Directions for Setting Apart the Priests

¹“Here is what you must do to set apart Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Get a young bull and two rams. They must not have any flaws. ² Get the finest wheat flour. Make round loaves of bread that do not have yeast in them. Make thick loaves of bread that do not have yeast in them. Mix olive oil into the thick loaves of bread. Also make thin loaves of bread that do not have yeast in them. Brush the thin loaves with olive oil. ³ Put everything in a basket. Offer them along with the bull and the two rams. ⁴ Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting. Wash them with water. ⁵ Take the inner robe, the outer robe of the linen apron, the apron itself and the chest cloth. Dress Aaron in them. Take the skillfully made waistband and tie the apron on him with it. ⁶ Put the turban on his head. Connect the sacred plate to the turban. ⁷ Take the anointing oil and pour it on his head. ⁸ Bring his sons and dress them in their inner robes. ⁹ Put caps on their heads. Tie belts on Aaron and his sons. The work of the priests belongs to them. This is my law that will last for all time to come.

“Then you must prepare Aaron and his sons to serve me.

¹⁰ “Bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting. Have Aaron and his sons place their hands on its head. ¹¹ Kill it in front of the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ¹² Dip your finger into some of the bull’s blood. Put it on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar. Pour the rest of it out at the base of the altar. ¹³ Then take all the fat on the inside parts. Take the long part of the liver. Get both kidneys with the fat on them. And burn all of it on the altar. ¹⁴ But burn the bull’s meat, hide and guts outside the camp. It is a sin offering.

¹⁵ “Get one of the rams. Have Aaron and his sons place their hands on its head. ¹⁶ Kill it. Take the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar. ¹⁷ Cut the ram into pieces. Wash the inside parts and the legs. Put them with the head and the other pieces. ¹⁸ Then burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to me. It has a pleasant smell. It is a food offering presented to the Lord.

¹⁹ “Get the other ram. Have Aaron and his sons place their hands on its head. ²⁰ Kill it. Put some of its blood on the right earlobes of Aaron and his sons. Put some on the thumbs of their right hands. Also put some on the big toes of their right feet. Then splash the blood against the sides of the altar. ²¹ Get some of the blood from the altar. Also get some of the anointing oil. Sprinkle both of them on Aaron and his clothes and on his sons and their clothes. Then he and his sons and their clothes will be set apart to serve the Lord.

²² “Here is what you must take from this second ram. Take the fat, the fat tail and the fat around the inside parts. Take the long part of the liver. Also take both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. It is the ram you must use when you prepare the priests to serve the Lord. ²³ Get one round loaf of bread and one thick loaf of bread with olive oil mixed in. Also get one thin loaf of bread. Take them from the basket of bread made without yeast. It is the one in front of the Lord. ²⁴ Put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Tell them to lift them up and wave them in front of the Lord as a wave offering. ²⁵ Then take all these things from their hands. Burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering. Its smell pleases the Lord. It is a food offering presented to the Lord. ²⁶ Get the breast of the ram used when you prepare Aaron to serve the Lord. Wave it in front of the Lord as a wave offering. It will be your share of the meat.

²⁷ “Here are the parts of the second ram that belong to Aaron and his sons. You must set apart the breast that was waved and the thigh that was offered. ²⁸ It will be the regular share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. The people must give it to the Lord from their friendship offerings.

²⁹ “Aaron’s sacred clothes will belong to his sons who will come after him. Then they can wear them when you anoint them and prepare them to serve the Lord. ³⁰ The son who comes after Aaron as priest must wear them seven days. He will come and serve in the Holy Room in the tent of meeting.

³¹ “Get the ram sacrificed when you prepare Aaron and his sons to serve the Lord. Cook the meat in a sacred place. ³² Aaron and his sons must eat the ram’s meat. And they must eat the bread in the basket. They must eat all of it at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ³³ These are the offerings to pay for their sins. They must eat them. The offerings must be made when Aaron and his sons are set apart and prepared to serve the Lord. No one else can eat them. They are sacred. ³⁴ When you prepare Aaron and his sons to serve me, you will sacrifice the ram and the bread. If any parts of the ram or bread are left until morning, burn them up. They must not be eaten. They are sacred.

³⁵ “Do everything I have commanded you to do for Aaron and his sons. Take seven days when you prepare them to serve the Lord. ³⁶ Sacrifice a bull each day. It is a sin offering to pay for their sins. Make the altar pure. Pour olive oil on it to set it apart. ³⁷ Take seven days to make the altar pure. Set it apart. Then the altar will be a very holy place. Anything that touches it will be holy.

³⁸ “Every day sacrifice on the altar two lambs that are a year old. ³⁹ Sacrifice one in the morning and the other one when the sun goes down. ⁴⁰ Along with the first lamb, offer three and a half pounds of fine flour. Mix it with a quart of oil made from pressed olives. Along with that, sacrifice a quart of wine as a drink offering. ⁴¹ Sacrifice the other lamb when the sun goes down. Sacrifice it along with the same grain offering and its drink offering as you do in the morning. It has a pleasant smell. It is a food offering presented to the Lord.

⁴² “For all time to come, this burnt offering must be sacrificed regularly. Sacrifice it at the entrance to the tent of meeting in front of the Lord. There I will meet with you and speak to you. ⁴³ There I will also meet with the people of Israel. My glory will make the place holy.

⁴⁴ “So I will set apart the tent of meeting and the altar. And I will set apart Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. ⁴⁵ Then I will live among the people of Israel. And I will be their God. ⁴⁶ They will know that I am the Lord their God. They will know that I brought them out of Egypt so I could live among them. I am the Lord their God.