Leviticus 8

International Children’s Bible

Aaron and His Sons Appointed

8 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Bring Aaron and his sons and their clothes. Bring the special olive oil used in appointing people and things to the service of the Lord. Also bring the bull of the sin offering and the two male sheep. And bring the basket of bread made without yeast. ³ Then gather the people together at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.” ⁴ Moses did as the Lord commanded him. The people met together at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.

⁵ Then Moses spoke to the people. He said, “This is what the Lord has commanded to be done.” ⁶ Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward. He washed them with water. ⁷ He put the inner robe on Aaron. And he tied the cloth belt around Aaron. Then he put the outer robe on him. Next he put the holy vest on Aaron. Then he tied the skillfully woven belt around him. So the holy vest was tied to Aaron. ⁸ Then Moses put the chest covering on him. And he put the Urim and the Thummim in the chest covering. ⁹ He also put the turban on Aaron’s head. He put the strip of gold on the front of the turban. This strip of gold is the holy crown. Moses did this as the Lord commanded him to do.

¹⁰ Then Moses put the special oil on the Holy Tent and everything in it. In this way Moses made them holy for the Lord. ¹¹ He sprinkled some oil on the altar seven times. He sprinkled the altar and all its tools. He also sprinkled special oil on the large bowl and its base. In this way he made them holy for the Lord. ¹² Then he poured some of the special oil on Aaron’s head. In this way he made Aaron holy for the Lord. ¹³ Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons forward. And he put the inner robes on them. He tied cloth belts around them. Then he put headbands on them. He did these things as the Lord had commanded him.

¹⁴ Then Moses brought the bull for the sin offering. And Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head. ¹⁵ Moses killed the bull and took some of the blood. With his finger he put some of the blood on all the corners of the altar. In this way he made the altar pure. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. So he made it holy and ready for service to God. ¹⁶ Moses took all the fat from the inner organs of the bull. He took the best part of the liver. And he took both kidneys and the fat on them. Then he burned them on the altar. ¹⁷ But he took the bull’s skin, its meat and its intestines outside the camp. He burned them in a fire outside the camp. Moses did all these things as the Lord had commanded him.

¹⁸ Next Moses brought the male sheep of the burnt offering. Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head. ¹⁹ Then Moses killed it. He sprinkled the blood on all sides of the altar. ²⁰ Moses cut the male sheep into pieces. And he burned the head, the pieces and the fat. ²¹ He washed the inner organs and legs with water. Then he burned the whole sheep on the altar. It was a burnt offering made by fire to the Lord. Its smell was pleasing to the Lord. Moses did these things as the Lord had commanded him.

²² Then Moses brought the other male sheep. It was used in appointing Aaron and his sons as priests. They put their hands on its head. ²³ Then Moses killed the sheep. He put some of its blood on the bottom of Aaron’s right ear. He put some on the thumb of Aaron’s right hand. And he put some on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁴ Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons close to the altar. He put some of the blood on the bottom of their right ears. He put it on the thumbs of their right hands. And he put it on the big toes of their right feet. Then he sprinkled blood on all sides of the altar. ²⁵ He took the fat and the fat tail from the sheep. He took all the fat on the inner organs. He took the best part of the liver. He also took both kidneys, their fat and the right thigh. ²⁶ A basket of bread made without yeast is put before the Lord each day. From the basket Moses took a loaf of bread. And he took a loaf made with oil and a wafer. He put these pieces of bread on the fat and right thigh of the male sheep. ²⁷ He put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. He presented the pieces as an offering before the Lord. ²⁸ Then Moses took them from their hands. And he burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering. So this was the offering for appointing Aaron and his sons as priests. It was an offering made by fire to the Lord. Its smell was pleasing to the Lord. ²⁹ Moses took the breast and presented it as an offering before the Lord. It was Moses’ share of the male sheep used in appointing the priests. This was as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁰ Moses took some of the special oil and some of the blood which was on the altar. He sprinkled some of the oil on Aaron and Aaron’s clothes. He also sprinkled some on Aaron’s sons and their clothes. In this way Moses made Aaron, his clothes, his sons and their clothes holy for the Lord.

³¹ Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “I gave you a command. I said, ‘Aaron and his sons will eat these things.’ So take the meat and basket of bread from the offering for appointing priests. Boil the meat at the door of the Meeting Tent. Eat it there with the bread. ³² If any of the meat or bread is left, burn it. ³³ The time of appointing will last seven days. You must not go outside the entrance of the Meeting Tent until that time is up. Stay there until the time of your appointing is finished. ³⁴ The Lord commanded the things that were done today. He commanded these things to remove your sins so you will belong to him. ³⁵ You must stay at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Stay there day and night for seven days. If you don’t obey the Lord’s commands, you will die! The Lord has given me these commands.”

³⁶ So Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord had commanded through Moses.