]sin offering and the goat of the ^[z]sin offering, ^(AA)whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire. ²⁸ Then the ^(AB)one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; and afterward he shall come into the camp.

An Annual Atonement

²⁹ “This shall be a permanent statute for you: ^(AC)in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble ^[aa]yourselves and not ^(AD)do any work, whether the native, or the stranger who resides among you; ³⁰ for it is on this day that ^[ab]atonement shall be made for you to ^(AE)cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. ³¹ It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, so that you may ^(AF)humble ^[ac]yourselves; it is a permanent statute. ³² So the priest who is anointed and ^[ad]ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall put on ^(AG)the linen garments, the holy garments, ³³ and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for ^(AH)the priests and for all the people of the assembly. ³⁴ Now you shall have this as a ^(AI)permanent statute, to ^(AJ)make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did.

Blood for Atonement

17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded, saying, ³ “Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp, or slaughters it outside the camp, ⁴ and ^(AK)has not brought it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the ^[ae]tabernacle of the Lord, bloodshed is to be counted against that person. He has shed blood, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. ⁵ This shall be done so that the sons of Israel will bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing ^[af]in the open field—so that they will bring them to the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord. ⁶ The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and ^(AL)offer up the fat in smoke as a soothing aroma to the Lord. ⁷ And ^(AM)they shall no longer offer their sacrifices to the ^[ag]goat demons with which they play the prostitute. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations.”’

⁸ “Then you shall say to them, ‘Anyone from the house of Israel, or from the strangers who reside among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, ⁹ and ^(AN)does not bring it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to ^[ah]offer it to the Lord, that person also shall be cut off from his people.

¹⁰ ‘^(AO)And anyone from the house of Israel, or from the strangers who reside among them, who eats any blood, ^(AP)I will set My face against that person who eats the blood, and will cut him off from among his people. ¹¹ For ^(AQ)the ^[ai]life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for ^(AR)it is the blood by reason of the ^[aj]life that makes atonement.’ ¹² Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, nor may any stranger who resides among you eat blood.’ ¹³ So when anyone from the sons of Israel, or from the strangers who reside among them, ^[ak]while hunting catches an animal or a bird which may be eaten, ^(AS)he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dirt.

¹⁴ “^(AT)For as for the ^[al]life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its ^[am]life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the ^[an]life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’ ¹⁵ And ^(AU)any person who eats an animal which dies or is torn by animals, whether he is a native or a stranger, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean. ¹⁶ But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe his body, then ^(AV)he shall bear the responsibility for his ^[ao]guilt.”

Laws on Immoral Relations

18 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘^(AW)I am the Lord your God. ³ You shall not do ^[ap]what is ^(AX)done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do ^[aq]what is ^(AY)done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. ⁴ You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, ^[ar]to live in accord with them; ^(AZ)I am the Lord your God. ⁵ So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, ^(BA)which, if ^[as]a person ^[at]follows them, then he will live by them; I am the Lord.

⁶ ‘None of you shall approach any blood relative ^[au]of his to uncover nakedness; I am the Lord. ^7 (BB)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you are not to uncover her nakedness. ^8 (BC)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness. ⁹ As for ^(BD)the nakedness of your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born in the household or born outside the household, you shall not uncover their nakedness. ¹⁰ The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for ^[av]their nakedness is yours. ¹¹ The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, born to your father, she is your sister; you shall not uncover her nakedness. ^12 (BE)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s blood relative. ¹³ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s blood relative. ^14 (BF)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. ^15 (BG)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you shall not uncover her nakedness. ^16 (BH)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. ^17 (BI)You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are blood relatives. It is an outrageous sin. ¹⁸ And you shall not ^[aw]marry a woman in addition to her sister ^[ax]as a second wife while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.

¹⁹ ‘^(BJ)Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her ^(BK)menstrual impurity. ²⁰ And ^(BL)you shall not have sexual intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her. ²¹ You shall not give any of your children ^(BM)to ^[ay]offer them to Molech, nor shall you ^(BN)profane the name of your God; I am the Lord. ^22 (BO)You shall not sleep with a male as ^[az]one sleeps with a female; it is an abomination. ^23 (BP)Also you shall not have sexual intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to ^[ba]mate with it; it is a perversion.

²⁴ ‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these things ^(BQ)the nations which I am driving out from you have become defiled. ²⁵ For the land has become defiled, ^(BR)therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land ^(BS)has vomited out its inhabitants. ²⁶ But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments, and you shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the stranger who resides among you ²⁷ (for the people of the land who were there before you did all these abominations, and the land has become defiled), ²⁸ so that the land will not vomit you out should you defile it, as it has vomited out the nation which was there before you. ²⁹ For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people. ³⁰ So you are to keep ^(BT)your ^[bb]commitment to Me not to practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves with them; ^(BU)I am the Lord your God.’”