Leviticus 16

And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died;

After Aaron's two sons tragically died offering to the LORD, God spoke to Moses with a heavy heart.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.

The Lord instructed Moses, "Tell your brother Aaron not to enter the sacred space behind the curtain, in front of the mercy seat on the ark, whenever he pleases, or he will die, for I will appear in a cloud over the mercy seat."

Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

Aaron, filled with reverence, will enter the sacred sanctuary. He brings with him a young bull to seek forgiveness for sins, and a ram as an offering of devotion.

He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.

He will wear the sacred linen coat, with linen pants against his skin. He'll tie a linen belt around his waist and don a linen hat. These are sacred clothes, so he must cleanse his body with water before putting them on.

And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

He shall gather two young goats from the community of Israel's children, as an offering for their sins, and one ram to be sacrificed in the fire.

And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.

Aaron must present his own sin offering, a bull, to seek forgiveness for himself and his household.

And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

He will bring the two goats, standing them before God at the entrance of the sacred gathering place.

And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

Aaron will draw straws for the two goats; one for God, and the other for the goat that takes the blame.

And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.

Aaron, guided by divine choice, will present the chosen goat as a sacrifice, seeking forgiveness for sins.

But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

The chosen goat, destined to carry our faults, will stand alive before God. It will serve as our apology to Him, then be set free into the wild, bearing our mistakes.

And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:

Aaron must present his own sin offering, a bull, to seek forgiveness for himself and his household. He must then sacrifice this bull as his personal atonement.

And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:

He will gather a vessel filled with fiery coals from the Lord's altar, and handfuls of finely crushed, fragrant incense. With reverence and awe, he will carry these within the sacred veil.

And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:

He must place the incense on the fire in the presence of the Lord. The smoke from the incense will envelop the mercy seat atop the sacred chest, protecting him from death.

And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

He will gently collect the bull's blood and tenderly sprinkle it towards the east side of the mercy seat. He will then repeat this act of sprinkling the blood seven times in front of the mercy seat, each time with a sense of reverence and humility.

Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:

He will then slaughter the goat for the people's sin offering and carry its blood behind the curtain into the most sacred place. He will do with it just as he did with the bull's blood, gently sprinkling it on and before the mercy seat, a sacred act of atonement.

And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

He will seek forgiveness for the sacred place, tainted by the wrongdoings and sins of Israel's children. He will do the same for the community's tent, standing amidst their impurity.

And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

No one should be in the meeting tent when the priest enters the sacred space to seek forgiveness, not until he emerges having secured pardon for himself, his family, and the entire community of Israel.

And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.

He will approach the sacred altar before God, seeking forgiveness. He will collect the blood from both the bull and the goat, and anoint the altar's corners, symbolizing purification.

And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

With his finger, he will gently dab it seven times with the blood, purifying and sanctifying it, freeing it from the impurities borne by the people of Israel.

And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:

Once he has restored peace and purity to the sacred place, the meeting tent, and the altar, he shall present the living goat.

And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

Aaron will gently place his hands on the living goat's head, pouring out all the wrongdoings and sins of the Israelites. He'll symbolically transfer their sins onto the goat. Then, a trustworthy man will lead the goat into the wilderness, carrying away their sins.

And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

The goat will carry all their wrongdoings to a deserted land, and there, in the wilderness, it will be set free.

And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:

Aaron will enter the community's sacred tent, remove the linen clothes he wore in the holy place, and leave them behind.

And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.

He must cleanse his body with water in the sacred space, dress in his robes, and step out. He will present his and the people's offerings, seeking forgiveness for himself and everyone else.

And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.

He shall burn the fat of the sin offering in the fire on the altar.

And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.

The one who releases the scapegoat must cleanse himself, washing his clothes and bathing his body, before rejoining the community.

And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.

The bull and goat, offered for our sins, their blood used for reconciliation in the sacred place, must be taken outside the camp. There, their bodies, skins, and waste will be consumed by fire.

And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

The one who sets them ablaze must cleanse himself, washing his clothes and bathing his body in water. Only then, purified, can he return to the community.

And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:

This is a forever rule for you all: every year, on the tenth day of the seventh month, humble yourselves and go without, and do no work at all. It doesn't matter if you're a local or a foreigner living among you, everyone should observe this day.

For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

On that day, the priest will seek forgiveness for you, washing away your sins, so you can stand pure and guilt-free before the Lord.

It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.

This day shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall humble and deny yourselves, as an eternal rule.

And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:

The priest, chosen and blessed to serve in his father's place, will seek forgiveness and wear the sacred linen garments.

And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.

He will seek forgiveness for the sacred place, the gathering tent, the altar, the priests, and all the people gathered.

And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

This is a forever rule for you: once a year, make amends for the sins of Israel's children. And he faithfully followed God's instructions given through Moses.