Leviticus 16:1-10

The Day of Atonement

1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron's sons when they approached the presence of^[a] the Lord and died.^[b]

2 The Lord said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron that he may not come whenever he wants into the holy place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.^[c]

3 "Aaron is to enter the [most] holy place in this way: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.^[d]

4 He is to wear a holy linen tunic, and linen undergarments are to be on his body. He must tie a linen sash [around him] and wrap his head with a linen turban.^[e] These are holy garments; he must bathe his body with water before he wears them.

5 He is to take from the Israelite community two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.^[f]

6 "Aaron will present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household.

7 Next he will take the two goats and place them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

8 After Aaron casts lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other for Azazel,^[g]

9 he is to present the goat chosen by lot for the Lord and sacrifice it as a sin offering.^[h]

10 But the goat chosen by lot for Azazel is to be presented alive before the Lord to make purification with it by sending it into the wilderness for Azazel.

Leviticus 16:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 16

This chapter treats of the day of atonement, and of the rites, sacrifices, and services of it, directs when Aaron should come into the holy of holies, Le 16:1,2; and in what habit he should then appear, and with what offerings both for himself, and for the people, Le 16:3-10; and that having slain his own sin offering, and that for the people, he should offer incense before the mercy seat, and sprinkle that with the blood of both, Le 16:11-15; and by these offerings make atonement for the holy place, the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, Le 16:16-19; and having done this, he was to take the live goat, lay his hands on it, confess over it, and put upon it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and then send it away by a fit man into the wilderness, Le 16:20-22; upon which he was to put off his linen garments, wash his flesh, and put them on again, and offer the burnt offering for himself, and for the people, Le 16:23-25; also he that let go the goat, and he that carried and burnt the sin offerings without the camp, were to wash themselves and clothes also, Le 16:26-28; the observance of this day, once a year, which was on the tenth of the seventh month, as a day of affliction and atonement, was to be a statute for ever to the children of Israel, Le 16:29-34.

Footnotes

• [a]. LXX, Tg, Syr, Vg read they brought strange fire before; Nm 3:4
• [b]. Lv 10:1-2
• [c]. Nm 7:89; 16:42; 1 Kg 8:10-12; Heb 9:5
• [d]. Lv 4:3-12; 8:18; 9:2
• [e]. Lv 6:10; 8:7-8; Ex 28:42-43; Ezk 44:17-19
• [f]. Lv 4:23-24; 8:18-21; 9:15
• [g]. Azazel may be the name of a demon; traditionally, scapegoat
• [h]. Nm 29:11