The two he-goats of Yom Kippur —- it is preferable that they be alike in color, in height, and in price; and in their purchase [which should be] together. But even if they are not alike, they are valid. If he bought one today and one tomorrow, they are valid.  If one of them died —- if it died before he cast the lots, he must buy a mate for the second one; but if it died after he cast the lots, he must bring another pair, and he cast lots upon them anew. He is to say if that of HASHEM died, “Let the one upon which the lot `For HASHEM' fell take its place”; and if that of Azazel died [he says], “Let the one upon which the lot `For Azazel' fell take its place.” Then the second [he-goat] is to graze until it becomes defective, when it may be sold and the pro-ceeds used for donations, for a communal sin offering is not [left] to die. R' Yehudah says: It should [be left to] die.  R' Yehudah also said: If the blood [of the he-goat “For HASHEM”] spilled, [then] the one [designated] to be sent away [to Azazel] is left to die. If the one which was to be sent away died, the blood [of the he-goat “For HASHEM”] must be poured out.

He [then] came to the he-goat [designated] to be sent away [to Azazel] and he supports both of his hands on it and confesses.  And this is what he would say, “I beg of You, HASHEM! Your nation, the Family of Israel, has acted wickedly, rebelled, and sinned before You. I pray, with Your Name! Forgive now the wicked acts, rebellions, and the sins, for Your people, the Family of Israel, has acted wickedly, rebelled, and sinned before You, as is written in the Torah of Your servant Moses: For on this day he shall atone for you to purify you from all your sins, before HASHEM shall you be purified.”  The Kohanim and the people who were standing in the Courtyard, when they heard the Ineffable Name coming out of the Kohen Gadol's mouth, they would kneel and prostrate themselves and fall upon their faces, and say, “Blessed is the Name —- the Glory of His King-ship —- forever and ever.”

He handed it to the one who was to lead it [to Azazel].  Anyone is fit to lead it, but the Kohanim Gedolim established a rule, and did not permit a Yisrael to lead it.  R' Yose said: It once happened that Arsela led it, and he was a Yisrael.

They made a ramp for it because of the Babylonians who used to pull at his hair and say to him, “Take and leave! Take and leave!”  Some of the eminent men of Jerusalem used to accompany him to the first booth. There were ten booths from Jerusalem to [a] precipice; [it was] ninety riss, seven and a half [riss] to every mil.

At each booth they would say to him, “Here is food and here is drink”; and they would accompany him from [that] booth to [the next] booth, except for the last of them. For the [last] escort could not go with him [all the way] to the precipice, but would stand from afar and observe his actions.

What did he do? He parted the strip of red wool; half of it he tied to the rock and half he tied between its two horns, and pushed it backwards. It tumbled down, and before it reached halfway down the mountain, it was torn limb from limb. He would return and sit under the [shade of the] last booth until it became dark.  And from when does he contaminate clothing? As soon as he gets outside the wall of Jerusalem. R' Shimon says: From the time he pushes him [down] to the precipice.

He came to the ox and he-goat which were to be burned. He tore them and removed their sacrificial parts. He put them in a plate and burned them upon the [Outer] Altar. He intertwined [the limbs of the ox and he-goat] into twists and removed them to the place of burning.  And from when do these [people] contaminate clothing? From when they go outside the wall of the Courtyard. R' Shimon says: From when the fire catches onto the greater part of [the limbs].

They said to the Kohen Gadol, “The he-goat has reached the wilderness.” And how did they know that the he-goat had reached the wilderness? They set up watch-posts and waved cloths, and thus they knew that the he-goat had reached the wilderness.  R' Yehudah said: But they had a dependable signal: From Jerusalem to the place of the he-goat's sharp peak was three mil; they walked a mil, returned a mil, and tarried for [the time needed to walk] a mil. Thus they knew that the he-goat had reached the wilderness.  R' Yishmael says: But did they not have another sign? A strip of red wool was tied atop the Temple entrance, and when the he-goat reached the wilderness the strip of wool whitened, as it has been said: [Even] if your sins will be like crimson thread they will become white as snow.