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Leviticus 16

God establishes how Israel’s priest may approach his holy presence and make atonement for the people and their defiled sanctuary.

After Aaron’s two sons die when they approach YHWH, God tells Moses how Aaron may enter the Most Holy Place without dying. Aaron must wash, wear holy linen garments, and offer sacrifices for his household and Israel. Blood is brought within the veil to cleanse the sanctuary from Israel’s uncleanness and sins. A live goat carries confessed sins into the wilderness. God establishes this day of atonement as a yearly observance, with self-humbling and rest from work.

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2and the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Most Holy Place within the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark; lest he 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.
4He 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.
5He shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
6“Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house.
7He shall take the two goats, and set them before the LORD at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
8Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
9Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD, and offer him for a sin offering.
10But 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.
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 kill the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.
12He 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.
13He 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.
14He 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.
15“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is 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.
16He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their sins; and so he shall do for the Tent of Meeting that dwells with them in the middle of their uncleanness.
17No 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.
19He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and make it holy from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
20“When he has finished atoning for the Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat.
21Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is ready.
22The goat shall carry all their iniquities on himself to a solitary land, and he shall release the goat in 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.
24Then 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.
25The fat of the sin offering he shall burn 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.
27The 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.
28He who burns them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.
29“It 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 kind of work, whether native-born or a stranger who lives as a foreigner among you;
30for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you. You shall be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
31It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.
32The 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, even the holy garments.
33Then 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 assembly.
34“This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” It was done as the LORD commanded Moses.
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Key verses
Leviticus 16:2The warning that Aaron could die establishes the danger of approaching God’s holy presence apart from his commands.
Leviticus 16:15The slain goat’s blood is brought within the veil for the people, extending atonement beyond Aaron’s own household.
Leviticus 16:29The appointed date, self-humbling, and work prohibition make this atonement day an observance binding on native-born Israelites and resident foreigners.
Where this chapter reaches

Hebrews draws on the priest’s yearly entrance with sacrificial blood to explain Christ’s priesthood and sacrifice, sharing this chapter’s concern with access to God and cleansing from sin. Exodus describes the ark, mercy seat, and veil that form the setting for Aaron’s entrance here.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What do Aaron’s preparations and offerings show you about approaching YHWH?

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How does the live goat’s departure shape your understanding of the chapter’s promise of cleansing?

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Questions people ask about Leviticus 16

What is the scapegoat in Leviticus 16?

The scapegoat is the goat kept alive while the other goat is sacrificed. Aaron confesses Israel’s sins over its head, then sends it into the wilderness, carrying those sins away. The Hebrew term translated “scapegoat” is debated, but the goat’s role in removing Israel’s sins is clear in the passage.

What does “afflict your souls” mean in Leviticus 16?

The phrase calls the people to humble themselves on the day of atonement. It has long been understood to include fasting, though this chapter does not spell out that practice. The command accompanies a ban on work and applies to both native-born Israelites and foreigners living among them.

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Leviticus · 27 chapters

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).