Study Desk

The ceremony for appointing the priests will last for seven days. You must not leave the entrance of the Meeting Tent until that time is finished.

You must stay at the entrance of the Meeting Tent day and night for seven days. If you don't obey the Lord 's commands, you will die! The Lord gave me these commands."

On the eighth day, Moses called for Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.

Tell the Israelites, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and take a calf and a lamb for a burnt offering. The calf and the lamb must each be one year old. There must be nothing wrong with them.

Take a bull and a ram for fellowship offerings. Take these animals and a grain offering mixed with oil for an offering to the Lord . Do this because the Lord will appear to you today.'"

So Aaron went to the altar. He killed the bull for the sin offering. This sin offering was for himself.

Next, Aaron killed the animal for the burnt offering. His sons brought the blood to him, and he sprinkled the blood around on the altar.

Then Aaron brought the people's offering. He killed the goat of the sin offering that was for the people. He offered the goat for sin, like the earlier sin offering.

Then Moses spoke to Aaron and his other sons Eleazar and Ithamar. He said, "Don't show any sadness! Don't tear your clothes or mess up your hair! If you do anything to show your sadness, you will be killed, and the Lord will show his anger against everyone. But let all the other people of Israel, your relatives, cry for those the Lord destroyed with fire.

The portion of food for you and your sons will come from the special gifts to the Lord , so you must eat that food in a holy place.

Moses looked for the goat of the sin offering, but it was already burned up. Moses became very angry with Aaron's other sons Eleazar and Ithamar. Moses said,

"Some animals chew the cud, but they don't have split hooves. Don't eat these animals. Camels, rock badgers, and rabbits are like that, so they are unclean for you.

Other animals have hooves that are split into two parts, but they don't chew the cud. Don't eat these animals. Pigs are like that, so they are unclean for you.

Don't eat the meat from these animals. Don't even touch their dead bodies! They are unclean for you.

It is a sickening thought for you to touch anything that lives in the water and does not have fins and scales.

"You must also treat some birds as things that are wrong to eat. Stay away from them. It is a sickening thought for you to eat any of these birds: eagles, vultures, buzzards,

"Some animals have split hooves, but the hooves don't make exactly two parts. Some animals don't chew the cud. Some animals don't have hooves—they walk on their paws. All these animals are unclean for you. If you touch them, you will become unclean until evening.

If you pick up the dead bodies of these unclean animals, you must wash your clothes. You will be unclean until evening. These animals are unclean for you.

"These small animals are unclean for you: moles, mice, all kinds of great lizards,

"If any of these unclean animals dies and falls on something, that thing will become unclean. It might be something made from wood, cloth, leather, or sackcloth. Whatever it is or is used for, it must be washed with water. It will be unclean until evening. Then it will become clean again.