1. The Lord spoke to Moses after Aaron’s two sons had come into the Lord’s presence and died.
2. The Lord said, “Tell your brother Aaron that he cannot go into the holy place whenever he wants to. If he goes up to the canopy and stands in front of the throne of mercy on the ark, he will die, because I appear in the smoke above the throne of mercy.
3. “This is what Aaron must do in order to come into the holy place: He must take a bull as an offering for sin and a ram as a burnt offering.
4. He must put on a holy linen robe and wear linen undergarments. He must wear a linen belt and turban. These are holy clothes. He must wash his body and put them on.
5. He will take two male goats from the congregation of Israel as an offering for sin and a ram as a burnt offering.
6. “Aaron must sacrifice the bull as his own offering for sin. By doing this, he will make peace with the Lord for himself and his family.
7. He must take the two male goats and bring them into the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
8. Then Aaron must throw lots for the two goats. One lot will be for the Lord and the other for Azazel.
9. Aaron must sacrifice the goat chosen by lot for the Lord as an offering for sin.
10. But he must bring the goat chosen by lot for Azazel into the Lord’s presence. He will release it in the desert to Azazel in order to make peace with the Lord for himself and his family.
11. “Aaron will bring the bull. He will then slaughter it as his own offering for sin. By doing this he will make peace with the Lord for himself and his family.
12. He will take an incense burner full of burning coals from the altar, which is in the Lord’s presence, and two handfuls of finely ground, sweet-smelling incense. He will bring them up to the canopy.
13. Then he will put the incense on the fire in the Lord’s presence. The cloud of incense will cover the throne of mercy, which is over the words of God’s promise, so that he will not die.
14. He will take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the throne of mercy. Then he will sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times in front of the throne of mercy.
15. “Next, Aaron will slaughter the goat for the people’s offering for sin. He will take the blood inside, go up to the canopy, and sprinkle it on the throne of mercy and in front of it, as he did with the bull’s blood.
16. So he will make peace with the Lord for all the sins the Israelites committed against the holy place. These sins happened because the Israelites were unclean and because they committed rebellious acts. He will do the same for the tent of meeting which is among an unclean people.