Leviticus 23:26-32·~1 min

The Day of Atonement

The Day of Atonement is kept with sacred assembly, self-humbling, offerings, and complete rest, because atonement is made before the LORD; anyone who refuses the day's terms is cut off.

A²⁶gain the LORD said to Moses, ²⁷“The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You shall hold a sacred assembly and humble yourselves, and present a food offering to the LORD. ²⁸On this day you are not to do any work, for it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. ²⁹If anyone does not humble himself on this day, he must be cut off from his people. ³⁰I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on this day. ³¹You are not to do any work at all. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live. ³²It will be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall humble yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to keep your Sabbath.”

Section summaryThe Day of Atonement is set on the tenth day of the seventh month as a day of assembly, self-humbling, and complete cessation from work. Its seriousness is absolute: atonement is made before the LORD, and refusal to humble oneself or to rest brings removal from the people.

Role in the chapterThis section gives the sharpest weight in the chapter to one appointed day. It centers the seventh month on atonement before the LORD and marks that day with unusual gravity and strictness.