Dedication of the Priests

"This is the ceremony for the dedication of Aaron and his sons as priests: Take a young bull and two rams with no physical defect. Then using fine wheat flour and no yeast, make loaves of bread, thin cakes mixed with olive oil, and wafers with oil poured over them. Place these various kinds of bread in a single basket, and present them at the entrance of the Tabernacle, along with the young bull and the two rams.

"Present Aaron and his sons at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and wash them with water. Then put Aaron's tunic on him, along with the embroidered robe of the ephod itself, the chestpiece, and the sash. And place on his head the turban with the gold medallion. Then take the anointing oil and pour it over his head. Next present his sons, and dress them in their tunics with their woven sashes and the headdresses. They will then be priests forever. In this way, you will ordain Aaron and his sons.

"Then bring the young bull to the entrance of the Tabernacle, and Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on its head. You will then slaughter it in the LORD's presence at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Smear some of its blood on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest at the base of the altar. Take all the fat that covers the internal organs, also the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and burn them on the altar. Then take the carcass (including the skin and the dung) outside the camp, and burn it as a sin offering.

"Next Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the head of one of the rams as it is slaughtered. Its blood will be collected and sprinkled on the sides of the altar. Cut up the ram and wash off the internal organs and the legs. Set them alongside the head and the other pieces of the body, and burn them all on the altar. This is a burnt offering to the LORD, which is very pleasing to him.

Now take the other ram and have Aaron and his sons lay their hands on its head as it is slaughtered. Collect the blood and place some of it on the tip of the right earlobes of Aaron and his sons. Also put it on their right thumbs and the big toes of their right feet. Sprinkle the rest of the blood on the sides of the altar. Then take some of th blood from the altar and mix it with some of the anointing oil. Sprinkle it on Aaron and his sons an on their clothes. In this way, they and their clothing will be set apart as holy to the LORD.

"Since this the ram for the ordination of Aaron and his sons, take the fat of the ram, including the fat tail and the fat that covers the internal organs. Also, take the long lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with their fat, and the right thigh. Then take on loaf of bread, one cake mixed with olive oil, and one wafer from the basket of yeastless bread that was placed before the LORD. Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons to be lifted up as a special gift to the LORD. Afterward take the bread from their hands, and burn it on the altar as a burnt offering that will be pleasing to the LORD.

Then take the breast of Aaron's ordination ram that belong ato Aaron and his sons. This includes the breast and the thight that were lifted up before the LORD in the ordination ceremony. In the future, whenever the people of Israel offer up peace offerings or thanksgiving offering to the LORD, these parts will be the regular share of Aaron and his descendants.

Aaron's sacred garments must be preserved for his descendants who will succeed him, so they can be anointed and ordained in them. Whoever is the next high priest after Aaron will wear these clothes for seven days before beginning to minister in the Tabernacle and the Holy Place.

"Take the ram used in the ordination ceremony, and boil its meat in a sacred place. Aaron and his sons are to eat this meat, along with the bread in the basket, at the Tabernacle entrance. They alone may eat the meat and brea used for their atonement in the ordination ceremony. The ordinary people may not eat them, for these things are set apart and holy. If any of the ordination meat or bread remains until the morning, it must be burned. It may not be eaten, for it is holy.

"This is how you will ordain Aaron and his sons to their offices. The ordination ceremony will go on for seven days. Each day you must sacrifice a young bull as an offering for the atonement of sin. Afterward make an offeing to cleanse the altar. Purify the altar will be exceedingly holy, and whatever touches it willbecome holy.

"This is what you are to offer on the altar. Offer two one-year-old lambs each day, one in the morning and the other in the evening. With one of them, offer two quarts of fine flour mixed with one quart of olive oil; also, offer one quart of wine as a drink offering. Offer the other lamb in the evening, along with the same offerings of flour and wine as in the morning. It will be a fragrant offering to the LORD, and offering made by fire.

"This is to be a daily burnt offering given from generation to generation. Offer it in the LORD's presence at the Tabernacle entrance, where I will meet you and speak with you. I will meet the people of Israel there, and the Tabernacle will be sanctified by my glorious presence. Yes, I will make the Tabernacle and the altar most holy, and I will set apart Aaron and his sons as holy, that they may be my priests. I will live among the people of Israel and be their God, and they will know that I am the LORD their God. I am the one who brought them out of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the LORD their God.