The Atonement for the People. The priest has now to offer the goat assigned by lot for the atonement of the people; less valuable than the bullock, as the holiness of the priest is more important than that of the people. With the people is joined the holy place, and the shrine, which will suffer by infractions of ritual duty (cf. the defilement of the land by disobedience, Ezekiel 36:18). The atonement is made within the shrine, as before (the prohibition in Leviticus 16:17 is curious; but a priest, who might enter the outer shrine, might have wished to see the passage of the High Priest within). The altar is also atoned for, un-sinned (cf. Leviticus 8:15), by sprinkling it with the blood seven times. The altar of burnt offering is, of course, the altar referred to here.
Leviticus 16:16-19
16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remainethc among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.
18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.
19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.