The Law of Atonement
1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they came near before the Lord and died. 2 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron, your brother and tell him that he is not to come any time he wishes, into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat which is upon the ark, or he will die, for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat.
3 Aaron shall come into the sanctuary with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
4 He shall put on the holy linen tunic. He shall have the linen trousers on his body and shall put on the linen sash, and he shall be clothed with the linen turban. They are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and put them on.
5 He shall take from the congregation of the Israelites, two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. 6 Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering for himself and make atonement for himself and for his house.
7 He shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 8 Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and offer him for a sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot fell for the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement for him, to send him away as the scapegoat into the wilderness.
The Sin Offering for the Priest
11 Aaron shall present the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house and shall slaughter the bull as a sin offering for himself. 12 He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small and bring it within the veil. 13 He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the covenant, so that he will not die. 14 He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east, and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
The Sin Offering for the People
15 Then he shall kill the goat which is the sin offering for the people and bring his blood within the veil and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the bull and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. 16 He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the Israelites and because of their transgressions, for all of their sins, and so he shall do at the Tent of Meeting that dwells with them in the middle of their uncleanness. 17 No one shall be in the Tent of Meeting when he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel.
18 He shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it and shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it around on the horns of the altar. 19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse and consecrate it from the sins of the Israelites.
The Scapegoat
20 When he has finished atoning for the Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over him all the iniquities of the Israelites, and all their transgressions–all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and a man fit for the task shall send him into the wilderness. 22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities and send them into an uninhabited land, and he shall let the goat go into the wilderness.
23 Aaron shall come into the Tent of Meeting and shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place and shall leave them there. 24 Then he shall bathe himself in water in a holy place, put on his garments, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 He shall burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
26 He who lets the goat go as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water and afterward he shall come into the camp. 27 The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp, and they shall burn their skins, their flesh, and their dung with fire. 28 He who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.”
The Day of Atonement
29 “This shall be a statute to you forever. In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls and shall do no work of any kind, whether native-born or a stranger who lives as a foreigner among you, 30 for atonement shall be made for you on this day, to cleanse you. You shall be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 31 It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.
32 The priest, who is anointed and who is consecrated to be priest in his father’s place, shall make the atonement and shall put on the linen garments and the holy garments. 33 Then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the Tent of Meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the congregation.
34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the Israelites once a year because of all their sins.”
It was done as the Lord commanded Moses.