The Great Day of Forgiveness
1-2 Two of Aaron's sons had already lost their lives for disobeying the Lord, so the Lord told Moses to say to Aaron:
I, the Lord, appear in a cloud over the place of mercy on the sacred chest, which is behind the inside curtain of the sacred tent. And I warn you not to go there except at the proper time. Otherwise, you will die!
3 Before entering this most holy place, you must offer a bull as a sacrifice for your sins and a ram as a sacrifice to please me. 4 You will take a bath and put on the sacred linen clothes, including the underwear, the robe, the sash, and the turban. 5 Then the community of Israel will bring you a ram and two goats, both of them males. The goats are to be used as sacrifices for sin, and the ram is to be used as a sacrifice to please me.
6 Aaron, you must offer the bull as a sacrifice of forgiveness for your own sins and for the sins of your family. 7 Then you will lead the two goats into my presence at the front of the sacred tent, 8 where I will show you which goat will be sacrificed to me and which one will be sent into the desert to the demon Azazel. 9 After you offer the first goat as a sacrifice for sin, 10 the other one must be presented to me alive, before you send it into the desert to take away the sins of the people.
11 You must offer the bull as a sacrifice to ask forgiveness for your own sins and for the sins of your family. 12 Then you will take a fire pan of live coals from the bronze altar, together with two handfuls of finely ground incense, into the most holy place. 13 There you will present them to me by placing the incense on the coals, so that the place of mercy will be covered with a cloud of smoke. Do this, or you will die right there! 14 Next, use a finger to sprinkle some of the blood on the place of mercy, which is on the lid of the sacred chest; then sprinkle blood seven times in front of the chest.
15 Aaron, you must next sacrifice the goat for the sins of the people, and you must sprinkle its blood inside the most holy place, just as you did with the blood of the bull. 16 By doing this, you will take away the sins that make both the most holy place and the people of Israel unclean. Do the same for the sacred tent, which is here among the people. 17 Only you are allowed in the sacred tent from the time you enter until the time you come out. 18 After leaving the tent, you will purify the bronze altar by smearing each of its four corners with some of the blood from the bull and from the goat. 19 Use a finger to sprinkle the altar seven times with the blood, and it will be completely clean from the sins of the people.
20 After you have purified the most holy place, the sacred tent, and the bronze altar, you must bring the live goat to the front of the tent. 21 There you will lay your hands on its head, while confessing every sin the people have committed, and you will appoint someone to lead the goat into the desert, so that it can take away their sins. 22 Finally, this goat that carries the heavy burden of Israel's sins must be released deep in the desert.
23-24 Aaron, after this you must go inside the sacred tent, take a bath, put on your regular priestly clothes, and leave there the clothes you put on before entering the most holy place. Then you will come out and offer sacrifices to please me and sacrifices for your sins and for the sins of the people. 25 The fat from these sacrifices for sin must be sent up in smoke on the bronze altar.
26 The one who led the goat into the desert and sent it off to the demon Azazel must take a bath and wash his clothes before coming back into camp. 27 The remains of the bull and the goat whose blood was taken into the most holy place must be taken outside the camp and burned. 28 And whoever does this must take a bath and change clothes before coming back into camp.
The Lord told Moses to say to the people:
29 On the tenth day of the seventh month of each year, you must go without eating to show sorrow for your sins, and no one, including foreigners who live among you, is allowed to work. 30 This is the day on which the sacrifice for the forgiveness of your sins will be made in my presence, 31 and from now on, it must be celebrated each year. Go without eating and make this a day of complete rest just like the Sabbath. 32 The high priest must offer the sacrifices for cleansing from sin, while wearing the sacred linen clothes. 33 He will offer these sacrifices for the most holy place, the sacred tent, the bronze altar, all the priests, and for the whole community. 34 You must celebrate this day each year—it is the Great Day of Forgiveness for all the sins of the people of Israel.
Moses did exactly as the Lord had commanded.
1 Fvrthermore the Lord spake vnto Moses, after the death of the two sonnes of Aaron, whe they came to offer before the Lord, and dyed: 2 And the Lord sayd vnto Moses, Speake vnto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the Holy place within the vayle, before the Merciseate, which is vpon the Arke, that he dye not: for I wil appeare in the cloude vpon the Merciseate. 3 After this sort shall Aaron come into the Holy place: euen with a yong bullocke for a sinne offring, and a ramme for a burnt offring. 4 He shall put on the holy linnen coate, and shall haue linnen breeches vpon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linnen girdle, and shall couer his head with a linnen miter: these are the holy garments: therefore shall hee wash his flesh in water, when he doeth put them on. 5 And hee shall take of the Congregation of the children of Israel, two hee goates for a sinne offring, and a ramme for a burnt offring. 6 Then Aaron shall offer the bullocke for his sinne offring, and make an atonement for himselfe, and for his house. 7 And he shall take the two hee goates, and present them before the Lord at the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation. 8 Then Aaron shall cast lots ouer the two hee goates: one lot for the Lord, and the other for the Scape goate. 9 And Aaron shall offer the goat, vpon which the Lords lot shall fal, and make him a sinne offring. 10 But the goate, on which the lot shall fall to be the Scape goate, shalbe presented aliue before the Lord, to make reconciliation by him, and to let him go (as a Scape goate) into the wildernes. 11 Thus Aaron shall offer the bullocke for his sinne offring, and make a reconciliation for himselfe, and for his house, and shall kill the bullocke for his sinne offring. 12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coles from off the altar before the Lord, and his handfull of sweete incense beaten small, and bring it within the vayle, 13 And shall put the incense vpon the fire before the Lord, that the cloude of the incense may couer the Merciseat that is vpon the Testimonie: so he shall not dye. 14 And hee shall take of the blood of the bullocke, and sprinkle it with his finger vpon the Merciseat Eastward: and before the Merciseate shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seuen times. 15 Then shall he kill the goate that is the peoples sinne offring, and bring his blood within the vaile, and doe with that blood, as he did with the blood of the bullocke, and sprinckle it vpon the Merciseate, and before the Merciseate. 16 So he shall purge the Holy place from the vncleannes of the children of Israel, and from their trespasses of all their sinnes: so shall he do also for the Tabernacle of the Cogregation placed with them, in the middes of their vncleannesse. 17 And there shalbe no man in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, when he goeth in to make an atonement in the Holy place, vntill hee come out, and haue made an atonement for himselfe, and for his housholde, and for all the Congregation of Israel. 18 After, he shall goe out vnto the altar that is before the Lord and make a reconciliation vpon it, and shall take of the blood of the bullocke, and of the blood of the goate, and put it vpon the hornes of the Altar round about: 19 So shall hee sprinkle of the blood vpon it with his finger seuen times, and clense it, and halowe it from the vncleannes of the children of Israel. 20 When he hath made an ende of purging the Holy place, and the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and the altar, then he shall bring the liue goate: 21 And Aaron shall put both his handes vpon the head of the liue goate, and confesse ouer him al the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their trespasses, in all their sinnes, putting them vpon the head of the goate, and shall sende him away (by the hand of a man appointed) into the wildernes. 22 So the goate shall beare vpon him all their iniquities into the land that is not inhabited, and he shall let the goate go into the wildernesse. 23 After, Aaron shall come into the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and put off the linnen clothes, which he put on when he went into the Holy place, and leaue them there. 24 Hee shall wash also his flesh with water in the Holy place, and put on his owne rayment, and come out, and make his burnt offring, and the burnt offring of the people, and make an atonement for himselfe, and for the people. 25 Also the fatte of the sinne offring shall he burne vpon the altar. 26 And he that caried forth the goat, called the Scape goat, shall wash his clothes, and wash his flesh in water, and after that shall come into the hoste. 27 Also the bullocke for the sinne offring, and the goate for the sinne offring (whose blood was brought to make a reconciliation in the Holy place) shall one carie out without the hoste to be burnt in the fire, with their skinnes, and with their flesh, and with their doung. 28 And hee that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and wash his flesh in water, and afterward come into the hoste. 29 So this shalbe an ordinance for euer vnto you: the tenth day of the seuenth moneth, yee shall humble your soules, and do no worke at all, whether it be one of the same countrey or a strager that soiourneth among you. 30 For that day shall ye Priest make an atonement for you to clense you: ye shalbe cleane from all your sinnes before the Lord. 31 This shall be a Sabbath of rest vnto you, and ye shall humble your soules, by an ordinance for euer. 32 And the Priest whom he shall anoynt, and whom he shall cosecrate (to minister in his fathers steade) shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linnen clothes and Holy vestments, 33 And shall purge the Holy Sanctuarie and the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and shall clense the altar, and make an atonement for the Priests and for all the people of the Congregation. 34 And this shalbe an euerlasting ordinance vnto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sinnes once a yeere: and as the Lord commanded Moses, he did.