Leviticus 9

Eight days later, Moses summoned Aaron, his sons, and the oldest and most respected people of Israel.

He said to Aaron, “Take a totally healthy calf from the domesticated bulls that you own and offer it as a purifying sacrifice along with a totally healthy ram that you will offer as a wholly burned sacrifice. Present these animals to God. \*

Then tell the Israelite people to take a male goat and offer it as a purifying sacrifice, along with a calf and a lamb that they will offer as a wholly burned sacrifice. Tell them to make sure that both animals are a year old and totally healthy.

Also tell the Israelite people to take an ox and a ram and offer them as fellowship sacrifices when they sacrifice in God’s presence. They should offer these animals along with a grain offering that consists of wheat flour that they have combined with olive oil. Tell them that they should bring these offerings because God himself is going to appear to them today.”

{After Aaron relayed these instructions to the Israelite people,} the people brought before the sacred tent everything that Moses told them to bring. Then all the people presented the animals and the offerings, and they stood together in God’s presence. \*

Then Moses said, “This is exactly what God told you to do. Now you will see how glorious he is.”

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Approach the altar and perform the purifying sacrifice and the wholly burned sacrifice that God told you to offer. Do this so that God will remove your sins from you and restore you and the people to relationship with him. Then perform the sacrifices that God told the people to offer. Do this so that God will remove the peoples’ sins from them and restore them to relationship with him. Perform these sacrifices exactly as God instructed.” \*

So Aaron approached the altar and killed the calf that he would offer as a purifying sacrifice {to cleanse the holy space dedicated to God from the impurity of his own sin}.

Then, {after they collected some of the calf’s blood in a bowl,} Aaron’s sons presented the blood to their father. Aaron dipped one of his fingers into the blood and applied some of it to the four projections on the corners of the altar. He poured the rest of the blood onto the base of the altar. \*

He then burned the calf’s fat, including the kidneys and the lobe of the liver of the calf that Aaron sacrificed as a purifying sacrifice, on the altar in a way that caused smoke to go up Aaron did this exactly as God told Moses.

But someone else completely burned the rest of the calf’s meat and its skin {at a clean place} outside of the camp. \*

Then Aaron killed the ram that he was going to offer as a wholly burned sacrifice. {After collecting some of the blood of the ram,} his sons brought him some of the blood, and he splattered it on every side of the altar.

Then, {after cutting the ram into its appropriate portions,} Aaron’s sons brought him the appropriate portions of the ram’s meat, fat, and internal organs, including the animal’s head. Aaron burned them on the altar in a way that caused smoke to go up.

Then Aaron washed the ram’s intestines and legs, and he burned them on the altar in a way that caused smoke to go up. He placed them on top of the other portions of the sacrifices that he was already burning on the altar. \*

Then Aaron brought the animals that the Israelite people offered to God. He took the goat that the people required for their purifying sacrifice, and he killed it. By offering it, Aaron cleansed the people from the impurity of their sin, just as he had done with the goat that he offered for himself.

In this way, he presented the animal that the people required for their sacrifice. Aaron offered this sacrifice in the way that God had instructed Moses.

Then Aaron presented the offering that consisted of a sacrifice of harvested grain. He took a handful of it and burned it on the altar in a way that caused smoke to go up, in addition to the animal sacrifices that he had prepared and completely burned on the altar in the morning. \*

Then Aaron killed the ox and the ram that the Israelite people required for their sacrifice that promised friendship with God. {After catching some of the blood of the animals,} his sons brought him the blood, and he flicked the blood against every side of the altar.

He took the fat portions from the ox and the ram, including their fatty tails, their visceral fat that was attached to the animals’ internal organs, their kidneys, and the lobes of their livers. \*

Then his sons placed all these portions of fat and internal organs on top of the breast meat of those animals, and Aaron burned these portions on the altar in a way that caused smoke to go up.

Next, Aaron fanned the breast meat and the right thigh of those animals in God’s presence, exactly as God told Moses. \*

When he had finished offering all the sacrifices, Aaron lifted his hands over the people, and he asked God to bless them. Then, he came down from the altar where he had offered the purifying sacrifices, the wholly burned sacrifices, and the fellowship sacrifices that he and the people had required.

Then Moses and Aaron entered into the Holy Place in the sacred tent. When they came out later, they asked God to bless the people again. When they did this, all the people saw how glorious God was.

Fire came out from the sacred precincts, where God lived among the Israelites, and completely burned everything that was on the altar, including the wholly burned offerings and all the portions of fat. When all the people saw this happen, they shouted joyfully and bowed themselves down on the ground to worship God. \*