Ordination of the Priests

1Then the LORD said to Moses, 2“Bring Aaron and his sons, along with their sacred garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of bread made without yeast, 3and call the entire community of Israel together at the entrance of the Tabernacle.a”

4So Moses followed the LORD’s instructions, and the whole community assembled at the Tabernacle entrance. 5Moses announced to them, “This is what the LORD has commanded us to do!” 6Then he presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. 7He put the official tunic on Aaron and tied the sash around his waist. He dressed him in the robe, placed the ephod on him, and attached the ephod securely with its decorative sash. 8Then Moses placed the chestpiece on Aaron and put the Urim and the Thummim inside it. 9He placed the turban on Aaron’s head and attached the gold medallion—the badge of holiness—to the front of the turban, just as the LORD had commanded him.

10Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Tabernacle and everything in it, making them holy. 11He sprinkled the oil on the altar seven times, anointing it and all its utensils, as well as the washbasin and its stand, making them holy. 12Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head, anointing him and making him holy for his work. 13Next Moses presented Aaron’s sons. He clothed them in their tunics, tied their sashes around them, and put their special head coverings on them, just as the LORD had commanded him.

14Then Moses presented the bull for the sin offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the bull’s head, 15and Moses slaughtered it. Moses took some of the blood, and with his finger he put it on the four horns of the altar to purify it. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. Through this process, he made the altar holy by purifying it.b 16Then Moses took all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat around them, and he burned it all on the altar. 17He took the rest of the bull, including its hide, meat, and dung, and burned it on a fire outside the camp, just as the LORD had commanded him.

18Then Moses presented the ram for the burnt offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram’s head, 19and Moses slaughtered it. Then Moses took the ram’s blood and splattered it against all sides of the altar. 20Then he cut the ram into pieces, and he burned the head, some of its pieces, and the fat on the altar. 21After washing the internal organs and the legs with water, Moses burned the entire ram on the altar as a burnt offering. It was a pleasing aroma, a special gift presented to the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.

22Then Moses presented the other ram, which was the ram of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram’s head, 23and Moses slaughtered it. Then Moses took some of its blood and applied it to the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot. 24Next Moses presented Aaron’s sons and applied some of the blood to the lobes of their right ears, the thumbs of their right hands, and the big toes of their right feet. He then splattered the rest of the blood against all sides of the altar.

25Next Moses took the fat, including the fat of the broad tail, the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat around them, along with the right thigh. 26On top of these he placed a thin cake of bread made without yeast, a cake of bread mixed with olive oil, and a wafer spread with olive oil. All these were taken from the basket of bread made without yeast that was placed in the LORD’s presence. 27He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and he lifted these gifts as a special offering to the LORD. 28Moses then took all the offerings back from them and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering. This was the ordination offering. It was a pleasing aroma, a special gift presented to the LORD. 29Then Moses took the breast and lifted it up as a special offering to the LORD. This was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, just as the LORD had commanded him.

30Next Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, and he sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. In this way, he made Aaron and his sons and their garments holy.

31Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the remaining meat of the offerings at the Tabernacle entrance, and eat it there, along with the bread that is in the basket of offerings for the ordination, just as I commanded when I said, ‘Aaron and his sons will eat it.’ 32Any meat or bread that is left over must then be burned up. 33You must not leave the Tabernacle entrance for seven days, for that is when the ordination ceremony will be completed. 34Everything we have done today was commanded by the LORD in order to purify you, making you right with him.c 35Now stay at the entrance of the Tabernacle day and night for seven days, and do everything the LORD requires. If you fail to do this, you will die, for this is what the LORD has commanded.” 36So Aaron and his sons did everything the LORD had commanded through Moses.