The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26–32; Numbers 29:7–11)
1 DRA And the Lord spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they were slain upon their offering strange fire: BSB BSB: Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence of the LORD.
2 DRA And he commanded him, saying, Speak to Aaron thy brother, that he enter not at all into the sanctuary, which is within the veil before the propitiatory, with which the ark is covered, lest he die, (for I will appear in a cloud over the oracle,) BSB BSB: And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
3 DRA Unless he first do these things: He shall offer a calf for sin, and a ram for a holocaust. BSB BSB: This is how Aaron is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
4 DRA He shall be vested with a linen tunick, he shall cover his nakedness with linen breeches: he shall be girded with a linen girdle, and he shall put a linen mitre upon his head: for these are holy vestments: all which he shall put on, after he is washed. BSB BSB: He is to wear the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments. He must tie a linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are holy garments, and he must bathe himself with water before he wears them.
5 DRA And he shall receive from the whole multitude of the children of Israel two buck goats for sin, and one ram for a holocaust. BSB BSB: And he shall take from the congregation of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.
6 DRA And when he hath offered the calf and prayed for himself, and for his own house, BSB BSB: Aaron is to present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household.
7 DRA He shall make the two buck goats to stand before the Lord in the door of the tabernacle of the testimony: BSB BSB: Then he shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
8 DRA And casting lots upon them both, one to be offered to the Lord, and the other to be the emissary goat: BSB BSB: After Aaron casts lots for the two goats, one for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat,
9 DRA That whose lot fell to be offered to the Lord, he shall offer for sin: BSB BSB: he shall present the goat chosen by lot for the LORD and sacrifice it as a sin offering.
10 DRA But that whose lot was to be the emissary goat, he shall present alive before the Lord, that he may pour out prayers upon him, and let him go into the wilderness. BSB BSB: But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement by sending it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.
11 DRA After these things are duly celebrated, he shall offer the calf, and praying for himself and for his own house, he shall immolate it: BSB BSB: When Aaron presents the bull for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household, he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering.
12 DRA And taking the censer, which he hath filled with the burning coals of the altar, and taking up with his hand the compounded perfume for incense, he shall go in within the veil into the holy place: BSB BSB: Then he must take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and take them inside the veil.
13 DRA That when the perfumes are put upon the fire, the cloud and vapour thereof may cover the oracle, which is over the testimony, and he may not die. BSB BSB: He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the cloud of incense will cover the mercy seat above the Testimony, so that he will not die.
14 DRA He shall take also of the blood of the calf, and sprinkle with his finger seven times towards the propitiatory to the east. BSB BSB: And he is to take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the mercy seat.
15 DRA And when he hath killed the buck goat for the sin of the people, he shall carry in the blood thereof within the veil, as he was commanded to do with the blood of the calf, that he may sprinkle it over against the oracle, BSB BSB: Aaron shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and bring its blood behind the veil, and with its blood he must do as he did with the bull’s blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it.
16 DRA And may expiate the sanctuary from the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and from their transgressions, and all their sins. According to this rite shall he do to the tabernacle of the testimony, which is fixed among them in the midst of the filth of their habitation. BSB BSB: So he shall make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the impurities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to do the same for the Tent of Meeting which abides among them in the midst of their impurities.
17 DRA Let no man be in the tabernacle when the high priest goeth into the sanctuary, to pray for himself and his house, and for the whole congregation of Israel, until he come out. BSB BSB: No one may be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in 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.
18 DRA And when he is come out to the altar that is before the Lord, let him pray for himself, and taking the blood of the calf, and of the buck goat, let him pour it upon the horns thereof round about: BSB BSB: Then he shall 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 all the horns of the altar.
19 DRA And sprinkling with his finger seven times, let him expiate, and sanctify it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. BSB BSB: He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.
20 DRA After he hath cleansed the sanctuary, and the tabernacle, and the altar, then let him offer the living goat: BSB BSB: When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he is to bring forward the live goat.
21 DRA And putting both hands upon his head, let him confess all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their offences and sins: and praying that they may light on his head, he shall turn him out by a man ready for it, into the desert. BSB BSB: Then he is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man appointed for the task.
22 DRA And when the goat hath carried all their iniquities into an uninhabited land, and shall be let go into the desert, BSB BSB: The goat will carry on itself all their iniquities into a solitary place, and the man will release it into the wilderness.
23 DRA Aaron shall return into the tabernacle of the testimony, and putting off the vestments, which he had on him before when he entered into the sanctuary, and leaving them there, BSB BSB: Then Aaron is to enter the Tent of Meeting, take off the linen garments he put on before entering the Most Holy Place, and leave them there.
24 DRA He shall wash his flesh in the holy place, and shall put on his own garments. And after that he has come out and hath offered his own holocaust, and that of the people, he shall pray both for himself, and for the people: BSB BSB: He is to bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his own clothes. Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering to make atonement for himself and for the people.
25 DRA And the fat that is offered for sins, he shall burn upon the altar. BSB BSB: He is also to burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
26 DRA But he that hath let go the emissary goat, shall wash his clothes, and his body with water, and so shall enter into the camp. BSB BSB: The man who released the goat as the scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.
27 DRA But the calf and the buck goat, that were sacrificed for sin, and whose blood was carried into the sanctuary, to accomplish the atonement, they shall carry forth without the camp, and shall burn with fire, their skins and their flesh, and their dung: BSB BSB: The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; and their hides, flesh, and dung must be burned up.
28 DRA And whosoever burneth them shall wash his clothes, and flesh with water, and so shall enter into the camp. BSB BSB: The one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and afterward he may reenter the camp.
29 DRA And this shall be to you an everlasting ordinance: The seventh month, the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no work, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you. BSB BSB: This is to be a permanent statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work—whether the native or the foreigner who resides among you—
30 DRA Upon this day shall be the expiation for you, and the cleansing from all your sins: you shall be cleansed before the Lord. BSB BSB: because on this day atonement will be made for you to cleanse you, and you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
31 DRA For it is a sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls by a perpetual religion. BSB BSB: It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.
32 DRA And the priest that is anointed, and whose hands are consecrated to do the office of the priesthood in his father’s stead, shall make atonement; and he shall be vested with the linen robe and the holy vestments, BSB BSB: The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest shall make atonement. He will put on the sacred linen garments
33 DRA And he shall expiate the sanctuary and the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar, the priest also and all the people. BSB BSB: and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the assembly.
34 DRA And this shall be an ordinance for ever, that you pray for the children of Israel, and for all their sins once in a year. He did therefore as the Lord had commanded Moses. BSB BSB: This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement once a year for the Israelites because of all their sins.” And all this was done as the LORD had commanded Moses.