Leviticus 9

1 Forsooth when the eighth day was made, Moses called Aaron, and his sons, and the greater men in birth of Israel (and the men of great age in Israel, that is, the elders);

2 and he said to Aaron, Take thou of the drove a calf for sin, and a ram for burnt sacrifice, ever either without wem, and offer thou them before the Lord. (and he said to Aaron, Take thou a calf from the herd for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt sacrifice, both without blemish, and offer thou them before the Lord.)

3 And thou shalt speak to the sons of Israel, Take ye a buck of goats for sin, and a calf, and a lamb, (both) of one year, and without wem, into burnt sacrifice, (And thou shalt say to the Israelites, Take ye a goat buck for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both of one year, and without blemish, for a burnt sacrifice,)

4 (and) an ox and a ram for peaceable things; and offer ye them before the Lord, and offer ye [tried] wheat flour sprinkled with oil in the sacrifice of each of them; for today the Lord shall appear to you. (and an ox and a ram for peace offerings; and offer ye them before the Lord, and offer ye fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil along with each offering; for today the Lord shall appear to you.)

5 Therefore they took all things, which Moses commanded, to the door of the tabernacle, where, when all the multitude stood, (And so they took all these things, which Moses commanded, to the entrance of the Tabernacle, where, when all the multitude stood,)

6 Moses said, This is the word which the Lord commanded (This is what the Lord commanded), do ye it, and his glory shall appear to you.

7 And Moses said to Aaron, Nigh thou to the altar, and offer thou for thy sin; offer thou burnt sacrifice, and pray for thee, and for the people; and when thou hast slain the sacrifice of the people, pray thou for them, as the Lord commanded. (And Moses said to Aaron, Approach thou to the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt sacrifice, and pray for thyself, and for the people; and when thou hast killed the offering for the people, pray thou for them, as the Lord commanded.)

8 And anon Aaron nighed to the altar, and offered a calf for his sin; (And at once Aaron approached the altar, and offered a calf for his own sin offering;)

9 whose blood his sons offered, or brought, to him, in which blood Aaron dipped his finger, and he touched the horns of the altar, and he poured the blood that was left at the foundament of the altar (and he poured out the blood that was left at the foundation, or at the base, of the altar);

10 and he burnt upon the altar the inner fatness, and the little reins, and the caul of the maw, (for the sin offering,) as the Lord commanded to Moses.

11 Forsooth Aaron burnt with fire without the tents the flesh and the skin thereof. (But Aaron burned its flesh and its skin away from the tents.)

12 And he offered the beast of burnt sacrifice, and his sons brought to him the blood thereof, which he shedded by compass of the altar; (And then he offered the beast for the burnt sacrifice, and his sons brought him its blood, which he threw against all the sides of the altar;)

13 they offered also that sacrifice cut into gobbets, with the head, and all the members; and he burnt by fire all these things upon the altar, (and they gave him the offering cut into pieces, with the head, and all its members; and he burned all these things on the altar,)

14 when the entrails and the feet were washed before with water. (and when the innards and the feet were washed in water, they were also burned, on top of the burnt sacrifice.)

15 And he offered and killed a buck of goats, for the sin of the people (And then he brought forth and offered a goat buck, for the people's sin offering); and when the altar was cleansed, he made (the) burnt sacrifice,

16 and he added into the sacrifice flowing offerings, that be offered together; (and he added the grain offering to the sacrifice, that should be offered with it;)

17 and he burnt those on the altar, without the ceremonies of [the] burnt sacrifice of the morrowtide. (and he burned a handful of the grain offering on the altar, in addition to the morning burnt sacrifice.)

18 He offered also an ox, and a ram, [the] peaceable sacrifices of the people; and his sons offered to him the blood, the which he poured by compass of the altar. (And he offered the ox and the ram, for the peace offerings of the people; and his sons brought him the blood, which he threw against all the sides of the altar.)

19 Forsooth they putted on the breasts the inner fatness of the ox, and the tail of the ram, and the little reins with their fatnesses, and the caul of the maw.

20 And when the inner fatnesses were burnt upon the altar,

21 Aaron separated the breasts, and the right shoulders of them, and raised them (up as a special gift) before the Lord, as Moses commanded.

22 And he stretched forth his hands to the people, and blessed it; and so when the sacrifices for sin, and [the] burnt sacrifices, and [the] peaceable sacrifices, were fulfilled, Aaron came down from the place of sacrificing. (And he stretched forth his hands to the people, and blessed them; and when the sin offerings, the burnt sacrifices, and the peace offerings, were finished, Aaron came down from the place for sacrificing.)

23 Soothly Moses and Aaron entered into the tabernacle of witnessing, and went out afterward, and blessed the people; (And Moses and Aaron entered into the Tabernacle of the Witnessing, and when they came out afterward, they blessed the people;)

24 and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the multitude. And lo! fire went out from the Lord, and devoured the burnt sacrifice, and the inner fatnesses that were upon the altar; and when the companies had seen this thing, they praised the Lord, and felled on their faces (and when the congregation saw this, they praised the Lord, and fell on their faces).

Leviticus 9 Commentary

Chapter 9

The first offerings of Aaron for himself and the people. (1-21) Moses and Aaron bless the people, Fire cometh upon the altar from the Lord. (22-24)

Verses 1-21 These many sacrifices, which were all done away by the death of Christ, teach us that our best services need washing in his blood, and that the guilt of our best sacrifices needs to be done away by one more pure and more noble than they. Let us be thankful that we have such a High Priest. The priests had not a day's respite from service allowed. God's spiritual priests have constant work, which the duty of every day requires; they that would give up their account with joy, must redeem time. The glory of God appeared in the sight of the people, and owned what they had done. We are not now to expect such appearances, but God draws nigh to those who draw nigh to him, and the offerings of faith are acceptable to him; though the sacrifices being spiritual, the tokens of the acceptance are spiritual likewise. When Aaron had done all that was to be done about the sacrifices, he lifted up his hands towards the people, and blessed them. Aaron could but crave a blessing, God alone can command it.

Verses 22-24 When the solemnity was finished, and the blessing pronounced, God testified his acceptance. There came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed the sacrifice. This fire might justly have fastened upon the people, and have consumed them for their sins; but its consuming the sacrifice signified God's acceptance of it, as an atonement for the sinner. This also was a figure of good things to come. The Spirit descended upon the apostles in fire. And the descent of this holy fire into our souls, to kindle in them pious and devout affections toward God, and such a holy zeal as burns up the flesh and the lusts of it, is a certain token of God's gracious acceptance of our persons and performances. Nothing goes to God, but what comes from him. We must have grace, that holy fire, from the God of grace, else we cannot serve him acceptably, ( Hebrews 12:28 ) . The people were affected with this discovery of God's glory and grace. They received it with the highest joy; triumphing in the assurance given them that they had God nigh unto them. And with the lowest reverence; humbly adoring the majesty of that God, who vouchsafed thus to manifest himself to them. That is a sinful fear of God, which drives us from him; a gracious fear makes us bow before him.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 9

Aaron and his sons, being consecrated to and invested with the priest's office, are called upon to the exercise of it, to offer a sin offering and a burnt offering for themselves, and all sorts of offerings, a sin offering, a burnt offering, peace offerings, and a meat offering, for the people; and a promise is made for their encouragement, that the glory of the Lord would appear to them, Le 9:1-7 and which were in their course accordingly offered; first, Aaron's sin offering for himself, Le 9:8-11 then his burnt offering, Le 9:12-14 after that the several offerings of the people before mentioned, Le 9:15-21 when Aaron and Moses blessed the people, the one as soon as he had done offering, and both together when they came out of the tabernacle, Le 9:22,23 upon which a fire came forth from the Lord, and consumed the burnt offering upon the altar, Le 9:24.