Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

You shall place the ark of the Testimony there, and you shall screen off the ark [from the Holy Place of God’s Presence] with the veil (partition curtain).

You shall bring in the table [for the bread] and arrange its setting; you shall bring in the lampstand and mount and light its lamps.

You shall set the golden altar of incense in front of the ark of the Testimony [outside the veil], and put the [hanging] veil at the doorway of the tabernacle.

You shall set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar [of burnt offering], and put water in it.

You shall set up the courtyard [curtains] all around and hang up the screen (curtain) for the gateway of the courtyard.

Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture; and it shall be holy (declared sacred, separated from secular use).

You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, and the altar shall be most holy.

You shall anoint the basin and its base, and consecrate it.

Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.

You shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve as a priest to Me.

You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them;

you shall anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may serve as priests to Me; and their anointing shall qualify them for an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”

Now it happened on the first day of the first month (Abib) in the second year [after the exodus from Egypt], that the tabernacle was erected.

Moses erected the tabernacle, laid its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars and erected its support poles.

He spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, just as the Lord had commanded him.

He took the Testimony [the stones inscribed with the Ten Commandments] and put it into the ark [of the covenant], and placed the poles [through the rings] on the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.

Moses brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up a veil (partition) for the screen (curtain), and screened off the ark of the Testimony, just as the Lord had commanded him.

Then he put the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle.

Moses mounted and lighted the lamps [on the lampstand] before the Lord, just as the Lord commanded him.

Then he set up the screen (curtain) at the doorway of the tabernacle.

He set the altar of burnt offering before the doorway of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the Lord commanded him.

He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar [of burnt offering], and put water in it for washing.

Then from it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet.

When they entered the Tent of Meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

And he erected the courtyard all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung the screen (curtain) at the gateway of the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.

Then the cloud [the Shekinah, God’s visible, dwelling presence] covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud remained on it, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

In all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out;

For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.

The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying,

He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice], that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.

He shall kill the young bull before the Lord; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.

Then he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces.

The sons of Aaron the [high] priest shall put fire on the altar [of burnt offering] and arrange wood on the fire.

Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head and the fat, on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar.

But he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. The priest shall offer all of it up in smoke on the altar as a burnt offering. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

‘But if his offering is from the flock, of the sheep or of the goats, as a burnt offering, he shall offer a male without blemish.

He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.

He shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar.

But he shall wash the entrails and legs with water. The priest shall offer all of it, and offer it up in smoke on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

‘But if his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring turtledoves or young pigeons as his offering.

The priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head, and offer it up in smoke on the altar; and its blood is to be drained out on the side of the altar.

He shall remove its crop with its feathers and throw it next to the east side of the altar, in the place for ashes.

Then he shall tear it open by its wings, but shall not sever it. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

‘When anyone presents a grain offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour [olive] oil over it and put frankincense on it.

He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. Out of it he shall take a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall offer this up in smoke on the altar [of burnt offering] as the memorial portion of it. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

What is left of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings to the Lord by fire.

You are to break it into pieces, and you shall pour oil on it; it is a grain offering.

Now if your offering is grain cooked in a lidded pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.

When you bring the grain offering that is made of these things to the Lord, it shall be presented to the priest, and he shall bring it to the altar [of burnt offering].

The priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial portion and offer it up in smoke on the altar. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

What is left of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings to the Lord by fire.

As an offering of first fruits you may offer them [leaven and honey] to the Lord, but they shall not go up [in smoke] on the altar as a sweet and soothing aroma.

‘If you bring a grain offering of early ripened things to the Lord, you shall bring fresh heads of grain roasted in the fire, crushed grain of new growth, for the grain offering of your early ripened things.

You shall put oil on it and lay incense on it; it is a grain offering.

The priest shall offer up in smoke its memorial portion, part of the crushed grain and part of its oil with all its incense; it is an offering by fire to the Lord.

He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice] and kill it at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood around on the altar.

From the sacrifice of the peace offerings, an offering by fire to the Lord, he shall present the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails,

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver which he shall remove with the kidneys.

Aaron’s sons shall offer it up in smoke on the altar [placing it] on the burnt offering which is on the wood that is on the fire. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it before the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.

From the sacrifice of peace offerings he shall bring as an offering by fire to the Lord, its fat, the entire fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails,

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.

and he shall lay his hand on its head [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice], and kill it before the Tent of Meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.

Then he shall present from it as his offering, an offering by fire to the Lord: the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails,

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver which he shall remove with the kidneys.

The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as food. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma; all the fat is the Lord’s.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the children of Israel, ‘If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them—

He shall bring the bull to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord, and shall lay his hand on the bull’s head [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice] and kill the bull before the Lord.

Then the anointed priest is to take some of the bull’s blood and bring it into the Tent of Meeting;

and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the Lord in front of the veil (curtain) of the sanctuary.

The priest shall also put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense which is before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting. All the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of the burnt offering which is at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.

He shall remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering—the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails,

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys

(just as these are removed from the ox of the sacrifice of peace offerings), and the priest is to offer them up in smoke on the altar of burnt offering.

But the hide of the bull and all its meat, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its refuse,

that is, all the rest of the bull, he is to bring outside the camp to a clean place where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on a fire of wood. Where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned.

‘Now if the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally, and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they have done any one of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and they become guilty;

when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the congregation shall offer a young bull of the herd as a sin offering and bring it before the Tent of Meeting.

Then the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord [to transfer symbolically the congregation’s guilt to the sacrifice], and they shall kill the bull before the Lord.

and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil [which screens off the Holy of Holies and the ark of the covenant].

He shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar [of incense] which is before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting; and he shall pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.

He shall remove all its fat from the bull and offer it up in smoke on the altar.

He shall also do with the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; that is what he shall do with this. So the priest shall make atonement for [the sin of] the people, and they will be forgiven.

Then the priest is to bring the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the congregation.

‘When a ruler or leader sins and unintentionally does any one of the things the Lord his God has commanded not to be done, and he becomes guilty,

He shall lay his hand on the head of the male goat [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice], and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord; it is a sin offering.

Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering.

And he shall offer all its fat up in smoke on the altar like the fat from the sacrifice of peace offerings; so the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin, and he will be forgiven.

‘If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally by doing any of the things the Lord has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty,

He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice], and kill it at the place of the burnt offering.

The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and shall pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.

Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. In this way the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.

He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice], and kill it as a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering.

The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and all the rest of the blood of the lamb he shall pour out at the base of the altar.

Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, on the offerings by fire to the Lord. In this way the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to the sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

‘If anyone sins after he hears a public adjuration (solemn command to testify) when he is a witness, whether he has seen or [otherwise] known [something]—if he fails to report it, then he will bear his guilt and be held responsible.

Or if someone touches any [ceremonially] unclean thing—whether the carcass of an unclean wild animal or the carcass of an unclean domestic animal or the carcass of unclean creeping things—even if he is unaware of it, he has become unclean, and he will be guilty.