Instructions for dedicating the priests

1“This is what you must do to dedicate Aaron and his sons to serve me by being priests: Select one young bull and two rams that do not have any defects.

2Bake three kinds of bread using finely-ground wheat flour, but without yeast: Bake some loaves that do not have any olive oil in them, bake some loaves that have olive oil in the dough, and bake some thin wafers that will be smeared with olive oil after they are baked.

3Put them in a basket and offer them to me when you sacrifice the young bull and the two rams.

4Take Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Sacred Tent, and wash them ritually.

5Then put the special clothes on Aaron—the long-sleeved tunic/gown, the robe that will be worn underneath the sacred apron, the sacred apron, the sacred pouch, and the sash/waistband.

6Place the turban on his head, and fasten to the turban the ornament that has the words ‘Dedicated to Yahweh’ engraved on it.

7Then take the oil and pour some on his head to ◄dedicate him/set him apart►.

8Then bring his sons and put the long-sleeved tunics/gowns on them.

9Put the sashes/waistbands around their waists and the caps on their heads. That is the ritual by which you are to ◄dedicate them/set them apart► to be priests. Aaron and his male descendants must serve me by being priests forever.

10“Then bring the young bull to the entrance of the Sacred Tent. Tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the head of the young bull.

11Then, while they do that, kill the young bull by slitting its throat, and catch/drain the blood in a bowl.

12Take some of that blood with your finger and smear it on the projections of the altar. Throw/Splash the rest of the blood against the base of the altar.

13Take all the fat that covers the inner organs of the young bull, the best part of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them, and burn all these on the altar as an offering to me.

14But the meat of the young bull and its hide and intestines must be burned outside the camp. That will be an offering to forgive the guilt of your sins.

15“Then select one of the rams, and tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the head of the ram.

16Then kill the ram by slitting its throat. Catch/Drain some of the blood and splash it against all four sides of the altar.

17Then cut the ram into pieces. Wash its inner organs and its rear legs and put those with the head

18and burn those pieces completely on the altar with the rest of the ram. That will be an offering to me, Yahweh, and the smell will please me.

19“Take the other ram that was selected for these rituals, and tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the ram’s head.

20Then kill the ram by slitting its throat, and drain the blood into a bowl. Smear some of the blood on the lobe of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Throw/Splash the rest of the blood against the four sides of the altar.

21Wipe up some of the blood that is on the altar, mix it with some of the oil for anointing, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his clothes, and on his sons and their clothes. By doing that, you will dedicate them and their clothes to me.

22“Also, cut off the ram’s fat and its fat tail and the fat that covers the inner organs, the best part of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh.

23Take also one of each of the kinds of bread that was baked—one made with no oil, one with oil, and one thin wafer.

24Put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Then tell them to lift them up high to dedicate them to me.

25Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar, on top of the other things that were placed there. That also will be an offering to me, and its smell will please me.

26Then take the meat of the ribs of the second ram that was killed, and lift it up high as an offering to me. But then this part of the animal will be for you to eat.

27Then take the meat of the ribs, the other thigh of the first ram that was sacrificed to ◄dedicate/set apart► the priests, and the ram whose other parts were lifted high to show that they were an offering to me; and set the meat of the ribs and thigh apart for Aaron and his sons, for them to eat.

28In the future, whenever the Israeli people present to me, Yahweh, offerings to maintain fellowship with me, the ribs and the thigh of animals that they sacrifice will be for Aaron and his male descendants to eat.

29“After Aaron dies, the special clothes that he wore will belong to his sons. They are to wear those clothes when they are ◄set apart/dedicated► to become priests.

30Aaron’s son who becomes The Supreme Priest and enters the Sacred Tent and performs rituals in the Holy Place must stay in the Sacred Tent, wearing these special clothes, for seven days.

31“Take the meat of the other ram that was sacrificed to ◄set apart/dedicate► Aaron and his sons, and boil it in the courtyard.

32After it is cooked, Aaron and his sons must eat it, along with the bread that is left in the basket, at the entrance of the Sacred Tent.

33They must eat the meat of the ram that was sacrificed to forgive them for their sins when they were dedicated to do this work. They are the only ones who are permitted to eat this meat. Those who are not priests are not allowed to eat it, because it is dedicated to me.

34If any of this meat or some of the bread is not eaten that night, no one is permitted to eat any of it the next day. It must be completely burned, because it is sacred/dedicated to me.

35“Those are the rituals that you(sg) must perform during those seven days when you dedicate Aaron and his sons for this work. You must do everything that I have commanded you.

36Each of those seven days you must also sacrifice a young bull as an offering to me, in order that I may forgive sins. Also, you must make another offering ◄to make the altar pure in my sight/in order that I will consider the altar to be pure►. You must also anoint the altar with olive oil, to ◄set it apart/dedicate it►.

37Perform these rituals every day for seven days, to ◄set apart/dedicate► the altar and make it pure. If you do not do that, anyone or anything that touches the altar will become taboo.

38“You must also sacrifice lambs and burn them on the altar. Each of those seven days you must sacrifice two lambs.

39One lamb must be sacrificed in the morning, and one must be sacrificed in the evening.

40With the first lamb, also offer ◄2 pounds/1 kilogram► of finely-ground wheat flour mixed with one quart/liter of the best kind of olive oil, and one quart/liter of wine as an offering.

41In the evening, when you sacrifice the other lamb, offer the same amounts of flour, olive oil, and wine as you did in the morning. This will be an offering to me, Yahweh, that will be burned, and its smell will please me.

42You and your descendants must continue making these offerings to me, Yahweh, throughout all future generations. You must offer them at the entrance of the Sacred Tent. That is where I will meet with you and speak to you.

43That is where I will meet with the Israeli people, and the brilliant light of my presence will cause that place to be holy/sacred.

44I will dedicate the Sacred Tent and the altar. I will also dedicate Aaron and his sons to serve me by being priests.

45I will live among the Israeli people, and I will be their God.

46They will know that I, Yahweh their God, am the one who brought them out of Egypt in order that I might live among them.”