The Day of Atonement

1After the two sons of Aaron died because they burned incense to Yahweh in a manner that was contrary to what Yahweh commanded, Yahweh spoke to Moses/me.

2He said to him/me, “Warn your older brother Aaron that he must not enter the Very Holy Place inside the curtain that is in the Sacred Tent whenever he wants to, because the cover of the sacred chest is there. That is the place where the priest ◄makes atonement for/requests me to forgive► sins. I am present in the cloud that is over the cover of the sacred chest. If Aaron goes in that room when it is not the proper time, he will die!

3“When Aaron enters the Sacred Tent area, he must bring a bull that will be killed to become an offering/sacrifice for sins, and a ram to be killed to be an offering that will be completely burned on the altar.

4Then he must bathe his whole body, and put on the linen underwear/undershorts and the linen gown. He must tie the linen sash/waistbands around his waist and wrap the turban around his head. Those are his sacred garments.

5The Israeli people must then bring to him two male goats to be killed as an offering/sacrifice for sin, and a ram to be killed and burned completely on the altar.

6“Aaron must offer the bull to me to be a sacrifice in order that ◄I will forgive his sins and the sins of his family/his sins and the sins of his family will be forgiven►.

7Then he must bring the two male goats to me at the entrance to the Sacred Tent.

8He must ◄cast lots/throw down stones that have been marked► to determine which goat will be sacrificed to me, and which will be the goat that will be set free.

9Aaron must bring to me the goat that was chosen to be sacrificed. It will be an offering for the people’s sins.

10Aaron must also bring to me the other goat, but it is not to be killed. It will be freed while it is still alive. As a result of Aaron sending it into the desert, the people’s sins will be forgiven.

11“Then Aaron must bring the young bull to me, to be an offering/sacrifice for himself and for his family. He must slaughter that bull to be an offering for their sins, and he must drain the blood into a basin.

12Then he must take some burning coals from the bronze altar and put them in the incense burner. Then he must fill his hands with fragrant finely-ground incense. Then he must take the incense and the incense burner inside the curtain into the Very Holy Place of the Sacred Tent.

13There he must put the incense on the burning coals, with the result that a cloud of burning incense will rise up over the lid of the sacred chest. If he obeys these instructions, he will not die like Korah’s two sons did because of offering incense incorrectly (OR, because of being in God’s presence).

14Then he must dip his finger into the basin and sprinkle some blood on the lid of the sacred chest, and also sprinkle some blood seven times against the front of the chest.

15“Aaron must then go outside the Sacred Tent and slaughter the goat to be an offering for the sins of the people. Then he must bring its blood into the Very Holy Place behind the curtain. There he must sprinkle some of that blood on the lid of the sacred chest and against the front of the chest, like he did with the bull’s blood.

16By doing that, he will purify the Very Holy Place. And he must sprinkle more of the blood on the Sacred Tent, because the tent is in the midst of the camp of the Israeli people who have become unacceptable to me because of their sins.

17When Aaron goes into the Very Holy Place in the Sacred Tent to purify it, no one else is permitted to enter the other part of the Sacred Tent. Only after Aaron has performed rituals to enable me to forgive him and his family, and all the Israeli people, is any priest permitted to enter the Sacred Tent.

18“Then Aaron must go outside the tent to purify my altar. He must do this by smearing some of the blood from the bull and some of the blood from the goat on each of the projections at the corners of the altar.

19Then Aaron must dip his finger into the basin of blood and sprinkle some of the blood over the altar seven times. By doing that, he will cleanse it from being unholy because of the sins of the Israeli people, and it will become holy again.

20“When Aaron has finished purifying the Very Holy Place inside the Sacred Tent and all of the Sacred Tent and the altar, he must bring the goat that was chosen to be set free.

21He must put both of his hands on the head of the goat and confess all the sins [DOU] of the Israeli people. By doing that, he will put the guilt of their sins on the head of the goat. Then he must give the goat to a man who is chosen, and that man will send the goat out into the desert.

22It is as though the goat will carry away into the desert the guilt for the sins of all the people.

23“When Aaron approaches the Sacred Tent, he must take off the linen clothes that he wore when he previously entered the Very Holy Place, and he must leave those clothes there.

24Then he must bathe in a sacred place, put on his regular/ordinary clothes, and sacrifice the animals that will be burned completely on the altar for his own sins and for the sins of the Israeli people. By doing that he will enable me to forgive him and them.

25He must also burn on the altar all the fat of the bull and the goat that were sacrificed.

26“The man who was chosen to send the other goat into the desert and free it there must afterwards wash his clothes and bathe. Then he may return to the camp.

27The carcasses of the bull and the goat that were slaughtered to be an offering/sacrifice for the people’s sins, whose blood was taken inside the Very Holy Place to enable Yahweh to forgive the Israeli people, must be carried outside the camp and burned. The hides/skins of the animals, the inner organs, and the dung must also be burned.

28The man who burns those things must then wash his clothes and bathe before he returns to the camp.

29“On ◄October/the month after the dry season ends►, on the day that I have appointed, you all must ◄fast/abstain from eating food► and not do any work. This is a rule/law that will never end. It must be obeyed by you people who have been Israelis all your lives, and also by foreigners who are living among you.

30On that day, Aaron will perform rituals to enable me to forgive you all, and then I will cleanse/free you all from the guilt of all your sins and you will become acceptable to me.

31That will be a day for you to rest and not do any work, like the Sabbath days, and you must ◄fast/abstain from eating food► all that day. That is a permanent command/law for you all to obey.

32In future years, after Aaron has died, this ritual/ceremony to enable me to forgive you all [DOU] will be performed by the Supreme Priest who is anointed with olive oil and appointed to serve instead of his ancestor Aaron. He must put on the sacred clothes made of linen

33and offer sacrifices to purify the Very Holy Place, all of the Sacred Tent, the altar, the priests, and all the Israel people like Aaron did.

34This will be a permanent command/law for you to obey once every year, to enable me to forgive you Israeli people for the sins that you have committed.” Moses/I obeyed all those instructions/commands that Yahweh had given to him/me.