The Ordination of the Priests
8 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Take Aaron and his sons with him, the garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread, 3 and assemble the whole congregation at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.”
4 Moses did as the Lord had commanded him. When the whole congregation had assembled at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, 5 Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do.”
6 Then Moses presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. 7 He put the tunic on him, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, put the special vest on him, wrapped the decorated band of the vest around him, and tied the vest to him with the band. 8 He placed the pouch on him and put the Urim and Thummim into the pouch. 9 Then he placed the turban on his head, and he placed the gold medallion, the holy crest, on the front of the turban just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Dwelling and everything in it, to consecrate them. 11 He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and anointed the altar with all its utensils and the basin with its pedestal, to consecrate them. 12 He poured out some of the anointing oil on the head of Aaron and anointed him to consecrate him.
13 Then Moses presented the sons of Aaron, clothed them with tunics, fastened a sash around them, and put small pointed turbans on them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
14 After the bull for the sin offering had been presented, Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering. 15 After it had been slaughtered, Moses took the blood, and with his finger he smeared it all around the horns of the altar, purifying the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. In this way he consecrated the altar by making atonement for it. 16 Then, taking all the fat around the inner organs and the protruding lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, Moses sent them up in smoke on the altar. 17 But the bull, with its hide, its flesh, and its manure, was burned with fire outside the camp, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
18 After the ram for the whole burnt offering had been presented, Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram’s head. 19 After it had been slaughtered, Moses splashed the blood against all sides of the altar. 20 After the ram had been cut into sections, Moses turned the head, the cut-up sections, and the fat into smoke. 21 After the inner organs and the legs had been washed with water, Moses turned all of the ram into smoke on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
22 Then the second ram, the ram of ordination,[a] was presented. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram’s head, 23 and it was slaughtered. Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 After he had presented Aaron’s sons, Moses put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then Moses splashed the rest of the blood against all sides of the altar. 25 Next he took the fat—the fat tail, all the fat around the inner organs, the protruding lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat—and the right thigh. 26 From the basket of unleavened bread that was placed before the Lord, he took one round loaf of unleavened bread, one round loaf of bread made with olive oil, and one wafer, and he placed them on top of the fat and the right thigh. 27 He put all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and he raised them as an offering that is waved before the Lord. 28 Then Moses took them out of their palms and sent them up in smoke on top of the burnt offering on the altar. They were an ordination offering for a pleasing aroma. It was an offering by fire to the Lord. 29 Moses took the breast and presented it as an offering that was waved before the Lord. It was the portion for Moses from the ram of ordination, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
30 After Moses had taken some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, he sprinkled them on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons as well. In this way he consecrated Aaron, his garments, his sons, and the garments of his sons as well.
31 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons: “Boil the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. You shall eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of ordination, just as I commanded when I said,[b] ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ 32 What is left over from the meat and the bread you shall burn with fire. 33 You shall not go outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the period of your ordination is completed, because it will take seven days to ordain you. 34 The Lord has commanded what has been done on this day to make atonement for you, 35 while you stay at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days. You shall keep the Lord’s vigil, so that you do not die, since this is what I have been commanded.” 36 So Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord had commanded through Moses.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 8:22 Literally filling your hands
- Leviticus 8:31 The ancient versions read just as I was commanded to say.