Chapter 9[a]
The Priests’ Offering. 1 The eighth day[b] Moses summoned Aaron, his sons, and the elders of Israel 2 and said to Aaron, “Take a young male calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. Both are to be without defect. Offer them to the Lord. 3 Say to the children of Israel, ‘Bring a kid goat as a sin offering, a calf and a lamb, both one-year-old, without defect, for a burnt offering, 4 a bull and a ram for a peace offering, to burn them before the Lord, and a cereal offering mixed with oil, for today the Lord shall appear to you.’ ”
5 They brought them to the meeting tent as Moses had commanded. The whole community approached and stood before the Lord. 6 [c]Moses said, “Behold, this is what the Lord has commanded. Do it, and the glory of the Lord shall appear.”
7 Moses said to Aaron, “Come to the altar. Offer your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for your people. Present the people’s offering and make atonement for them, as the Lord has commanded.”
8 Aaron therefore drew near the altar and slew the calf of the sin offering, the offering for himself. 9 His sons brought the blood to him and he dipped his finger in it and put it on the horns of the altar, pouring the rest of the blood out at the base of the altar. 10 They burned the fat, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver of the sin offering on the altar, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 11 They burned the meat and the skin on a fire outside of the camp. 12 They then slew the burnt offering. The sons of Aaron brought the blood to him and he sprinkled it around the altar. 13 They also brought the burnt offering to him. It was cut into pieces. He burned the pieces and the head upon the altar. 14 He washed the entrails and the legs and burned them upon the burnt offering on top of the altar.
15 The People’s Offering. They then presented the offering of the people. They brought the goat of the sin offering for the people. They slew it and offered it as a sin offering, as they had done with the first one. 16 After this they offered the second burnt offering according to custom.
17 They then presented the cereal offering. They took a handful and burned it upon the altar beside the morning burnt offering. 18 They slew the bull and the ram of the peace offering of the people. The sons of Aaron brought the blood and they poured it around the altar. 19 They brought the fat parts of the bull and the ram: the tail, the fat around the entrails, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver. 20 They placed the fat upon the breasts. He burned them upon the altar. 21 Aaron waved the breasts and the right thigh as a wave offering before the Lord, in the manner that Moses had commanded.
The Lord’s Glory Revealed.22 [d]Aaron, raising his hands toward the people, blessed them, and, after he had sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering, descended from the altar. 23 Moses and Aaron entered the meeting tent. They then went out and blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24 A fire came out from the presence of the Lord and it consumed the burnt offering and the fat upon the altar. All the people saw this. They cried out and fell upon their faces.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 9:1 According to Leviticus, the essential role of priests was the conduct of worship; they offered sacrifices in order that the glory of God might be manifested, that is, in order that the Lord might make his presence known among his people, now purified of their sins. Only in passing is it said, a little further on (chs. 10–11), that the priests also had to teach the law.
- Leviticus 9:1 Eighth day: this completes the time for full consecration of the priests.
- Leviticus 9:6 It is now Aaron and his sons who will perform the ritual sacrifices for the people instead of Moses.
- Leviticus 9:22 After Aaron’s three-fold benediction (see Num 6:23-26) a dual blessing from Aaron and Moses is given.