Leviticus 16

1Yahweh spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons, when they drew near before Yahweh and died.

2Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron your brother: he must not come at any time into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat on the ark, or he will die, for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.”

3Aaron shall enter the sanctuary in this manner: with a bull calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

4He shall wear the holy linen tunic, with linen breeches covering his body; he shall gird himself with the linen sash and fit the linen turban. These are the holy garments. He shall wash his body in water and put them on.

5He shall take two goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering from the Israelite assembly.

6Aaron shall present the bull for the sin offering that is for him and atone for himself and for his house.

7He shall bring the two goats and station them before Yahweh at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

8Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for Yahweh and one lot for Azazel.

9Aaron shall bring the goat on which the lot for Yahweh came up, and make it a sin offering.

10But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat came up shall be presented alive before Yahweh to make atonement over it, to send it away for the scapegoat into the wilderness.

11Aaron shall present the bull for his sin offering, make atonement for himself and for his house, and slaughter the bull for his sin offering.

12He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from upon the altar before Yahweh, his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it within the veil.

13He shall put the incense on the fire before Yahweh so that the cloud of the incense covers the mercy seat that rests upon the testimony, and he will not die.

14He shall take some of the bull's blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat eastward, and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

15He shall slaughter the sin offering goat for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with its blood as he did with the bull's blood, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.

16He shall make atonement for the holy place because of the uncleannesses of Israel's sons and their transgressions in all their sins, and so he shall do for the tent of meeting that dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.

17No one shall be in the Tent of Meeting when he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and makes atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.

18He shall go out to the altar before Yahweh and make atonement for it, take some of the bull's blood and some of the goat's blood, and put it on the horns of the altar all around.

19He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and purify it and sanctify it from the uncleannesses of the sons of Israel.

20When he finishes atoning for the holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar, he presents the live goat.

21Aaron places both his hands on the head of the live goat, confesses over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions for all their sins, puts them on the head of the goat, and sends it away into the wilderness by the hand of a ready man.

22The goat bears all their iniquities upon itself to an uninhabited land, and he releases the goat into the wilderness.

23Aaron enters the tent of meeting and removes the linen garments he wore when he entered the holy place, and leaves them there.

24He shall bathe his body in water in the holy place, put on his garments, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.

25And he shall burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

26The one who sends the goat to Azazel shall wash his clothes, bathe his body in water, and afterward enter the camp.

27The bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the sanctuary, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their skins, their flesh, and their dung in fire.

28The one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he shall enter the camp.

29This shall be an eternal statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and do no work at all, whether native-born or the alien residing among you.

30For on this day he will atone for you to cleanse you from all your sins before Yahweh; you will be clean.

31It is a sabbath of rest for you, and you shall humble your souls; it is an eternal statute.

32The priest whom he anoints and whose hand he fills to serve as priest in place of his father shall make atonement and put on the linen garments, the holy garments.

33He shall atone for the holy sanctuary, and he shall atone for the tent of meeting and the altar, and he shall atone for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.

34This shall be your perpetual statute for atoning over the sons of Israel for all their sins once yearly. And he carried it out as Yahweh commanded Moses.