The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron,
when they drew near before the LORD and died, and the LORD said to
Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the
Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the
ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over
the mercy seat. But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy
Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a
burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have
the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash
around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy
garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on.
And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two
male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
“Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and
shall make atonement for himself and for his house. Then he shall
take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of
the tent of meeting. And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats,
one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel. And Aaron shall
present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD and use it as a
sin offering, but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall
be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that
it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.
“Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and
shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall kill
the bull as a sin offering for himself. And he shall take a censer
full of coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, and two
handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it
inside the veil and put the incense on the fire before the LORD,
that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over
the testimony, so that he does not die. And he shall take some of
the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front
of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat
he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that 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, sprinkling it over the mercy
seat and in front of the mercy seat. Thus he shall make atonement
for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of
Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so
he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the
midst of their uncleannesses. No one may be in the tent of meeting
from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until
he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house
and for all the assembly of Israel. Then he shall go out to the
altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it, and shall
take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the
goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. And he shall
sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and
cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people
of Israel.
“And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and
the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat.
And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat,
and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and
all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on
the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the
hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their
iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go
free in the wilderness.
“Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and shall take
off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the Holy
Place and shall leave them there. And he shall bathe his body in
water in a holy place and put on his garments and come out and
offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and
make atonement for himself and for the people. And the fat of the
sin offering he shall burn on the altar. And he who lets the goat
go to Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water,
and afterward he may come into the camp. And the bull for the sin
offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought
in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside
the camp. Their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be burned
up with fire. And he who burns them shall wash his clothes and
bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.
“And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh
month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves
and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who
sojourns among you. For on this day shall atonement be made for you
to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your
sins. It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict
yourselves; it is a statute forever. And the priest who is anointed
and consecrated as priest in his father's place shall make
atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. He shall make atonement
for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of
meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the
priests and for all the people of the assembly. And this shall be a
statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people
of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” And Aaron
did as the LORD commanded Moses.
