Di Day of Atonement

One heavy curtain hang for di front of di holiest room for di whole earth. Nobody dey pass am. Nobody, except one man, for one day for di year. And today na dat day.

Israel camp for di wilderness round di tabernacle. Inside di tent, two rooms dey. Di first one na di Holy Place, with di gold lampstand and di table of bread. Behind one thick curtain na di second room, di Most Holy Place. Inside am di ark of di covenant dey stand, one box wey dem cover with gold, with gold cover wey dem dey call di mercy seat. Na there God talk say e go meet im people. After di death of Aaron two sons, God talk to Moses. Tell your brother Aaron say e no fit just enter behind di curtain anytime wey e like. One day dey for am, and one way.

For dat day, Aaron no go wear im fine robes of blue and purple and gold. E go wash im body with water. Then e go wear plain white linen: linen tunic, linen underwear, linen sash and linen turban. Di greatest priest for Israel dress simple, like servant. E bring one young bull as sin offering for imself and im family. And from di people e collect two male goats. E stand dem before di Lord for di entrance of di tent, and e cast lots over dem. One goat na for di Lord. Dem go send di other one go away inside di wilderness.

First Aaron offer di bull for im own sins. Then e take one firepan wey full with burning coals from di altar, and two handful of sweet incense, and e go where nobody else fit go. Behind di curtain. E put di incense on top di fire, and cloud of sweet smoke full di room and cover di mercy seat. Then e sprinkle di bull blood on top di mercy seat and for im front, seven times. E come out, offer di goat wey dem choose for di Lord for di sins of di people, and e enter again with im blood. Year after year di people don do wrong, and even di holy place need cleansing. For dis day, everything become clean.

Now di second goat. E still dey alive. Aaron put im two hands on top im head, and e confess over am all di wrong wey Israel do, all their rebellion, all their sins. E put dem, as e be, on top di goat head. Then one man wey dem choose for di work lead di goat go. Comot from di camp. Pass di tents. Enter di wilderness, go one land where nobody dey live. Di whole camp fit watch am as e dey go, small, smaller, until e disappear. Whatever wey dem don do, God dey carry am go far away. God tell dem say dem must keep dis day every year, for di tenth day of di seventh month. Nobody must work. Na day to humble themselves, day of rest. For dat day, God talk, dem go make atonement for una, to clean una, and una go dey clean from all una sins before di Lord.

People still dey keep dis day. Jewish communities all over di world dey call am Yom Kippur, di Day of Atonement, and e dey fall for di time when leaves dey fall for di northern lands, for di Hebrew month of Tishri. Na di most solemn day for di Jewish year, day of fasting, prayer and confession. Around eighteen hundred years ago, di Mishnah, one early collection of Jewish teaching, give one whole section to am. Dem just call dat section Yoma, wey mean di Day.

Di Day of Atonement. You go find am for Leviticus chapter sixteen. Once every year, one priest for plain white enter behind di curtain, and one goat waka go inside di wilderness, e carry di people sins. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. How e go feel to know say God don carry your wrongs go far away?