Exodus

And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,

1God said: This is how you set Aaron and his sons apart to serve me as priests. Priests are the men who lead worship. Take one young bull and two rams. They must have nothing wrong with them.

2And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.

2Also bring bread made without yeast. Make flat cakes mixed with oil and thin wafers brushed with oil. Use fine wheat flour for all of them.

3And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.

3Put the bread in one basket. Bring the basket, the bull, and the two rams.

4And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.

4Bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tent where God meets his people. Wash them with water.

5And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod:

5Take the special clothes. Put the coat on Aaron, then the robe, then the ephod, then the chest piece. The ephod is a vest, worn like an apron. Tie its woven belt around him.

6And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.

6Put the turban on his head. Attach the holy gold band to the turban.

7Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.

7Then take the special oil. Pour it on his head to set him apart for God.

8And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.

8Bring his sons too. Put their coats on them.

9And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.

9Tie sashes around Aaron and his sons. Put headbands on them. Leading worship will be their job for always. This is how you make them priests.

10And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.

10Bring the bull to the front of the tent. Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on its head.

11And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

11Kill the bull in front of the LORD, at the door of the tent.

12And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.

12Dip your finger in the bull's blood. Put some on the corner points of the altar, the table where gifts are burned for God. Pour the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar.

13And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.

13Take all the fat around the insides, the covering over the liver, and both kidneys with their fat. Burn them on the altar.

14But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.

14Burn the bull's meat, skin, and waste outside the camp. It is a gift to take away sin.

15Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.

15Then take one of the rams. Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on its head.

16And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar.

16Kill the ram. Take its blood and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar.

17And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head.

17Cut the ram into pieces. Wash the insides and the legs. Put them with the head and the other pieces.

18And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

18Burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt gift to the LORD. The smell of it pleases him.

19And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.

19Now take the second ram. Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on its head.

20Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.

20Kill this ram and take some of its blood. Put it on the right earlobe of Aaron and of each son. Put it on their right thumbs and their right big toes. Sprinkle the rest of the blood around the altar.

21And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.

21Take some blood from the altar and some of the special oil. Sprinkle both on Aaron and his clothes. Sprinkle them on his sons and their clothes too. Then they and their clothes will be holy, which means set apart for God.

22Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:

22Take the ram's fat, its fat tail, and the fat over the insides. Take the covering over the liver, both kidneys with their fat, and the right thigh. This ram is the one used for making priests.

23And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD:

23From the basket of bread that sits before the LORD, take one loaf. Also take one oiled cake and one thin wafer.

24And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.

24Put all of this in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Have them lift it and wave it before the LORD as a gift.

25And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

25Then take it back from their hands. Burn it on the altar with the burnt gift. The smell of it pleases the LORD. It is a gift given by fire.

26And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part.

26Take the breast of Aaron's ram and wave it before the LORD. That part will be yours, Moses.

27And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons:

27Set apart the breast that is waved and the thigh that is lifted up. They come from the ram used to make Aaron and his sons priests.

28And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the LORD.

28The people of Israel will always give these parts to Aaron and his sons. They lift them up to the LORD from their peace offerings, the gifts people share with God.

29And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them.

29Aaron's holy clothes will belong to his sons after him. They will wear them when they are made priests.

30And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place.

30The son who becomes priest after him wears them for seven days. He wears them when he enters the tent to serve in the holy place.

31And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place.

31Take the ram used to make the priests. Boil its meat in a holy place.

32And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

32Aaron and his sons will eat that meat and the bread from the basket. They will eat at the door of the tent.

33And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.

33They eat the food that was used to make them right with God and set them apart. No one else may eat it, because it is holy.

NoteThe old word here is "stranger." It does not mean a visitor or a foreigner. It means anyone who is not a priest.

34And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

34If any meat or bread is still left in the morning, burn it up. No one may eat it, because it is holy.

35And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.

35Do all of this for Aaron and his sons, just as I told you. Take seven days to make them priests.

36And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.

36Every day offer a bull as a gift to take away sin and make things right. Make the altar clean, then pour oil on it to set it apart.

37Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.

37For seven days make the altar right with God and set it apart. Then the altar will be very holy. Anything that touches it becomes holy.

38Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.

38Here is what to offer on the altar every day, without stopping: two lambs, each one year old.

39The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:

39Offer one lamb in the morning. Offer the other lamb in the evening.

40And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.

40With the first lamb bring about two quarts of fine flour mixed with about a quart of pressed olive oil. Also pour out about a quart of wine as a gift.

NoteThe old words are "a tenth deal" of flour and "a fourth part of an hin" of oil and wine. These were measuring sizes people knew long ago.

41And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

41Offer the second lamb in the evening. Bring the same flour gift and the same wine gift as in the morning. The smell of it pleases the LORD. It is a gift given by fire.

NoteThe old words say "meat offering." In 1611 "meat" meant food of any kind. This gift is made of flour and oil, not meat.

42This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.

42Give this burnt gift every day, always, for your children and their children. Offer it at the door of the tent, before the LORD. That is where I will meet you and speak to you.

43And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.

43I will meet the people of Israel there. My shining greatness will make that place holy.

44And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest’s office.

44I will set apart the tent and the altar. I will set apart Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests.

45And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.

45I will live among the people of Israel. I will be their God.

46And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.

46They will know that I am the LORD their God. I brought them out of Egypt so I could live among them. I am the LORD their God.