February 2

Leviticus 8:1 — 10:20

8  And Jehovah proceeded to speak to Moses, saying: 2 “Take Aaron and his sons with him and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the basket of unfermented cakes, 3 and make all the assembly congregate at the entrance of the tent of meeting.”

     4 Then Moses did just as Jehovah had commanded him, and the assembly congregated at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 5 Moses now said to the assembly: “This is the thing that Jehovah has given command to do.” 6 So Moses brought Aaron and his sons near and washed them with water. 7 After that he put the robe upon him and girded him with the sash and clothed him with the sleeveless coat and put the ephod upon him and girded him with the girdle of the ephod and bound it closely to him with it. 8 Next he placed the breastpiece upon him and put in the breastpiece the Urim and the Thummim. 9 Then he placed the turban upon his head and placed upon the turban at the forefront of it the shining plate of gold, the holy sign of dedication, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

     10 Moses now took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it and sanctified them. 11 After that he spattered some of it seven times upon the altar and anointed the altar and all its utensils and the basin and its stand so as to sanctify them. 12 Finally he poured some of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head and anointed him so as to sanctify him.

     13 Moses then brought Aaron’s sons near and clothed them with robes and girded them with sashes and wrapped the headgear upon them, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

     14 Then he led up the bull of the sin offering and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bull of the sin offering. 15 And Moses proceeded to slaughter it and take the blood and put it with his finger upon the horns of the altar round about and purify the altar from sin, but the rest of the blood he poured at the base of the altar, that he might sanctify it to make atonement upon it. 16 After that he took all the fat that was upon the intestines, and the appendage of the liver and the two kidneys and their fat and Moses made them smoke upon the altar. 17 And he had the bull and its skin and its flesh and its dung burned with fire outside the camp, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

     18 He now brought the ram of the burnt offering near, and Aaron and his sons then laid their hands upon the head of the ram. 19 After that Moses slaughtered it and sprinkled the blood round about upon the altar. 20 And he cut up the ram into its pieces, and Moses proceeded to make the head and the pieces and the suet smoke. 21 And the intestines and the shanks he washed with water, and Moses then made the entire ram smoke upon the altar. It was a burnt offering for a restful odor. It was an offering made by fire to Jehovah, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

     22 Then he brought the second ram, the ram of the installation, near, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the ram’s head. 23 After that Moses slaughtered it and took some of its blood and put it upon the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and upon the thumb of his right hand and upon the big toe of his right foot. 24 Next Moses brought Aaron’s sons near and put some of the blood upon the lobe of their right ear and upon the thumb of their right hand and upon the big toe of their right foot; but Moses sprinkled the rest of the blood round about upon the altar.

     25 Then he took the fat and the fat tail and all the fat that was upon the intestines, and the appendage of the liver and the two kidneys and their fat and the right leg. 26 And out of the basket of unfermented cakes that was before Jehovah he took one unfermented ring-shaped cake and one ring-shaped cake of oiled bread and one wafer. He then placed them upon the fatty pieces and the right leg. 27 After that he put all of them upon the palms of Aaron and the palms of his sons and began to wave them to and fro as a wave offering before Jehovah. 28 Then Moses took them off their palms and made them smoke upon the altar on top of the burnt offering. They were an installation sacrifice for a restful odor. It was an offering made by fire to Jehovah.

     29 And Moses proceeded to take the breast and to wave it to and fro as a wave offering before Jehovah. From the installation ram it became the portion for Moses, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

     30 After that Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was upon the altar and spattered it upon Aaron and his garments and upon his sons and the garments of his sons with him. Thus he sanctified Aaron and his garments and his sons and the garments of his sons with him.

     31 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons: “Boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and there is where YOU will eat it and the bread that is in the installation basket, just as I was given the command, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons will eat it.’ 32 And what is left over of the flesh and the bread YOU will burn with fire. 33 And YOU must not go out from the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day of fulfilling the days of YOUR installation, because it will take seven days to fill YOUR hand with power. 34 Just as it has been done this day, Jehovah has commanded to be done so as to make atonement for YOU. 35 And YOU will stay at the entrance of the tent of meeting day and night for seven days, and YOU must keep the obligatory watch of Jehovah, that YOU may not die; for so I have been commanded.”

     36 And Aaron and his sons proceeded to do all the things that Jehovah had commanded by means of Moses.


9  And it came about on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the older men of Israel. 2 Then he said to Aaron: “Take for yourself a young calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, sound ones, and present them before Jehovah. 3 But to the sons of Israel you will speak, saying, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering and a calf and a young ram, each a year old, sound ones, for a burnt offering, 4 and a bull and a ram for communion sacrifices to sacrifice them before Jehovah, and a grain offering moistened with oil, because today is when Jehovah will certainly appear to YOU.’”

     5 Accordingly they took what Moses had commanded before the tent of meeting. Then the whole assembly came near and stood before Jehovah. 6 And Moses went on to say: “This is the thing that Jehovah has commanded YOU should do, that the glory of Jehovah may appear to YOU.” 7 Then Moses said to Aaron: “Go near to the altar and render up your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement in your own behalf and in behalf of your house; and render up the offering of the people and make atonement in their behalf, just as Jehovah has commanded.”

     8 Aaron immediately went near to the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering that was for him. 9 Then Aaron’s sons presented the blood to him and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it upon the horns of the altar, and the rest of the blood he poured at the base of the altar. 10 And he made the fat and the kidneys and the appendage of the liver from the sin offering smoke upon the altar, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses. 11 And he burned the flesh and the skin with fire outside the camp.

     12 Then he slaughtered the burnt offering and Aaron’s sons handed him the blood and he sprinkled it round about upon the altar. 13 And they handed him the burnt offering in its pieces and the head, and he proceeded to make them smoke upon the altar. 14 Further, he washed the intestines and the shanks and made them smoke upon the burnt offering on the altar.

     15 He now went presenting the offering of the people and took the goat of the sin offering that was for the people and slaughtered it and made an offering for sin with it as with the first. 16 Then he presented the burnt offering and handled it according to the regular procedure.

     17 He next presented the grain offering and filled his hand with some of it and made it smoke upon the altar, apart from the burnt offering of the morning.

     18 After that he slaughtered the bull and the ram of the communion sacrifice that was for the people. Then Aaron’s sons handed him the blood and he sprinkled it round about upon the altar. 19 As for the fatty pieces of the bull and the fat tail of the ram and the fat covering and the kidneys and the appendage of the liver, 20 they now placed the fatty pieces upon the breasts, after which he made the fatty pieces smoke upon the altar. 21 But the breasts and the right leg Aaron waved to and fro as a wave offering before Jehovah, just as Moses had commanded.

     22 Then Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them and came down from rendering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the communion sacrifices. 23 Finally Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting and came out and blessed the people.

     Then Jehovah’s glory appeared to all the people, 24 and fire came out from before Jehovah and began consuming the burnt offering and the fatty pieces upon the altar. When all the people got to see it, they broke out into shouting and went falling upon their faces.

10  Later on Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took up and brought each one his fire holder and put fire in them and placed incense upon it, and they began offering before Jehovah illegitimate fire, which he had not prescribed for them. 2 At this a fire came out from before Jehovah and consumed them, so that they died before Jehovah. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron: “This is what Jehovah has spoken, saying, ‘Among those near to me let me be sanctified, and before the face of all the people let me be glorified.’” And Aaron kept silent.

    4 So Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, Aaron’s uncle, and said to them: “Come near, carry YOUR brothers from in front of the holy place to outside the camp.” 5 They accordingly came near and carried them in their robes to outside the camp, just as Moses had spoken.

     6 Subsequently Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his [other] sons: “Do not let YOUR heads go ungroomed, and YOU must not tear YOUR garments, that YOU may not die and that he may not become indignant against all the assembly; but YOUR brothers of the whole house of Israel will do the weeping over the burning, which Jehovah has made burn. 7 And from the entrance of the tent of meeting YOU must not go out for fear YOU may die, because Jehovah’s anointing oil is upon YOU.” So they did according to Moses’ word.

     8 And Jehovah proceeded to speak to Aaron, saying: 9 “Do not drink wine or intoxicating liquor, you and your sons with you, when YOU come into the tent of meeting, that YOU may not die. It is a statute to time indefinite for YOUR generations, 10 both in order to make a distinction between the holy thing and the profane and between the unclean thing and the clean, 11 and in order to teach the sons of Israel all the regulations that Jehovah has spoken to them by means of Moses.”

     12 Then Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons that were left: “Take the grain offering that was left over from Jehovah’s offerings made by fire and eat it unfermented near the altar, because it is something most holy. 13 And YOU must eat it in a holy place, because it is your allowance and the allowance of your sons from Jehovah’s offerings made by fire; for so I have been commanded. 14 And YOU will eat the breast of the wave offering and the leg of the sacred portion in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, because they have been given as your allowance and the allowance of your sons from the communion sacrifices of the sons of Israel. 15 They will bring the leg of the sacred portion and the breast of the wave offering along with the offerings made by fire, of the fatty pieces, in order to wave the wave offering to and fro before Jehovah; and it must serve as an allowance to time indefinite for you and your sons with you, just as Jehovah has commanded.”

      16 And Moses searched thoroughly for the goat of the sin offering, and, look! it had been burned up. So he grew indignant at Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons that were left, saying: 17 “Why did YOU not eat the sin offering in the place that is holy, since it is something most holy and he has given it to YOU that YOU may answer for the error of the assembly so as to make atonement for them before Jehovah? 18 Look! Its blood has not been brought into the holy place within. YOU should have eaten it without fail in the holy place, just as I had been commanded.” 19 At this Aaron spoke to Moses: “Look! Today they have presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before Jehovah, while such things as these began to befall me; and had I eaten the sin offering today, would it prove satisfactory in Jehovah’s eyes?” 20 When Moses got to hear that, then it proved satisfactory in his eyes.