Daily Text and Bible Reading: Thursday, February 6 [Press play below]

16.1 Jehovah spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons who died for approaching Jehovah.
16.2 Jehovah said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother that he may not come at just any time into the holy place inside the curtain, in front of the cover on the Ark, so that he may not die, for I will appear over the cover in a cloud.
16.3 “This is what Aaron should bring when he comes into the holy place: a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
16.4 He should put on the holy linen robe, and the linen shorts should cover his body, and he should wrap himself with the linen sash and his head with the linen turban. They are holy garments. He will bathe himself in water and put them on.
16.5 “He should take from the assembly of the Israelites two young male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.
16.6 “Aaron must then present the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and he will make atonement in behalf of himself and his house.
16.7 “He will then take the two goats and make them stand before Jehovah at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
16.8 Aaron will draw lots over the two goats, the one lot for Jehovah and the other lot for Azazel.
16.9 Aaron will present the goat that was designated by lot for Jehovah and make it a sin offering.
16.10 But the goat designated by lot for Azazel should be brought alive to stand before Jehovah in order to perform the atonement upon it, so that it may be sent away for Azazel into the wilderness.
16.11 “Aaron will present the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement in behalf of himself and his house; afterward he will slaughter the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself.
16.12 “He will then take the fire holder full of burning coals from the altar before Jehovah and two handfuls of fine perfumed incense, and he will bring them inside the curtain.
16.13 He will also put the incense on the fire before Jehovah, and the cloud of the incense will envelop the Ark cover, which is on the Testimony, so that he may not die.
16.14 “He will take some of the bull’s blood and spatter it with his finger in front of the cover on the east side, and he will spatter some of the blood with his finger seven times before the cover.
16.15 “He will then slaughter the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the curtain and do with its blood the same as he did with the bull’s blood; he is to spatter it toward the cover and before the cover.
16.16 “He must make atonement for the holy place concerning the acts of uncleanness of the Israelites and concerning their transgressions and their sins, and that is what he should do for the tent of meeting, which is located among them in the midst of their acts of uncleanness.
16.17 “No other man should be in the tent of meeting from the time he goes in to make atonement in the holy place until he comes out. He will make atonement in behalf of himself and his house and in behalf of the entire congregation of Israel.
16.18 “He will then come out to the altar, which is before Jehovah, and make atonement for it, and he will take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides.
16.19 He will also spatter some of the blood on it with his finger seven times and cleanse it and sanctify it from the acts of uncleanness of the Israelites.
16.20 “When he has finished making atonement for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he will also present the live goat.
16.21 Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the errors of the Israelites and all their transgressions and all their sins, and he will put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man designated to do this.
16.22 The goat will carry upon itself all their errors into a desert land, and he will send the goat away into the wilderness.
16.23 “Aaron will then enter into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the holy place, and he will lay them down there.
16.24 He must bathe himself in water in a holy place and put on his garments; then he will come out and offer up his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering and make atonement in his own behalf and in behalf of the people.
16.25 He will make the fat of the sin offering smoke on the altar.
16.26 “The man who sent away the goat for Azazel should wash his garments and bathe himself in water, and after that he may come into the camp.
16.27 “And the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the holy place to make atonement, will be taken outside the camp, and their skins and their flesh and their dung will be burned in the fire.
16.28 The one who burns them should wash his garments and bathe himself in water, and after that he may come into the camp.
16.29 “It will serve as a lasting statute for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you should afflict yourselves, and you must not do any work, whether a native or a foreigner who is residing among you.
16.30 On this day atonement will be made for you, to declare you clean. You will be clean from all your sins before Jehovah.
16.31 It is a sabbath of complete rest for you, and you should afflict yourselves. It is a lasting statute.
16.32 “The priest who is anointed and installed to serve as priest in place of his father will make atonement and put on the linen garments, the holy garments.
16.33 He will make atonement for the holy sanctuary, the tent of meeting, and the altar; and he will make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the congregation.
16.34 This will serve as a lasting statute for you, to make atonement for the Israelites concerning all their sins once each year.” So he did just as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
17.1 Jehovah went on to say to Moses:
17.2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites and say to them, ‘This is what Jehovah has commanded:
17.3 “‘“If any man of the house of Israel slaughters a bull or a young ram or a goat in the camp or if he slaughters it outside the camp,
17.4 instead of bringing it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to Jehovah before the tabernacle of Jehovah, bloodguilt will be counted to that man. He has shed blood, and that man must be cut off from among his people.
17.5 This is so that the Israelites will bring the sacrifices, which they now sacrifice in the open field, to Jehovah, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to the priest. They are to sacrifice these as communion sacrifices to Jehovah.
17.6 And the priest will sprinkle the blood on Jehovah’s altar at the entrance of the tent of meeting and make the fat smoke as a pleasing aroma to Jehovah.
17.7 So they should no longer offer sacrifices to the goatlike demons, with which they are prostituting themselves. This will serve as a lasting statute for you throughout your generations.”’
17.8 “You should say to them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any foreigner who is residing in your midst who offers up a burnt offering or a sacrifice
17.9 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to Jehovah must be cut off from his people.
17.10 “‘If any man of the house of Israel or any foreigner who is residing in your midst eats any sort of blood, I will certainly set my face against the one who is eating the blood, and I will cut him off from among his people.
17.11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I myself have given it on the altar for you to make atonement for yourselves, because it is the blood that makes atonement by means of the life in it.
17.12 That is why I have said to the Israelites: “None of you should eat blood, and no foreigner who is residing in your midst should eat blood.”
17.13 “‘If one of the Israelites or some foreigner who is residing in your midst is hunting and catches a wild animal or a bird that may be eaten, he must pour its blood out and cover it with dust.
17.14 For the life of every sort of flesh is its blood, because the life is in it. Consequently, I said to the Israelites: “You must not eat the blood of any sort of flesh because the life of every sort of flesh is its blood. Anyone eating it will be cut off.”
17.15 If anyone, whether a native or a foreigner, eats an animal found dead or one torn by a wild animal, he must then wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening; then he will be clean.
17.16 But if he does not wash them and does not bathe himself, he will answer for his error.’”
18.1 Jehovah continued to speak to Moses, saying:
18.2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘I am Jehovah your God.
18.3 You must not behave as they do in the land of Egypt, where you were dwelling, and you must not do what they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. And you must not walk in their statutes.
18.4 You should carry out my judicial decisions, and you should keep my statutes and walk in them. I am Jehovah your God.
18.5 You must keep my statutes and my judicial decisions; anyone who does so will live by means of them. I am Jehovah.
18.6 “‘No man among you should approach any of his close relatives to have sexual relations. I am Jehovah.
18.7 You must not have sexual relations with your father, and you must not have sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother, and you must not have sexual relations with her.
18.8 “‘You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife. It is exposing your father to shame.
18.9 “‘You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother, whether she is born in the same household or born outside of it.
18.10 “‘You must not have sexual relations with the daughter of your son or the daughter of your daughter, because they are your own nakedness.
18.11 “‘You must not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, the offspring of your father, because she is your sister.
18.12 “‘You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister. She is your father’s blood relative.
18.13 “‘You must not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s blood relative.
18.14 “‘You must not expose your father’s brother to shame by having sexual relations with his wife. She is your aunt.
18.15 “‘You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife, and you must not have relations with her.
18.16 “‘You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife, because it is exposing your brother to shame.
18.17 “‘You must not have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter. You must not take the daughter of her son and the daughter of her daughter in order to have relations. They are her close relatives; it is an obscene act.
18.18 “‘You must not take a woman in addition to her sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while her sister is alive.
18.19 “‘You must not approach a woman during her menstrual impurity to have sexual relations with her.
18.20 “‘You must not have sexual intercourse with the wife of your fellow man, making yourself unclean.
18.21 “‘You must not allow any of your offspring to be offered to Molech. You must not profane the name of your God in that way. I am Jehovah.
18.22 “‘You must not lie down with a male in the same way that you lie down with a woman. It is a detestable act.
18.23 “‘A man must not have sexual intercourse with an animal to become unclean by it; nor should a woman offer herself to an animal to have intercourse with it. It is a violation of what is natural.
18.24 “‘Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for it is by all these things that the nations that I am driving out from before you have made themselves unclean.
18.25 Therefore, the land is unclean, and I will bring punishment on it for its error, and the land will vomit its inhabitants out.
18.26 But you yourselves must keep my statutes and my judicial decisions, and you must not do any of these detestable things, whether a native or a foreigner who is residing among you.
18.27 For all these detestable things were done by the men who lived in the land before you, and now the land is unclean.
18.28 Then the land will not have to vomit you out for defiling it in the same way that it will vomit out the nations that were before you.
18.29 If anyone does any of these detestable things, all those doing them must be cut off from among their people.
18.30 You must keep your obligation to me by not practicing any of the detestable customs that were carried on before you, so that you do not make yourselves unclean by them. I am Jehovah your God.’”