New Spirit-Filled Life Bible

Author

The Book of Leviticus is the third book ascribed to Moses from the Hebrew Scriptures of the Old Testament. In 1:1, the text refers to the word of the Lord, which was spoken to Moses from the tabernacle of meeting; this forms the basis for this entire book of Scripture. The priests and Levites have preserved its contents.

Date

Scholars have dated the Book of Leviticus from the time of Moses’ activities (earlier dating in the fifteenth century B.C. and the later alternative dating in the twelfth century B.C.) to the time of Ezra during the return (sixth century B.C.). Acceptance of Mosaic authorship for Leviticus would date its writing to about 1400 B.C. The book describes the sacrificial system and worship that precedes the time of Ezra and recalls the institution of the sacrificial system. The book contains little historical information that would give an exact date.

Background

The theology of the Book of Leviticus links the idea of holiness to everyday life. It goes beyond the issue of sacrifice though the sacrificial worship and the work of the priests is explained with great care. The concept of holiness affects not only the relationship that each individual has with God, but also the relationship of love and respect that each person must have for his neighbor. The code of holiness permeates the work because each individual must be pure even as God Himself is pure and because the purity of each individual is the foundation of the holiness of the entire covenant community. The teaching of Jesus Christ, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12), reflects the text of Leviticus 19:18, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Content

In Hebrew the Book of Leviticus was named Vayikra, which means “And He Called.” The Hebrew title is taken from the first word of the book, which was a customary way of naming ancient works. The English title “Leviticus” is derived from the Greek version of the work and means “Matters Pertaining to the Levites.” The title is somewhat misleading because the book deals with many more issues relating to purity, holiness, the whole priesthood, the sanctity of God, and holiness in everyday life. The word “holy” appears more than eighty times in the book.

Sometimes the Book of Leviticus has been viewed as a difficult work to grasp; however, according to early tradition, in Jewish education it was the first book to be taught to children. It deals with God’s character and will, especially in matters of holiness, which the Jewish sages considered to be of primary importance. They felt that before proceeding to other biblical texts, children should first be educated concerning the sanctity of God and the responsibility of each individual to live a holy life. Holiness (Hebrew kedushah) is a key word in Leviticus, describing the sanctity of the divine presence. Holiness is being set apart from the profane, and holy is the opposite of the common or secular.

Another major theme of the Book of Leviticus is the sacrificial system. The Burnt Sacrifice (Hebrew olah) refers to the only sacrifice that is entirely consumed upon the altar, and therefore it is sometimes called the whole offering. The Grain Offering (Hebrew minchah) is a tribute offering made in order to secure or maintain the divine favor, indicating that the fruits of a person’s labor should be dedicated to God. The Peace Offering (Hebrew shelamim) is designed to provide expiation and permits the one who makes the offering to eat the meat of the sacrifice. It was often given on a joyous occasion. The Sin Offering (Hebrew chatta’t) is employed to remove impurity from the sanctuary. The Trespass Offering (Hebrew asham), also referred to as the Guilt Offering or the Offering of Reparation, is prepared for violation of the sanctity of the property of God or of another person, usually by use of a false oath. The trespass had desecrated the sanctity of God and an offering is required.

In addition to the sacrifices, the liturgical calendar holds a significant place in the Book of Leviticus. The Sabbath year refers to the emancipation of Israelite slaves, and people in debt, as well as the redemption of the land (see also Ex. 21:2–6; 23:10, 11; Deut. 15:1–11, 12–18). The Jubilee Year refers to the fact that the land of Israel, as well as the people, belongs to God and not to any individual. The land, therefore, must have rest after each period of forty-nine years (Lev. 25:8–17), which teaches God’s ownership. The entire Book of Leviticus is permeated with the sanctity of God, the holiness of His character, and the necessity of the congregation to approach Him in purity of heart and mind.

Personal Application

The Book of Leviticus has a powerful contemporary and personal application for the life of the church today. The sanctity of God and His great desire for fellowship with His people are clearly seen in the descriptions of the sacrificial system. Holiness, being set apart for a saintly life in fellowship with God, is the primary issue for the people of ancient Israel as it is for the people of God today.

Christ Revealed

Christ is not specifically mentioned in Leviticus. However, the sacrificial system and the high priest in the Book of Leviticus are types that picture the work of Christ. The Book of Hebrews describes Christ as the High Priest and uses the text of Leviticus as a basis for illustrating His work. Some have used extreme forms of allegorization of the Book of Leviticus in order to reveal Christ; however, this method of Bible interpretation should be used cautiously in order to insure that the book’s original historical and cultural meaning are preserved. The Book of Leviticus focuses on the life and the worship of ancient Israel.

The Holy Spirit at Work

Though the term “Holy Spirit” is never mentioned in the Book of Leviticus, God’s presence is felt throughout the book. The holiness of God’s character is constantly referred to in the designation of holiness to the people’s actions and worship. He is not seen as in pagan cults of the period where idols were venerated, but He is in the midst of the people as they worship Him. They must be holy even as He is holy.

Outline of Leviticus

I. The description of the sacrificial system 1:1—7:38

A. The burnt offering 1:1–17

B. The grain offering 2:1–16

C. The peace offering 3:1–17

D. The sin offering 4:1—5:13

E. The trespass offering 5:14—6:7

F. Other instructions 6:8—7:38

II. The service of the priests in the sanctuary 8:1—10:20

A. Ordination of Aaron and his sons 8:1–36

B. The priests take office 9:1–24

C. The sin of Nadab and Abihu 10:1–11

D. The sin of Eleazar and Ithamar 10:12–20

III. The laws of impurities 11:1—16:34

A. Animal impurities 11:1–47

B. Childbirth impurities 12:1–8

C. Skin impurities 13:1—14:57

D. Discharge impurities 15:1–33

E. Moral impurities 16:1–34

IV. The holiness code 17:1—26:46

A. Killing for food 17:1–16

B. On being holy 18:1—20:27

C. Laws for priests and sacrifices 21:1—22:33

D. Holy days and religious feasts 23:1–44

E. Laws for holy elements of worship 24:1–9

F. Punishment for blasphemy 24:10–23

G. The Sabbath and Jubilee years 25:1–55

H. Blessing for obedience and punishment for disobedience 26:1–46

V. Gifts to the sanctuary 27:1–34

The Burnt Offering

1 NOW the LORD ^acalled to Moses, and spoke to him ^bfrom the tabernacle of meeting, saying,

2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ^a‘When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock.

3 ‘If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male ^awithout blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD.

4 ^a‘Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be ^baccepted on his behalf ^cto make atonement for him.

5 ‘He shall kill the ^abull before the LORD; ^band the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood ^cand sprinkle the blood all around on the ^*altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

6 ‘And he shall ^askin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces.

7 ‘The sons of Aaron the priest shall put ^afire on the altar, and ^blay the wood in order on the fire.

8 ‘Then the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar;

9 ‘but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a ^asweet¹ aroma to the LORD.

10 ‘If his offering is of the flocks—of the sheep or of the goats—as a burnt sacrifice, he shall bring a male ^awithout blemish.

11 ^a‘He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the LORD; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar.

12 ‘And he shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat; and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar;

13 ‘but he shall wash the entrails and the legs with water. Then the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt sacrifice, an ^aoffering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

14 ‘And if the burnt sacrifice of his offering to the LORD is of birds, then he shall bring his offering of ^aturtledoves or young pigeons.

15 ‘The priest shall bring it to the altar, ¹wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out at the side of the altar.

16 ‘And he shall remove its crop with its feathers and cast it ^abeside the altar on the east side, into the place for ashes.

17 ‘Then he shall split it at its wings, but ^ashall not divide it completely; and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. ^bIt is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a ¹sweet aroma to the LORD.

The Grain Offering

1 ‘When anyone offers ^aa grain offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour. And he shall pour oil on it, and put ^bfrankincense on it.

2 ‘He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests, one of whom shall take from it his handful of fine flour and oil with all the frankincense. And the priest shall burn ^ait as a memorial on the altar, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

3 ^a‘The rest of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his ^bsons’. ^cIt is most holy of the offerings to the LORD made by fire.

4 ‘And if you bring as an offering a grain offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers ^aanointed¹ with oil.

5 ‘But if your offering is a grain offering baked in a ¹pan, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil.

6 ‘You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering.

7 ‘If your offering is a grain offering baked in a ^acovered pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.

8 ‘You shall bring the grain offering that is made of these things to the LORD. And when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar.

9 ‘Then the priest shall take from the grain offering ^aa memorial portion, and burn it on the altar. It is an ^boffering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

10 ‘And ^awhat is left of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. It is most holy of the offerings to the LORD made by fire.

11 ‘No grain offering which you bring to the LORD shall be made with ^aleaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey in any offering to the LORD made by fire.

12 ^a‘As for the offering of the firstfruits, you shall offer them to the LORD, but they shall not be burned on the altar for a sweet aroma.

13 ‘And every offering of your grain offering ^ayou shall season with salt; you shall not allow ^bthe salt of the ^*covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. ^cWith all your offerings you shall offer salt.

14 ‘If you offer a grain offering of your firstfruits to the LORD, ^ayou shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits green heads of grain roasted on the fire, grain beaten from ^bfull heads.

15 ‘And ^ayou shall put oil on it, and lay frankincense on it. It is a grain offering.

16 ‘Then the priest shall burn ^athe memorial portion: part of its beaten grain and part of its oil, with all the frankincense, as an offering made by fire to the LORD.

The Sin Offering

1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ^a‘If a person sins ¹unintentionally against any of the ^*commandments of the LORD in anything which ought not to be done, and does any of them,

3 ^a‘if the ^*anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then let him offer to the LORD for his sin which he has sinned ^ba young bull without blemish as a ^csin offering.

4 ‘He shall bring the bull ^ato the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and kill the bull before the LORD.

5 ‘Then the anointed priest ^ashall take some of the bull’s blood and bring it to the tabernacle of meeting.

6 ‘The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD, in front of the ^aveil of the sanctuary.

7 ‘And the priest shall ^aput some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of meeting; and he shall pour ^bthe remaining blood of the bull at the base of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

8 ‘He shall take from it all the fat of the bull as the sin offering. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat which is on the entrails,

9 ‘the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove,

10 ^a‘as it was taken from the bull of the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn them on the altar of the burnt offering.

11 ^a‘But the bull’s hide and all its ^*flesh, with its head and legs, its entrails and offal—

12 ‘the whole bull he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, ^awhere the ashes are poured out, and ^bburn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned.

13 ‘Now ^aif the whole ^*congregation of Israel sins unintentionally, ^band the thing is hidden from the eyes of the ^*assembly, and they have done something against any of the commandments of the LORD in anything which should not be done, and are guilty;

Word Wealth

4:13 guilty, ’asham (ah-sham); Strong’s #816: To be guilty, to be conscious of guilt; to become an offender, to trespass. In most instances, ’asham means “guilt offering,” “trespass offering.” ’Asham is similar to chata’ah, which may mean “sin” or “sin offering,” depending on context. ’Asham can portray the condition of guiltiness, guilt itself, the shame of being guilty, the punishment that guilt brings, and the offering that removes guilt. By far the most significant reference is Is. 53:10, where ’asham appears in the description of the Messiah’s atoning death. Jesus’ death was the ultimate trespass offering for the sins of the whole world. See 1 John 2:2.

14 ‘when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for the sin, and bring it before the tabernacle of meeting.

15 ‘And the elders of the congregation ^ashall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD. Then the bull shall be killed before the LORD.

16 ^a‘The anointed priest shall bring some of the bull’s blood to the tabernacle of meeting.

17 ‘Then the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil.

18 ‘And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of meeting; and he shall pour the remaining blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

19 ‘He shall take all the fat from it and burn it on the altar.

20 ‘And he shall do ^awith the bull as he did with the bull as a sin offering; thus he shall do with it. ^bSo the priest shall ^*make ¹atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.

21 ‘Then he shall carry the bull outside the camp, and burn it as he burned the first bull. It is a sin offering for the assembly.

22 ‘When a ¹ruler has sinned, and ^adone something unintentionally against any of the commandments of the LORD his God in anything which should not be done, and is guilty,

23 ‘or ^aif his sin which he has committed ¹comes to his knowledge, he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a male without blemish.

24 ‘And ^ahe shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it at the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD. It is a sin offering.

25 ^a‘The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering.

26 ‘And he shall burn all its fat on the altar, like ^athe fat of the sacrifice of the peace offering. ^bSo the priest shall make ¹atonement for him concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.

27 ^a‘If ¹anyone of the ²common people sins unintentionally by doing something against any of the commandments of the LORD in anything which ought not to be done, and is guilty,

28 ‘or ^aif his sin which he has committed comes to his knowledge, then he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed.

29 ^a‘And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering.

30 ‘Then the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar.

31 ^a‘He shall remove all its fat, ^bas fat is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a ^csweet aroma to the LORD. ^dSo the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.

32 ‘If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, ^ahe shall bring a female without blemish.

33 ‘Then he shall ^alay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill it as a sin offering at the place where they kill the burnt offering.

34 ‘The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar.

35 ‘He shall remove all its fat, as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering. Then the priest shall burn it on the altar, ^aaccording to the offerings made by fire to the LORD. ^bSo the priest shall make atonement for his sin that he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him.

The Trespass Offering

1 ‘If a person sins in ^ahearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of the matter—if he does not tell it, he ^bbears ¹guilt.

2 ‘Or ^aif a person touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and he is unaware of it, he also shall be unclean and ^bguilty.

3 ‘Or if he touches ^ahuman uncleanness—whatever uncleanness with which a man may be defiled, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty.

4 ‘Or if a person ¹swears,^* speaking thoughtlessly with his lips ^ato do evil or ^bto do good, whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters.

5 ‘And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall ^aconfess that he has sinned in that thing;

6 ‘and he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin.

Word Wealth

5:6 priest, kohen (ko-hayn); Strong’s #3548: A priest; especially a chief priest; a minister, a personal attendant, an officer; specifically the high priest descended from Aaron. The kohen was the Lord’s “personal attendant,” one whose entire life revolved around Yahweh’s service, both through ministering in the tabernacle (or temple in later times) and in carrying the burden of the people of Israel (see Ex. 28:29). A kohen ministers to the Lord as priest (Ex. 28:1). Notice the six appearances of the words “minister,” “serve,” or “service” in the references to the high priest in Heb. 8:1—9:10. To this day the Jewish surname “Cohen” identifies a family descended from Aaron the high priest.

7 ^a‘If he is not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring to the LORD, for his trespass which he has committed, two ^bturtledoves or two young pigeons: one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.

8 ‘And he shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first, and ^awring off its head from its neck, but shall not divide it ¹completely.

9 ‘Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, and the ^arest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering.

10 ‘And he shall offer the second as a burnt offering according to the ^aprescribed manner. So ^bthe priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin which he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him.

11 ‘But if he is ^anot able to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he who sinned shall bring for his offering one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering. ^bHe shall put no oil on it, nor shall he put frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.

12 ‘Then he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it ^aas a memorial portion, and burn it on the altar ^baccording to the offerings made by fire to the LORD. It is a sin offering.

13 ^a‘The priest shall make atonement for him, ¹for his sin that he has committed in any of these matters; and it shall be forgiven him. ^bThe rest shall be the priest’s as a grain offering.’ ”

Offerings with Restitution

14 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

15 ^a“If a person commits a trespass, and sins unintentionally in regard to the holy things of the LORD, then ^bhe shall bring to the LORD as his trespass offering a ram without blemish from the flocks, with your valuation in shekels of silver according to ^cthe shekel of the sanctuary, as a trespass offering.

16 “And he shall make restitution for the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing, ^aand shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. ^bSo the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.

17 “If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD, ^athough he does not know it, yet he is ^bguilty and shall bear his ¹iniquity.

18 ^a“And he shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his ignorance in which he erred and did not know it, and it shall be forgiven him.

19 “It is a trespass offering; ^ahe has certainly trespassed against the LORD.”

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, say-ing:

2 “If a person sins and ^acommits a trespass against the LORD by ^blying¹ to his neighbor about ^cwhat was delivered to him for safekeeping, or about ²a pledge, or about a robbery, or if he has ^dextorted from his neighbor,

3 “or if he ^ahas found what was lost and lies concerning it, and ^bswears falsely—in any one of these things that a man may do in which he sins:

4 “then it shall be, because he has sinned and is ^*guilty, that he shall ¹restore ^awhat he has stolen, or the thing which he has extorted, or what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or the lost thing which he found,

5 “or all that about which he has sworn falsely. He shall ^arestore its full value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his trespass offering.

6 “And he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD, ^aa ram without blemish from the flock, with your ¹valuation, as a trespass offering, to the priest.

7 ^a“So the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he shall be forgiven for any one of these things that he may have done in which he trespasses.”

The Law of the Burnt Offering

8 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

9 “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the ^alaw of the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.

10 ^a‘And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen trousers he shall put on his body, and take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has consumed on the altar, and he shall put them ^bbeside the altar.

11 ‘Then ^ahe shall take off his garments, put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp ^bto a clean place.

12 ‘And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it ^athe fat of the peace offerings.

13 ‘A fire shall always be burning on the ^aaltar; it shall never go out.

The Law of the Grain Offering

14 ‘This is the law of the grain offering: The sons of Aaron shall offer it on the altar before the LORD.

15 ‘He shall take from it his handful of the fine flour of the ^*grain offering, with its oil, and all the frankincense which is on the grain offering, and shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma, as a memorial to the LORD.

16 ‘And the remainder of it Aaron and his sons shall eat; with unleavened bread it shall be eaten in a holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of meeting they shall eat it.

17 ‘It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their ¹portion^* of My offerings made by fire; it is most holy, like the sin offering and the ^atrespass offering.

18 ^a‘All the males among the children of Aaron may eat it. ^bIt shall be a ^*statute ^*forever in your generations concerning the offerings made by fire to the LORD. ^cEveryone who touches them must be holy.’ ”

19 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

20 ^a“This is the offering of Aaron and his sons, which they shall offer to the LORD, beginning on the day when he is anointed: one-tenth of an ^bephah of fine flour as a daily grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it at night.

21 “It shall be made in a ^apan with oil. When it is mixed, you shall bring it in. The baked pieces of the grain offering you shall offer for a ¹sweet aroma to the LORD.

22 “The priest from among his sons, ^awho is anointed in his place, shall offer it. It is a statute forever to the LORD. ^bIt shall be ¹wholly burned.

23 “For every grain offering for the priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.”

The Law of the Sin Offering

24 Also the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

25 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: ^aIn the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offering shall be killed before the LORD. It is most holy.

26 ^a‘The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of meeting.

27 ^a‘Everyone who touches its flesh ¹must be holy. And when its blood is sprinkled on any garment, you shall wash that on which it was sprinkled, in a holy place.

28 ‘But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled ^ashall be broken. And if it is boiled in a bronze pot, it shall be both scoured and rinsed in water.

29 ‘All the males among the priests may eat it. It is most holy.

30 ^a‘But no sin offering from which any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of meeting, to make atonement in ¹the holy ^bplace, shall be ^ceaten. It shall be ^dburned in the fire.

The Law of the Trespass Offering

1 ‘Likewise ^athis is the law of the trespass offering (it is most holy):

2 ‘In the place where they kill the burnt offering they shall kill the trespass offering. And its blood he shall sprinkle all around on the altar.

3 ‘And he shall offer from it all its fat. The fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails,

4 ‘the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove;

5 ‘and the priest shall burn them on the altar as an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a trespass offering.

6 ^a‘Every male among the priests may eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place. ^bIt is most holy.

7 ^a‘The trespass offering is like the sin offering; there is one law for them both: the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it.

8 ‘And the priest who offers anyone’s burnt offering, that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered.

9 ‘Also ^aevery grain offering that is baked in the oven and all that is prepared in the covered pan, or ¹in a pan, shall be the priest’s who offers it.

10 ‘Every grain offering, whether mixed with oil or dry, shall belong to all the sons of Aaron, to one as much as the other.

The Law of Peace Offerings

11 ^a‘This is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which he shall offer to the LORD:

12 ‘If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer, with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers ^aanointed with oil, or cakes of blended flour mixed with oil.

13 ‘Besides the cakes, as his offering he shall offer ^aleavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offering.

14 ‘And from it he shall offer one cake from each offering as a heave offering to the LORD. ^aIt shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering.

15 ^a‘The flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day it is offered. He shall not leave any of it until morning.

16 ‘But ^aif the sacrifice of his offering is a vow or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offers his sacrifice; but on the next day the remainder of it also may be eaten;

17 ‘the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day must be burned with fire.

18 ‘And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, nor shall it be ^aimputed to him; it shall be an ^babomination to him who offers it, and the person who eats of it shall bear ¹guilt.

19 ‘The flesh that touches any ^*unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned with fire. And as for the clean flesh, all who are ¹clean may eat of it.

20 ‘But the person who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace offering that belongs to the ^aLORD, ^bwhile he is unclean, that person ^cshall be cut off from his people.

21 ‘Moreover the person who touches any unclean thing, such as ^ahuman uncleanness, an ^bunclean animal, or any ^cabominable¹ unclean thing, and who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace offering that belongs to the LORD, that person ^dshall be cut off from his people.’ ”

Fat and Blood May Not Be Eaten

22 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

23 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ^a‘You shall not eat any fat, of ox or sheep or goat.

24 ‘And the fat of an animal that dies naturally, and the fat of what is torn by wild beasts, may be used in any other way; but you shall by no means eat it.

25 ‘For whoever eats the fat of the animal of which men offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, the person who eats it shall be cut off from his people.

26 ^a‘Moreover you shall not eat any blood in any of your dwellings, whether of bird or beast.

27 ‘Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.’ ”

The Portion of Aaron and His Sons

28 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

29 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ^a‘He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offering to the LORD shall bring his offering to the LORD from the sacrifice of his peace offering.

30 ^a‘His own hands shall bring the offerings made by fire to the LORD. The fat with the breast he shall bring, that the ^bbreast may be waved as a wave offering before the LORD.

31 ^a‘And the priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the ^bbreast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’.

32 ^a‘Also the right thigh you shall give to the priest as a heave offering from the sacrifices of your peace offerings.

33 ‘He among the sons of Aaron, who offers the blood of the peace offering and the fat, shall have the right thigh for his part.

34 ‘For ^athe breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering I have taken from the children of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons from the children of Israel by a statute forever.’ ”

35 This is the consecrated portion for Aaron and his sons, from the offerings made by fire to the LORD, on the day when Moses presented them to ¹minister to the LORD as priests.

36 The LORD commanded this to be given to them by the children of Israel, ^aon the day that He anointed them, by a statute forever throughout their generations.

37 This is the law ^aof the burnt offering, ^bthe grain offering, ^cthe sin offering, ^dthe trespass offering, ^ethe consecrations, and ^fthe sacrifice of the peace offering,

38 which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day when He commanded the children of Israel ^ato offer their offerings to the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai.

Aaron and His Sons Consecrated

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, say-ing:

2 ^a“Take Aaron and his sons with him, and ^bthe garments, ^cthe anointing oil, a ^dbull as the sin offering, two ^erams, and a basket of unleavened bread;

3 “and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.”

4 So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

5 And Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the LORD commanded to be done.”

6 Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and ^awashed them with water.

7 And he ^aput the tunic on him, girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, and put the ^*ephod on him; and he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod, and with it tied the ephod on him.

8 Then he put the breastplate on him, and he ^aput the ¹Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate.

9 ^aAnd he put the turban on his head. Also on the turban, on its front, he put the golden plate, the holy crown, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

10 ^aAlso Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them.

11 He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the laver and its base, to ¹consecrate them.

12 And he ^apoured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s ^*head and anointed him, to consecrate him.

13 ^aThen Moses brought Aaron’s sons and put tunics on them, girded them with sashes, and put ¹hats on them, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

14 ^aAnd he brought the bull for the sin offering. Then Aaron and his sons ^blaid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering,

15 and Moses killed it. ^aThen he took the blood, and put some on the horns of the altar all around with his finger, and purified the altar. And he poured the blood at the base of the altar, and consecrated it, to make ¹atonement for it.

16 ^aThen he took all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned them on the altar.

17 But the bull, its hide, its flesh, and its offal, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the LORD ^ahad commanded Moses.

18 ^aThen he brought the ram as the burnt offering. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,

19 and Moses killed it. Then he sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.

20 And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses ^aburned the head, the pieces, and the fat.

21 Then he washed the entrails and the legs in water. And Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt sacrifice for a ¹sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD, ^aas the LORD had commanded Moses.

22 And ^ahe brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,

23 and Moses killed it. Also he took some of ^aits blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

24 Then he brought Aaron’s sons. And Moses put some of the ^ablood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.

25 ^aThen he took the fat and the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh;

26 ^aand from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the LORD he took one unleavened cake, a cake of bread anointed with oil, and one wafer, and put them on the fat and on the right thigh;

27 and he put all these ^ain Aaron’s hands and in his sons’ hands, and waved them as a wave offering before the LORD.

28 ^aThen Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar, on the burnt offering. They were consecration offerings for a sweet aroma. That was an offering made by fire to the LORD.

29 And ^aMoses took the ^bbreast and waved it as a wave offering before the LORD. It was Moses’ ^cpart of the ram of consecration, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

30 Then ^aMoses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.

31 And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, ^a“Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of consecration offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’

32 ^a“What remains of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn with fire.

33 “And you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are ended. For ^aseven days he shall consecrate you.

34 ^a“As he has done this day, so the LORD has commanded to do, to make atonement for you.

35 “Therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and ^akeep the ¹charge of the LORD, so that you may not die; for so I have been commanded.”

36 So Aaron and his sons did all the things that the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses.

The Priestly Ministry Begins

1 It came to pass on the ^aeighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.

2 And he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a young ^abull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.

3 “And to the children of Israel you shall speak, saying, ^a‘Take a kid of the goats as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering,

4 ‘also a bull and a ram as peace offerings, to ^*sacrifice before the LORD, and ^aa grain offering mixed with oil; for ^btoday the LORD will appear to you.’ ”

5 So they brought what Moses commanded before the tabernacle of meeting. And all the congregation drew near and stood ¹before the LORD.

6 Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded you to do, and the ^*glory of the LORD will appear to you.”

7 And Moses said to Aaron, “Go to the altar, ^aoffer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people. ^bOffer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them, as the LORD commanded.”

8 Aaron therefore went to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.

9 Then the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him. And he dipped his finger in the blood, put it on the horns of the altar, and poured the blood at the base of the altar.

10 ^aBut the fat, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe from the liver of the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

11 ^aThe flesh and the hide he burned with fire outside the camp.

12 And he killed the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, ^awhich he sprinkled all around on the altar.

13 ^aThen they presented the burnt offering to him, with its pieces and head, and he burned them on the altar.

14 ^aAnd he washed the entrails and the legs, and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar.

15 ^aThen he brought the people’s offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and killed it and offered it for sin, like the first one.

16 And he brought the burnt offering and offered it ^aaccording to the ¹prescribed manner.

17 Then he brought the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, ^abesides the burnt sacrifice of the morning.

18 He also killed the bull and the ram as ^asacrifices of peace offerings, which were for the people. And Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar,

19 and the fat from the bull and the ram—the fatty tail, what covers the entrails and the kidneys, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver;

20 and they put the fat on the breasts. ^aThen he burned the fat on the altar;

21 but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved ^aas a wave offering before the LORD, as Moses had commanded.

22 Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, ^ablessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings.

23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people,

24 and ^afire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they ^bshouted and fell on their ^cfaces.

The Profane Fire of Nadab and Abihu

1 Then ^aNadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, ^beach took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered ^cprofane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them.

2 So ^afire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke, saying:

‘By those ^awho come near Me

I must be regarded as holy;

And before all the people

I must be glorified.’ ”

So Aaron held his peace.

4 Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near, ^acarry your ^*brethren from ¹before the sanctuary out of the camp.”

5 So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said.

6 And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, “Do not ¹uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and ^awrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, ²bewail the burning which the LORD has kindled.

7 ^a“You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, ^bfor the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.

Conduct Prescribed for Priests

8 Then the LORD spoke to Aaron, saying:

9 ^a“Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations,

10 “that you may ^adistinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean,

Word Wealth

10:10 unclean, tame’ (tah-may); Strong’s #2931: Defiled, contaminated, polluted, unclean. This adjective comes from a root verb, also spelled tame’, meaning “to defile or to make unclean.” The adjective tame’ occurs more than 80 times (usually translated “unclean”), 75 percent of these in Lev., Num., and Deut. The cause for uncleanness is contact with unclean things (7:21). In addition, God restricted Israel from eating a number of species of birds, mammals, fish, and insects, which were to be considered unclean. This emphasis on cleanness or uncleanness was a part of God’s design to impress the Israelites with the difference between the two conditions. Not only were the priests to learn to distinguish between holy and unholy, between clean and unclean, but they were to teach that differentiation to all Israel (10:10, 11).

11 ^a“and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.”

12 And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons who were left: ^a“Take the grain offering that remains of the offerings made by fire to the LORD, and eat it without leaven beside the altar; ^bfor it is most holy.

13 “You shall eat it in a ^aholy^* place, because it is your ¹due and your sons’ due, of the sacrifices made by fire to the LORD; for ^bso I have been commanded.

14 ^a“The breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering you shall eat in a clean place, you, your sons, and your ^bdaughters with you; for they are your due and your sons’ ^cdue, which are given from the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel.

15 ^a“The thigh of the heave offering and the breast of the wave offering they shall bring with the offerings of fat made by fire, to offer as a wave offering before the LORD. And it shall be yours and your sons’ with you, by a statute forever, as the LORD has commanded.”

16 Then Moses made careful inquiry about ^athe goat of the sin offering, and there it was—burned up. And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying,

17 ^a“Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a holy place, since it is most holy, and God has given it to you to bear ^bthe guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD?

18 “See! ^aIts blood was not brought inside ¹the holy place; indeed you should have eaten it in a holy place, ^bas I commanded.”

19 And Aaron said to Moses, “Look, ^athis day they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD, and such things have befallen me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, ^bwould it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD?”

20 So when Moses heard that, he was content.

Foods Permitted and Forbidden

1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them,

2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ^a‘These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth:

3 ‘Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud—that you may eat.

4 ‘Nevertheless these you shall ^anot eat among those that chew the cud or those that have cloven hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is ¹unclean to you;

5 ‘the ¹rock hyrax, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is ²unclean to you;

6 ‘the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you;

7 ‘and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, ^ais unclean to you.

8 ‘Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. ^aThey are unclean to you.

9 ^a‘These you may eat of all that are in the water: whatever in the water has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers—that you may eat.

10 ‘But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are ¹an ^aabomination to you.

11 ‘They shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination.

12 ‘Whatever in the water does not have fins or scales—that shall be an abomination to you.

13 ^a‘And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard,

14 ‘the kite, and the falcon after its kind;

15 ‘every raven after its kind,

16 ‘the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after its kind;

17 ‘the little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl;

18 ‘the white owl, the jackdaw, and the carrion vulture;

19 ‘the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.

20 ‘All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an abomination to you.

21 ‘Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth.

22 ‘These you may eat: ^athe locust after its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind.

23 ‘But all other flying insects which have four feet shall be an abomination to you.

Unclean Animals

24 ‘By these you shall become ¹unclean; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until evening;

25 ‘whoever carries part of the carcass of any of them ^ashall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening:

26 ‘The carcass of any animal which divides the foot, but is not cloven-hoofed or does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who touches it shall be unclean.

27 ‘And whatever goes on its paws, among all kinds of animals that go on all fours, those are unclean to you. Whoever touches any such carcass shall be unclean until evening.

28 ‘Whoever carries any such carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. It is unclean to you.

29 ‘These also shall be unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth: the mole, ^athe mouse, and the large lizard after its kind;

30 ‘the gecko, the monitor lizard, the sand reptile, the sand lizard, and the chameleon.

31 ‘These are unclean to you among all that creep. Whoever ^atouches them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening.

32 ‘Anything on which any of them falls, when they are dead shall be ¹unclean, whether it is any item of wood or clothing or skin or sack, whatever item it is, in which any work is done, ^ait must be put in water. And it shall be unclean until evening; then it shall be clean.

33 ‘Any ^aearthen vessel into which any of them falls ^byou shall break; and whatever is in it shall be unclean:

34 ‘in such a vessel, any edible food upon which water falls becomes unclean, and any drink that may be drunk from it becomes unclean.

35 ‘And everything on which a part of any such carcass falls shall be unclean; whether it is an oven or cooking stove, it shall be broken down; for they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you.

36 ‘Nevertheless a spring or a cistern, in which there is plenty of water, shall be clean, but whatever touches any such carcass becomes unclean.

37 ‘And if a part of any such carcass falls on any planting seed which is to be sown, it remains clean.

38 ‘But if water is put on the seed, and if a part of any such carcass falls on it, it becomes ¹unclean to you.

39 ‘And if any animal which you may eat dies, he who touches its carcass shall be ^aunclean until evening.

40 ^a‘He who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.

41 ‘And every creeping thing that creeps on the earth shall be ¹an abomination. It shall not be eaten.

42 ‘Whatever crawls on its belly, whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet among all creeping things that creep on the earth—these you shall not eat, for they are an abomination.

43 ^a‘You shall not make ¹yourselves ²abominable with any creeping thing that creeps; nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them, lest you be defiled by them.

44 ‘For I am the LORD your ^aGod. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and ^byou shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

45 ^a‘For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. ^bYou shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

46 ‘This is the law ¹of the animals and the birds and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth,

47 ^a‘to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.’ ”

The Ritual for Cleansing Healed Lepers

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “This shall be the law of the ¹leper for the day of his cleansing: He ^ashall be brought to the priest.

3 “And the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall examine him; and indeed, if the ¹leprosy is healed in the leper,

4 “then the priest shall command to take for him who is to be ^*cleansed two living and clean birds, ^acedar wood, ^bscarlet, and ^chyssop.

5 “And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water.

6 “As for the living bird, he shall take it, the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water.

7 “And he shall ^asprinkle it ^bseven times on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose in the open field.

8 “He who is to be cleansed ^ashall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and ^bwash himself in water, that he may be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, and ^cshall stay outside his tent seven days.

9 “But on the ^aseventh day he shall shave all the hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows—all his hair he shall shave off. He shall wash his clothes and wash his body in water, and he shall be clean.

10 “And on the eighth day ^ahe shall take two male lambs without blemish, one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as ^ba grain offering, and one log of oil.

11 “Then the priest who makes him clean shall present the man who is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

12 “And the priest shall take one male lamb and ^aoffer it as a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and ^bwave them as a wave offering before the LORD.

13 “Then he shall kill the lamb ^ain the place where he kills the sin offering and the burnt offering, in a holy place; for ^bas the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering. ^cIt is most holy.

14 “The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it ^aon the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

15 “And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand.

16 “Then the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall ^asprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD.

17 “And of the rest of the oil in his hand, the priest shall put some on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the trespass offering.

18 “The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. ^aSo the priest shall make ¹atonement for him before the LORD.

19 “Then the priest shall offer ^athe sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Afterward he shall kill the burnt offering.

20 “And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be ^aclean.

21 “But ^aif he is poor and cannot afford it, then he shall take one male lamb as a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, ¹one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, a log of oil,

22 ^a“and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford: one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.

23 ^a“He shall bring them to the priest on the eighth day for his cleansing, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, before the LORD.

24 ^a“And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the LORD.

25 “Then he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, ^aand the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

26 “And the priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand.

27 “Then the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD.

28 “And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering.

29 “The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD.

30 “And he shall offer one of ^athe turtledoves or young pigeons, such as he can afford—

31 “such as he is able to afford, the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him who is to be cleansed before the LORD.

32 “This is the law for one who had a leprous sore, who cannot afford ^athe usual cleansing.”

The Law Concerning Leprous Houses

33 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

34 ^a“When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give you as a ^*possession, and ^bI put the ¹leprous plague in a ^*house in the land of your possession,

35 “and he who owns the house comes and tells the priest, saying, ‘It seems to me that there is ^asome plague in the house,’

36 “then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goes into it to examine the plague, that all that is in the house may not be made unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to examine the house.

37 “And he shall examine the plague; and indeed if the plague is on the walls of the house with ingrained streaks, greenish or reddish, which appear to be ¹deep in the wall,

38 “then the priest shall go out of the house, to the door of the house, and ¹shut up the house seven days.

39 “And the priest shall come again on the seventh day and look; and indeed if the plague has spread on the walls of the house,

40 “then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which is the plague, and they shall cast them into an unclean place outside the city.

41 “And he shall cause the house to be scraped inside, all around, and the dust that they scrape off they shall pour out in an unclean place outside the city.

42 “Then they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other mortar and plaster the house.

43 “Now if the plague comes back and breaks out in the house, after he has taken away the stones, after he has scraped the house, and after it is plastered,

44 “then the priest shall come and look; and indeed if the plague has spread in the house, it is ^aan active leprosy in the house. It is unclean.

45 “And he shall break down the house, its stones, its timber, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall carry them outside the city to an unclean place.

46 “Moreover he who goes into the house at all while it is shut up shall be ¹unclean ^auntil evening.

47 “And he who lies down in the house shall ^awash his clothes, and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes.

48 “But if the priest comes in and examines it, and indeed the plague has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.

49 “And ^ahe shall take, to cleanse the house, two birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop.

50 “Then he shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water;

51 “and he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times.

52 “And he shall ¹cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and the running water and the living bird, with the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet.

53 “Then he shall let the living bird loose outside the city in the open field, and ^amake atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.

54 “This is the law for any ^aleprous sore and scale,

55 “for the ^aleprosy of a garment ^band of a house,

56 ^a“for a swelling and a scab and a bright spot,

57 “to ^ateach^* when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the law of leprosy.”

The Law Concerning Bodily Discharges

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ^a‘When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean.

3 ‘And this shall be his uncleanness in regard to his discharge—whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is stopped up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness.

4 ‘Every bed is ¹unclean on which he who has the discharge lies, and everything on which he sits shall be unclean.

5 ‘And whoever ^atouches his bed shall ^bwash his clothes and ^cbathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

6 ‘He who sits on anything on which he who has the ^adischarge sat shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

7 ‘And he who touches the body of him who has the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

8 ‘If he who has the discharge ^aspits on him who is clean, then he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

9 ‘Any saddle on which he who has the discharge rides shall be unclean.

10 ‘Whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until evening. He who carries any of those things shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

11 ‘And whomever the one who has the discharge touches, and has not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

12 ‘The ^avessel of earth that he who has the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.

13 ‘And when he who has a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then ^ahe shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe his body in running water; then he shall be clean.

14 ‘On the eighth day he shall take for himself ^atwo turtledoves or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and give them to the priest.

15 ‘Then the priest shall offer them, ^athe one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. ^bSo the priest shall make ¹atonement for him before the LORD because of his discharge.

16 ^a‘If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean until evening.

17 ‘And any garment and any leather on which there is semen, it shall be washed with water, and be unclean until evening.

18 ‘Also, when a woman lies with a man, and there is an emission of semen, they shall bathe in water, and ^abe unclean until evening.

19 ^a‘If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be ¹set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening.

20 ‘Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean.

21 ‘Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

22 ‘And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

23 ‘If anything is on her bed or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening.

24 ‘And ^aif any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him, he shall be ¹unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

25 ‘If ^aa woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean.

26 ‘Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity.

27 ‘Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

28 ‘But ^aif she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.

29 ‘And on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

30 ‘Then the priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a ^aburnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for her before the LORD for the discharge of her uncleanness.

31 ‘Thus you shall ^aseparate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness when they ^bdefile My tabernacle that is among them.

32 ^a‘This is the law for one who has a discharge, ^band for him who emits semen and is unclean thereby,

33 ^a‘and for her who is indisposed because of her customary impurity, and for one who has a discharge, either man ^bor woman, ^cand for him who lies with her who is unclean.’ ”

The Day of Atonement

1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses after ^athe death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the LORD, and died;

2 and the LORD said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother ^anot to come at just any ^*time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for ^bI will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

3 ¹“Thus Aaron shall ^acome into the Holy Place: ^bwith the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering.

4 “He shall put the ^aholy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore ^bhe shall wash his body in water, and put them on.

5 “And he shall take from ^athe congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering.

6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and ^amake atonement for himself and for his house.

7 “He shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

8 “Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat.

9 “And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering.

10 “But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make ^aatonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.

11 “And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for ^ahimself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself.

12 “Then he shall take ^aa censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, with his hands full of ^bsweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil.

13 ^a“And he shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of incense may cover the ^bmercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he ^cdie.

14 ^a“He shall take some of the blood of the bull and ^bsprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

15 ^a“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood ^binside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.

16 “So he shall ^amake atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which ^*remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

17 “There shall be ^ano man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.

Word Wealth

16:17 assembly, qahal (kah-hal); Strong’s #6951: A congregation, assembly, company; a multitude that has been “called together.” The verb qahal which means “to call together, to assemble, to gather together, to convoke.” Qahal is used in reference to the whole congregation of Israel nearly 30 times in Ex. through Deut. While the people comprised an actual family or nation, they were also a spiritual congregation. The NT word ekklesia (a congregation “called together”) parallels qahal. Ekklesia is translated as “church,” but “assembly” or “congregation” is more accurate. Thus God’s dealing with the qahal in the OT prefigures His dealings with His assemblies in the NT. Thus the earliest pattern of congregational life is the “church” in the wilderness.

18 “And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD, and make atonement for ^ait, 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.

19 “Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, cleanse it, and ^aconsecrate¹ it from the ²uncleanness of the children of Israel.

20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat.

21 “Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, ^aconfess over it all the ^*iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, ^bputting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.

22 “The goat ¹shall ^abear on itself all their iniquities to an ²uninhabited land; and he shall ^brelease the goat in the wilderness.

23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of meeting, ^ashall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there.

24 “And he shall wash his body with water in a holy place, put on his garments, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make ¹atonement for himself and for the people.

25 ^a“The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar.

26 “And he who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes ^aand bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.