Consecration of Aaron and His Sons

1 ^wThe Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and ^xthe garments and ^ythe anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread. 3 And assemble all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting.” 4 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

5 And Moses said to the congregation, ^z“This is the thing that the Lord has commanded to be done.” 6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. 7 And he put ^athe coat on him and tied the sash around his waist and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him and tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod around him, binding it to him with the band.¹ 8 And he placed the breastpiece on him, and ^bin the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. 9 And he set ^athe turban on his head, and ^con the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord commanded Moses.

10 ^dThen Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. 11 And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. 12 And ^ehe poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him. 13 And Moses brought Aaron’s sons and clothed them with coats and tied sashes around their waists and bound caps on them, as the Lord commanded Moses.

14 Then he brought ^fthe bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons ^glaid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering. 15 And he² killed it, and ^hMoses took the blood, and with his finger put it on the horns of the altar around it and purified the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it to make atonement for it. 16 ⁱAnd he took all the fat that was on the entrails and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned them on the altar. 17 But ^jthe bull and its skin and its flesh and its dung he burned up with fire outside the camp, as the Lord commanded Moses.

18 ^kThen he presented the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 19 And he killed it, and Moses threw the blood against the sides of the altar. 20 He cut the ram into pieces, and Moses burned ^lthe head and the pieces and the fat. 21 He washed the entrails and the legs with water, and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering with a pleasing aroma, a food offering for the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

22 Then ^mhe presented the other ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 23 And he killed it, and Moses took some of its blood and ⁿput it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 Then he presented Aaron’s sons, and Moses put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses threw the blood against the sides of the altar. 25 Then he took the fat and the fat tail and all the fat that was on the entrails and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat and the right thigh, 26 and out of the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord he took one unleavened loaf and one loaf of bread with oil and one wafer and placed them on the pieces of fat and on the right thigh. 27 And he put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons and waved them as a wave offering before the Lord. 28 Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar with the burnt offering. This was an ordination offering with a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. 29 And Moses took the breast and waved it for a wave offering before the Lord. It was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, as the Lord commanded Moses.

30 Then ^oMoses took some of the anointing oil and of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments, and also on his sons and his sons’ garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.

31 And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ 32 And what remains of the flesh and the bread you shall burn up with fire. 33 And you shall not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed, for it ^pwill take seven days to ordain you. 34 As has been done today, the Lord has commanded to be done to make atonement for you. 35 At the entrance of the tent of meeting you shall remain day and night for seven days, performing what the Lord has ^qcharged, so that you do not die, for so I have been commanded.” 36 And Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord commanded by Moses.

The Lord Accepts Aaron’s Offering

1 ^rOn the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel, 2 and he said to Aaron, ^s“Take for yourself a bull calf for a sin offering and ^ta ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and offer them before the Lord. 3 And say to the people of Israel, ^u‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both a year old without blemish, for a burnt offering, 4 and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord, and ^va grain offering mixed with oil, for ^wtoday the Lord will appear to you.’” 5 And they brought what Moses commanded in front of the tent of meeting, and all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord. 6 And Moses said, “This is the thing that the Lord commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” 7 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Draw near to the altar and ^xoffer your sin offering and your burnt offering and ^ymake atonement for yourself and for the people, and bring the offering of the people and make atonement for them, as the Lord has commanded.”

8 So Aaron drew near to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. 9 ^zAnd the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and ^aput it on the horns of the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar. 10 ^bBut the fat and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering he burned on the altar, ^cas the Lord commanded Moses. 11 ^dThe flesh and the skin he burned up with fire outside the camp.

12 Then he killed the burnt offering, and Aaron’s sons handed him the blood, and he ^ethrew it against the sides of the altar. 13 ^fAnd they handed the burnt offering to him, piece by piece, and the head, and he burned them on the altar. 14 ^gAnd he washed the entrails and the legs and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar.

15 ^hThen he presented the people’s offering and took the goat of the sin offering that was for the people and killed it and ⁱoffered it as a sin offering, ^jlike the first one. 16 And he presented the burnt offering and offered it ^kaccording to the ^lrule. 17 And he presented the ^mgrain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, ⁿbesides the burnt offering of the morning.

18 Then he killed the ox and the ram, ^othe sacrifice of peace offerings for the people. And Aaron’s sons handed him the blood, and he threw it against the sides of the altar. 19 But the fat pieces of the ox and of the ram, the fat tail and that which covers ^pthe entrails and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver— 20 they put the fat pieces on the breasts, ^qand he burned the fat pieces on the altar, 21 but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved ^rfor a wave offering before the Lord, as Moses commanded.

22 Then Aaron ^slifted up his hands toward the people and ^tblessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. 23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and ^uthe glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24 And ^vfire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, ^wthey shouted and ^xfell on their faces.

The Death of Nadab and Abihu

1 Now ^yNadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, ^zeach took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered ^aunauthorized³ fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire ^bcame out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among ^cthose who are near me ^dI will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” ^eAnd Aaron held his peace.

4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of ^fUzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” 5 So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. 6 And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, ^g“Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and ^hwrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled. 7 ⁱAnd do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, ^jfor the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.

8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 ^k“Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 10 You are to ^ldistinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and ^myou are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”

12 Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his surviving sons: “Take the ⁿgrain offering that is left of the Lord’s food offerings, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for ^oit is most holy. 13 You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due, from the Lord’s food offerings, for ^pso I am commanded. 14 But the ^qbreast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as your due and your sons’ due from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the people of Israel. 15 ^rThe thigh that is contributed and the breast that is waved they shall bring with the food offerings of the fat pieces to wave for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be yours and your sons’ with you as a due forever, as the Lord has commanded.”

16 Now Moses diligently inquired about ^sthe goat of the sin offering, and behold, it was burned up! And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the surviving sons of Aaron, saying, 17 ^t“Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since ^oit is a thing most holy and has been given to you that you may bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? 18 Behold, ^uits blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly ought to have eaten it in the sanctuary, ^vas I commanded.” 19 And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, ^wtoday they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, ^xwould the Lord have approved?” 20 And when Moses heard that, he approved.

Clean and Unclean Animals

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, ^yThese are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. 3 Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. 4 Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. 5 And the ^zrock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. 6 And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. 7 And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, ^ais unclean to you. 8 You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.

9 “These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. 10 But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is ^bdetestable to you. 11 You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. 12 Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

13 “And these you shall detest among the birds;⁴ they shall not be eaten; they are ^bdetestable: ^cthe eagle,⁵ the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 14 the kite, ^dthe falcon of any kind, 15 every raven of any kind, 16 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the ^ehawk of any kind, 17 the ^flittle owl, the cormorant, the ^gshort-eared owl, 18 the barn owl, the ^htawny owl, the carrion vulture, 19 the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and ⁱthe bat.

20 “All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you. 21 Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to hop on the ground. 22 Of them you may eat: ^jthe locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind. 23 But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.

24 “And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, 25 and whoever carries any part of their carcass ^kshall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 26 Every animal that parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. 27 And all that walk on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours, are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, 28 and he who carries their carcass ^kshall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.

29 “And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground: the mole rat, ^lthe mouse, the great lizard of any kind, 30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. 31 These are unclean to you among all that swarm. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. 32 And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any article that is used for any purpose. ^mIt must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean. 33 And if any of them falls into any earthenware vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you ⁿshall break it. 34 Any food in it that could be eaten, on which water comes, shall be unclean. And all drink that could be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean. 35 And everything on which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean. Whether oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean and shall remain unclean for you. 36 Nevertheless, a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, but whoever touches a carcass in them shall be unclean. 37 And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed grain that is to be sown, it is clean, 38 but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.

39 “And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening, 40 and ^owhoever eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.

41 ^p“Every swarming thing that swarms on the ground is detestable; it shall not be eaten. 42 Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, any swarming thing that swarms on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are detestable. 43 ^qYou shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them. 44 For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and ^rbe holy, for I am holy. ^qYou shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. 45 ^sFor I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. ^rYou shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”

46 This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground, 47 ^tto make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.

Sit at My Right Hand

A Psalm of David.

1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem ⁿto have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because ^othey were not united by faith with those who listened.¹ 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,