Worthy.Bible » Parallel » Leviticus » Chapter 16 » Verse 1-34

Leviticus 16:1-34 King James Version (KJV)

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1 And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died;

2 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.

3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.

5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.

7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.

10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:

12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:

13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:

14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:

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 remaineth 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.

20 And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:

21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

23 And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:

24 And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.

25 And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.

26 And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.

27 And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.

28 And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:

30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.

32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:

33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.

34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Leviticus 16:1-34 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

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1 And the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto Moses H4872 after H310 the death H4194 of the two H8147 sons H1121 of Aaron, H175 when they offered H7126 before H6440 the LORD, H3068 and died; H4191

2 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Moses, H4872 Speak H1696 unto Aaron H175 thy brother, H251 that he come H935 not at all times H6256 into the holy H6944 place within H1004 the vail H6532 before H6440 the mercy seat, H3727 which is upon the ark; H727 that he die H4191 not: for I will appear H7200 in the cloud H6051 upon the mercy H3727 seat.

3 Thus H2063 shall Aaron H175 come H935 into the holy H6944 place: with a young H1121 H1241 bullock H6499 for a sin offering, H2403 and a ram H352 for a burnt offering. H5930

4 He shall put on H3847 the holy H6944 linen H906 coat, H3801 and he shall have the linen H906 breeches H4370 upon his flesh, H1320 and shall be girded H2296 with a linen H906 girdle, H73 and with the linen H906 mitre H4701 shall he be attired: H6801 these H1992 are holy H6944 garments; H899 therefore shall he wash H7364 his flesh H1320 in water, H4325 and so put them on. H3847

5 And he shall take H3947 of the congregation H5712 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 two H8147 kids H8163 of the goats H5795 for a sin offering, H2403 and one H259 ram H352 for a burnt offering. H5930

6 And Aaron H175 shall offer H7126 his bullock H6499 of the sin offering, H2403 which is for himself, H1157 and make an atonement H3722 for himself, and for his house. H1004

7 And he shall take H3947 the two H8147 goats, H8163 and present H5975 them before H6440 the LORD H3068 at the door H6607 of the tabernacle H168 of the congregation. H4150

8 And Aaron H175 shall cast H5414 lots H1486 upon the two H8147 goats; H8163 one H259 lot H1486 for the LORD, H3068 and the other H259 lot H1486 for the scapegoat. H5799

9 And Aaron H175 shall bring H7126 the goat H8163 upon which the LORD'S H3068 lot H1486 fell, H5927 and offer H6213 him for a sin offering. H2403

10 But the goat, H8163 on which the lot H1486 fell H5927 to be the scapegoat, H5799 shall be presented H5975 alive H2416 before H6440 the LORD, H3068 to make an atonement H3722 with him, and to let him go H7971 for a scapegoat H5799 into the wilderness. H4057

11 And Aaron H175 shall bring H7126 the bullock H6499 of the sin offering, H2403 which is for himself, and shall make an atonement H3722 for himself, and for his house, H1004 and shall kill H7819 the bullock H6499 of the sin offering H2403 which is for himself:

12 And he shall take H3947 a censer H4289 full H4393 of burning H784 coals H1513 of fire H784 from off the altar H4196 before H6440 the LORD, H3068 and his hands H2651 full H4393 of sweet H5561 incense H7004 beaten small, H1851 and bring H935 it within H1004 the vail: H6532

13 And he shall put H5414 the incense H7004 upon the fire H784 before H6440 the LORD, H3068 that the cloud H6051 of the incense H7004 may cover H3680 the mercy seat H3727 that is upon the testimony, H5715 that he die H4191 not:

14 And he shall take H3947 of the blood H1818 of the bullock, H6499 and sprinkle H5137 it with his finger H676 upon the mercy seat H3727 eastward; H6924 and before H6440 the mercy seat H3727 shall he sprinkle H5137 of the blood H1818 with his finger H676 seven H7651 times. H6471

15 Then shall he kill H7819 the goat H8163 of the sin offering, H2403 that is for the people, H5971 and bring H935 his blood H1818 within H1004 the vail, H6532 and do H6213 with that blood H1818 as he did H6213 with the blood H1818 of the bullock, H6499 and sprinkle H5137 it upon the mercy seat, H3727 and before H6440 the mercy seat: H3727

16 And he shall make an atonement H3722 for the holy H6944 place, because of the uncleanness H2932 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 and because of their transgressions H6588 in all their sins: H2403 and so shall he do H6213 for the tabernacle H168 of the congregation, H4150 that remaineth H7931 among them in the midst H8432 of their uncleanness. H2932

17 And there shall be no man H120 in the tabernacle H168 of the congregation H4150 when he goeth H935 in to make an atonement H3722 in the holy H6944 place, until he come out, H3318 and have made an atonement H3722 for himself, and for his household, H1004 and for all the congregation H6951 of Israel. H3478

18 And he shall go out H3318 unto the altar H4196 that is before H6440 the LORD, H3068 and make an atonement H3722 for it; and shall take H3947 of the blood H1818 of the bullock, H6499 and of the blood H1818 of the goat, H8163 and put H5414 it upon the horns H7161 of the altar H4196 round about. H5439

19 And he shall sprinkle H5137 of the blood H1818 upon it with his finger H676 seven H7651 times, H6471 and cleanse H2891 it, and hallow H6942 it from the uncleanness H2932 of the children H1121 of Israel. H3478

20 And when he hath made an end H3615 of reconciling H3722 the holy H6944 place, and the tabernacle H168 of the congregation, H4150 and the altar, H4196 he shall bring H7126 the live H2416 goat: H8163

21 And Aaron H175 shall lay H5564 both H8147 his hands H3027 upon the head H7218 of the live H2416 goat, H8163 and confess H3034 over him all the iniquities H5771 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 and all their transgressions H6588 in all their sins, H2403 putting H5414 them upon the head H7218 of the goat, H8163 and shall send him away H7971 by the hand H3027 of a fit H6261 man H376 into the wilderness: H4057

22 And the goat H8163 shall bear H5375 upon him all their iniquities H5771 unto a land H776 not inhabited: H1509 and he shall let go H7971 the goat H8163 in the wilderness. H4057

23 And Aaron H175 shall come H935 into the tabernacle H168 of the congregation, H4150 and shall put off H6584 the linen H906 garments, H899 which he put on H3847 when he went H935 into the holy H6944 place, and shall leave H3240 them there:

24 And he shall wash H7364 his flesh H1320 with water H4325 in the holy H6918 place, H4725 and put on H3847 his garments, H899 and come forth, H3318 and offer H6213 his burnt offering, H5930 and the burnt offering H5930 of the people, H5971 and make an atonement H3722 for himself, and for the people. H5971

25 And the fat H2459 of the sin offering H2403 shall he burn H6999 upon the altar. H4196

26 And he that let go H7971 the goat H8163 for the scapegoat H5799 shall wash H3526 his clothes, H899 and bathe H7364 his flesh H1320 in water, H4325 and afterward H310 come H935 into the camp. H4264

27 And the bullock H6499 for the sin offering, H2403 and the goat H8163 for the sin offering, H2403 whose blood H1818 was brought in H935 to make atonement H3722 in the holy H6944 place, shall one carry forth H3318 without H2351 the camp; H4264 and they shall burn H8313 in the fire H784 their skins, H5785 and their flesh, H1320 and their dung. H6569

28 And he that burneth H8313 them shall wash H3526 his clothes, H899 and bathe H7364 his flesh H1320 in water, H4325 and afterward H310 he shall come H935 into the camp. H4264

29 And this shall be a statute H2708 for ever H5769 unto you: that in the seventh H7637 month, H2320 on the tenth H6218 day of the month, H2320 ye shall afflict H6031 your souls, H5315 and do H6213 no work H4399 at all, whether it be one of your own country, H249 or a stranger H1616 that sojourneth H1481 among H8432 you:

30 For on that day H3117 shall the priest make an atonement H3722 for you, to cleanse H2891 you, that ye may be clean H2891 from all your sins H2403 before H6440 the LORD. H3068

31 It shall be a sabbath H7676 of rest H7677 unto you, and ye shall afflict H6031 your souls, H5315 by a statute H2708 for ever. H5769

32 And the priest, H3548 whom he shall anoint, H4886 and whom he shall consecrate H4390 H3027 to minister in the priest's office H3547 in his father's H1 stead, shall make the atonement, H3722 and shall put on H3847 the linen H906 clothes, H899 even the holy H6944 garments: H899

33 And he shall make an atonement H3722 for the holy H6944 sanctuary, H4720 and he shall make an atonement H3722 for the tabernacle H168 of the congregation, H4150 and for the altar, H4196 and he shall make an atonement H3722 for the priests, H3548 and for all the people H5971 of the congregation. H6951

34 And this shall be an everlasting H5769 statute H2708 unto you, to make an atonement H3722 for the children H1121 of Israel H3478 for all their sins H2403 once H259 a year. H8141 And he did H6213 as the LORD H3068 commanded H6680 Moses. H4872

Leviticus 16:1-34 American Standard (ASV)

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1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before Jehovah, and died;

2 and Jehovah said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy-seat which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat.

3 Herewith shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering.

4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with the linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: they are the holy garments; and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and put them on.

5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two he-goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering.

6 And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself, and for his house.

7 And he shall take the two goats, and set them before Jehovah at the door of the tent of meeting.

8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for Jehovah, and the other lot for Azazel.

9 And Aaron shall present the goat upon which the lot fell for Jehovah, and offer him for a sin-offering.

10 But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall be set alive before Jehovah, to make atonement for him, to send him away for Azazel into the wilderness.

11 And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and shall make atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin-offering which is for himself:

12 and he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before Jehovah, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil:

13 and he shall put the incense upon the fire before Jehovah, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy-seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:

14 and he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy-seat on the east; and before the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin-offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat:

16 and he shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleannesses of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their sins: and so shall he do for the tent of meeting, that dwelleth with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.

17 And there shall be no man in the tent of meeting when he goeth in to make atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.

18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before Jehovah, and make 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 uncleannesses of the children of Israel.

20 And when he hath made an end of atoning for the holy place, and the tent of meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat:

21 and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a man that is in readiness into the wilderness:

22 and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a solitary land: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

23 And Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:

24 and he shall bathe his flesh in water in a holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt-offering and the burnt-offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.

25 And the fat of the sin-offering shall he burn upon the altar.

26 And he that letteth go the goat for Azazel shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

27 And the bullock of the sin-offering, and the goat of the sin-offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be carried forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.

28 And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

29 And it shall be a statute for ever unto you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work, the home-born, or the stranger that sojourneth among you:

30 for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall ye be clean before Jehovah.

31 It is a sabbath of solemn rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; it is a statute for ever.

32 And the priest, who shall be anointed and who shall be consecrated to be priest in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy garments:

33 and he shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary; and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar; and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.

34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make atonement for the children of Israel because of all their sins once in the year. And he did as Jehovah commanded Moses.

Leviticus 16:1-34 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

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1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, in their drawing near before Jehovah, and they die;

2 yea, Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Speak unto Aaron thy brother, and he cometh not in at all times unto the sanctuary within the vail, unto the front of the mercy-seat, which `is' upon the ark, and he dieth not, for in a cloud I am seen upon the mercy-seat.

3 `With this doth Aaron come in unto the sanctuary; with a bullock, a son of the herd, for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering;

4 a holy linen coat he putteth on, and linen trousers are on his flesh, and with a linen girdle he girdeth himself, and with a linen mitre he wrappeth himself up; they `are' holy garments; and he hath bathed with water his flesh, and hath put them on.

5 `And from the company of the sons of Israel he taketh two kids of the goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering;

6 and Aaron hath brought near the bullock of the sin-offering which is his own, and hath made atonement for himself, and for his house;

7 and he hath taken the two goats, and hath caused them to stand before Jehovah, at the opening of the tent of meeting.

8 `And Aaron hath given lots over the two goats, one lot for Jehovah, and one lot for a goat of departure;

9 and Aaron hath brought near the goat on which the lot for Jehovah hath gone up, and hath made it a sin-offering.

10 `And the goat on which the lot for a goat of departure hath gone up is caused to stand living before Jehovah to make atonement by it, to send it away for a goat of departure into the wilderness.

11 `And Aaron hath brought near the bullock of the sin-offering which is his own, and hath made atonement for himself, and for his house, and hath slaughtered the bullock of the sin-offering which `is' his own,

12 and hath taken the fulness of the censer of burning coals of fire from off the altar, from before Jehovah, and the fulness of his hands of thin spice-perfume, and hath brought `it' within the vail;

13 and he hath put the perfume on the fire before Jehovah, and the cloud of the perfume hath covered the mercy-seat which `is' on the testimony, and he dieth not.

14 `And he hath taken of the blood of the bullock, and hath sprinkled with his finger on the front of the mercy-seat eastward; even at the front of the mercy-seat he doth sprinkle seven times of the blood with his finger.

15 `And he hath slaughtered the goat of the sin-offering which `is' the people's, and hath brought in its blood unto the inside of the vail, and hath done with its blood as he hath done with the blood of the bullock, and hath sprinkled it on the mercy-seat, and at the front of the mercy-seat,

16 and he hath made atonement for the sanctuary because of the uncleanness of the sons of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins; and so he doth for the tent of meeting which is tabernacling with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.

17 `And no man is in the tent of meeting in his going in to make atonement in the sanctuary, till his coming out; and he hath made atonement for himself, and for his house, and for all the assembly of Israel.

18 `And he hath gone out unto the altar which `is' before Jehovah, and hath made atonement for it; and he hath taken of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and hath put on the horns of the altar round about;

19 and he hath sprinkled on it of the blood with his finger seven times, and hath cleansed it, and hath hallowed it from the uncleannesses of the sons of Israel.

20 `And he hath ceased from making atonement `for' the sanctuary, and the tent of meeting, and the altar, and hath brought near the living goat;

21 and Aaron hath laid his two hands on the head of the living goat, and hath confessed over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, and hath put them on the head of the goat, and hath sent `it' away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness;

22 and the goat hath borne on him all their iniquities unto a land of separation. `And he hath sent the goat away into the wilderness,

23 and Aaron hath come in unto the tent of meeting, and hath stripped off the linen garments which he had put on in his going in unto the sanctuary, and hath placed them there;

24 and he hath bathed his flesh with water in the holy place, and hath put on his garments, and hath come out, and hath made his burnt-offering, and the burnt-offering of the people, and hath made atonement for himself and for the people;

25 and with the fat of the sin-offering he doth make perfume on the altar.

26 `And he who is sending away the goat for a goat of departure doth wash his garments, and hath bathed his flesh with water, and afterwards he cometh in unto the camp.

27 `And the bullock of the sin-offering, and the goat of the sin-offering, whose blood hath been brought in to make atonement in the sanctuary, doth `one' bring out unto the outside of the camp, and they have burnt with fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung;

28 and he who is burning them doth wash his garments, and hath bathed his flesh with water, and afterwards he cometh in unto the camp.

29 `And it hath been to you for a statute age-during, in the seventh month, in the tenth of the month, ye humble yourselves, and do no work -- the native, and the sojourner who is sojourning in your midst;

30 for on this day he maketh atonement for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins before Jehovah ye are clean;

31 it `is' to you a sabbath of rest, and ye have humbled yourselves -- a statute age-during.

32 `And the priest whom he doth anoint, and whose hand he doth consecrate to act as priest instead of his father, hath made atonement, and hath put on the linen garments, the holy garments;

33 and he hath made atonement `for' the holy sanctuary; and `for' the tent of meeting, even `for' the altar he doth make atonement; yea, for the priests, and for all the people of the assembly he maketh atonement.

34 `And this hath been to you for a statute age-during, to make atonement for the sons of Israel, because of all their sins, once in a year;' and he doth as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

Leviticus 16:1-34 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

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1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they came near before Jehovah and died;

2 and Jehovah said to Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the sanctuary inside the veil before the mercy-seat which is upon the ark, that he die not; for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat.

3 In this manner shall Aaron come into the sanctuary: with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering.

4 A holy linen vest shall he put on, and linen trousers shall be upon his flesh, and he shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and put them on.

5 And of the assembly of the children of Israel shall he take two bucks of the goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering.

6 And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself, and for his house.

7 And he shall take the two goats, and set them before Jehovah, before the entrance of the tent of meeting.

8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats: one lot for Jehovah, and the other lot for Azazel.

9 And Aaron shall present the goat upon which the lot fell for Jehovah, and offer it [as] a sin-offering.

10 And the goat upon which the lot fell for Azazel shall be set alive before Jehovah, to make atonement with it, to send it away as Azazel into the wilderness.

11 And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall slaughter the bullock of the sin-offering which is for himself.

12 And he shall take the censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before Jehovah, and both his hands full of fragrant incense beaten small, and bring it inside the veil.

13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before Jehovah, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy-seat which is upon the testimony, that he die not.

14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle with his finger upon the front of the mercy-seat eastward; and before the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle of the blood seven times with his finger.

15 And he shall slaughter the goat of the sin-offering, which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat;

16 and he shall make atonement for the sanctuary, [to cleanse it] from the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and from their transgressions in all their sins; and so shall he do for the tent of meeting which dwelleth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

17 And there shall be no man in the tent of meeting when he goeth in to make atonement in the sanctuary until he come out; and he shall make atonement for himself, and for his house, and for the whole congregation of Israel.

18 And he shall go out unto the altar which is before Jehovah, and make atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about;

19 and he shall sprinkle upon it of the blood with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the children of Israel.

20 And when he hath ended making atonement for the sanctuary, and the tent of meeting, and the altar, he shall present the living goat;

21 and Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the living goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away to the wilderness by the hand of a man standing ready;

22 that the goat may bear upon him all their iniquities to a land apart [from men]; and he shall send away the goat into the wilderness.

23 And Aaron shall go into the tent of meeting, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the sanctuary, and shall leave them there;

24 and he shall bathe his flesh with water in a holy place, and put on his garments, and go forth, and offer his burnt-offering, and the burnt-offering of the people, and make atonement for himself, and for the people.

25 And the fat of the sin-offering shall he burn upon the altar.

26 And he that letteth go the goat for Azazel shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water; and afterwards he may come into the camp.

27 And the bullock of the sin-offering, and the goat of the sin-offering whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the sanctuary, shall one carry forth outside the camp; and they shall burn with fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.

28 And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water; and afterwards he may come into the camp.

29 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you. In the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, the home-born, and the stranger that sojourneth among you;

30 for on that day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you: from all your sins shall ye be clean before Jehovah.

31 A sabbath of rest shall it be unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls: [it is] an everlasting statute.

32 And the priest who hath been anointed, and who hath been consecrated, to exercise the priesthood in his father's stead, shall make atonement; and he shall put on the linen garments, the holy garments.

33 And he shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary; and for the tent of meeting, and for the altar shall he make atonement; and for the priests, and for the whole people of the congregation shall he make atonement.

34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make atonement for the children of Israel [to cleanse them] from all their sins once a year. And he did as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

Leviticus 16:1-34 World English Bible (WEB)

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1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before Yahweh, and died;

2 and Yahweh said to Moses, "Tell Aaron your brother, not to come at all times into the Most Holy Place within the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark; lest he die: for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat.

3 "Herewith shall Aaron come into the sanctuary: with a young bull for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches on his body, and shall put on the linen sash, and he shall be dressed with the linen turban. They are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water, and put them on.

5 He shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering

6 "Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house.

7 He shall take the two goats, and set them before Yahweh at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

8 Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats; one lot for Yahweh, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

9 Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for Yahweh, and offer him for a sin offering.

10 But the goat, on which the lot fell for the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before Yahweh, to make atonement for him, to send him away for the scapegoat into the wilderness.

11 "Aaron shall present the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.

12 He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before Yahweh, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil:

13 and he shall put the incense on the fire before Yahweh, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the testimony, so that he will not die.

14 He shall take some of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

15 "Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:

16 and he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their sins; and so he shall do for the Tent of Meeting, that dwells with them in the midst of their uncleanness.

17 There shall be no one in the Tent of Meeting when he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, and has made atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.

18 "He shall go out to the altar that is before Yahweh and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the bull's blood, and some of the goat's blood, and put it on the horns of the altar round about.

19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and make it holy from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

20 "When he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat.

21 Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.

22 The goat shall carry all their iniquities on himself to a solitary land, and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.

23 "Aaron shall come into the Tent of Meeting, and shall take off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there.

24 Then he shall bathe himself in water in a holy place, and put on his garments, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.

25 The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar.

26 "He who lets the goat go for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

27 The bull for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried forth outside the camp; and they shall burn their skins, their flesh, and their dung with fire.

28 He who burns them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

29 "It shall be a statute to you forever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work, the native-born, or the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you:

30 for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before Yahweh.

31 It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls; it is a statute forever.

32 The priest, who is anointed and who is consecrated to be priest in his father's place, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy garments.

33 Then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary; and he shall make atonement for the Tent of Meeting and for the altar; and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.

34 "This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel once in the year because of all their sins." It was done as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Leviticus 16:1-34 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

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1 And the Lord said to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they took in strange fire before the Lord and death overtook them;

2 The Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, your brother, that he may not come at all times into the holy place inside the veil, before the cover which is on the ark, for fear that death may overtake him; for I will be seen in the cloud on the cover of the ark.

3 Let Aaron come into the holy place in this way: with an ox for a sin-offering and a male sheep for a burned offering.

4 Let him put on the holy linen coat, and the linen trousers on his body, and the linen band round him, and the linen head-dress on his head; for this is holy clothing, and before he puts them on his body is to be washed with water.

5 And let him take from the children of Israel two he-goats for a sin-offering and one male sheep for a burned offering.

6 And Aaron is to give the ox of the sin-offering for himself, to make himself and his house free from sin.

7 And he is to take the two goats and put them before the Lord at the door of the Tent of meeting.

8 And Aaron will make selection from the two goats by the decision of the Lord, one goat for the Lord and one for Azazel.

9 And the goat which is marked out for the Lord, let Aaron give for a sin-offering.

10 But the goat for Azazel is to be placed living before the Lord, for the taking away of sin, that it may be sent away for Azazel into the waste land.

11 And Aaron is to give the ox of the sin-offering for himself and take away sin from himself and his house, and put to death the ox of the sin-offering which is for himself.

12 And he is to take a vessel full of burning coal from the altar before the Lord and in his hand some sweet perfume crushed small, and take it inside the veil;

13 And let him put the perfume on the fire before the Lord so that the ark may be covered with a cloud of the smoke of the perfume, in order that death may not overtake him.

14 And let him take some of the blood of the ox, shaking drops of it from his finger on the cover of the ark on the east side, and before it, seven times.

15 Then let him put to death the goat of the sin-offering for the people, and take its blood inside the veil and do with it as he did with the blood of the ox, shaking drops of it on and before the cover of the ark.

16 And let him make the holy place free from whatever is unclean among the children of Israel and from their wrongdoing in all their sins; and let him do the same for the Tent of meeting, which has its place among an unclean people.

17 And no man may be in the Tent of meeting from the time when Aaron goes in to take away sin in the holy place till he comes out, having made himself and his house and all the people of Israel free from sin.

18 And he is to go out to the altar which is before the Lord and make it free from sin; and he is to take some of the blood of the ox and the blood of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar and round it;

19 Shaking drops of the blood from his finger on it seven times to make it holy and clean from whatever is unclean among the children of Israel.

20 And when he has done whatever is necessary to make the holy place and the Tent of meeting and the altar free from sin, let him put the living goat before the Lord;

21 And Aaron, placing his two hands on the head of the living goat, will make a public statement over him of all the evil doings of the children of Israel and all their wrongdoing, in all their sins; and he will put them on the head of the goat and send him away, in the care of a man who will be waiting there, into the waste land.

22 And the goat will take all their sins into a land cut off from men, and he will send the goat away into the waste land.

23 Then let Aaron come into the Tent of meeting and take off the linen clothing which he put on when he went into the holy place, and put them down there;

24 And after bathing his body in water in a holy place, he is to put on his clothing and come out and give his burned offering and the burned offering of the people, to take away his sin and the sin of the people.

25 And the fat of the sin-offering is to be burned by him on the altar.

26 And the man who takes away the goat for Azazel is to have his clothing washed and his body bathed in water and then he may come back to the tent-circle.

27 And the ox of the sin-offering and the goat of the sin-offering, whose blood was taken in to make the holy place free from sin, are to be taken away outside the tent-circle and their skins and their flesh and their waste are to be burned with fire.

28 And the man by whom they are burned is to have his clothing washed and his body bathed in water, and then he may come back to the tent-circle.

29 And let this be an order to you for ever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day, you are to keep yourselves from pleasure and do no sort of work, those who are Israelites by birth and those from other lands who are living among you:

30 For on this day your sin will be taken away and you will be clean: you will be made free from all your sins before the Lord.

31 It is a special Sabbath for you, and you are to keep yourselves from pleasure; it is an order for ever.

32 And the man on whose head the holy oil has been put, and who has been marked out to be a priest in his father's place, will do what is necessary to take away sin, and will put on the linen clothing, even the holy robes:

33 And he will make the holy place and the Tent of meeting and the altar free from sin; he will take away sin from the priests and from all the people.

34 And let this be an order for ever for you, so that the sin of the children of Israel may be taken away once every year. And he did as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Leviticus 16

Commentary on Leviticus 16 Matthew Henry Commentary

John Gill   Keil & Delitzsch   Robert Jamieson: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible  

Chapter 16

In this chapter we have the institution of the annual solemnity of the day of atonement, or expiation, which had as much gospel in it as perhaps any of the appointments of the ceremonial law, as appears by the reference the apostle makes to it, Heb. 9:7, etc. We had before divers laws concerning sin-offerings for particular persons, and to be offered upon particular occasions; but this is concerning the stated sacrifice, in which the whole nation was interested. The whole service of the day is committed to the high priest.

  • I. He must never come into the most holy place but upon this day (v. 1, 2).
  • II. He must come dressed in linen garments (v. 4).
  • III. He must bring a sin-offering and a burnt-offering for himself (v. 3), offer his sin-offering (v. 6-11), then go within the veil with some of the blood of his sin-offering, burn incense, and sprinkle the blood before the mercy-seat (v. 12-14).
  • IV. Two goats must be provided for the people, lots cast upon them, and,
    • 1. One of them must be a sin-offering for the people (v. 5, 7-9), and the blood of it must be sprinkled before the mercy-seat (v. 15-17), and then some of the blood of both the sin-offerings must be sprinkled upon the altar (v. 18, 19).
    • 2. The other must be a scape-goat (v. 10), the sins of Israel must be confessed over him, and then he must be sent away into the wilderness (v. 20-22), and he that brought him away must be ceremonially unclean (v. 26).
  • V. The burnt-offerings were then to be offered, the fat of the sin-offerings burnt on the altar, and their flesh burnt without the camp (v. 23-25, 27, 28).
  • VI. The people were to observe the day religiously by a holy rest and holy mourning for sin; and this was to be a statute for ever (v. 29, etc.).

Lev 16:1-4

Here is,

  • I. The date of this law concerning the day of atonement: it was after the death of the two sons of Aaron (v. 1), which we read, ch. 10:1.
    • 1. Lest Aaron should fear that any remaining guilt of that sin should cleave to his family, or (seeing the priests were so apt to offend) that some after-sin of his other sons should be the ruin of his family, he is directed how to make atonement for his house, that it might keep in with God; for the atonement for it would be the establishment of it, and preserve the entail of the blessing upon it.
    • 2. The priests being warned by the death of Nadab and Abihu to approach to God with reverence and godly fear (without which they came at their peril), directions are here given how the nearest approach might be made, not only without peril, but to unspeakable advantage and comfort, if the directions were observed. When they were cut off for an undue approach, the rest must not say, "Then we will not draw near at all,' but, "Then we will do it by rule.' They died for their sin, therefore God graciously provides for the rest, that they die not. Thus God's judgments on some should be instructions to others.
  • II. The design of this law. One intention of it was to preserve a veneration for the most holy place, within the veil, where the Shechinah, or divine glory, was pleased to dwell between the cherubim: Speak unto Aaron, that he come not at all times into the holy place, v. 2. Before the veil some of the priests came every day to burn incense upon the golden altar, but within the veil none must ever come but the high priest only, and he but on one day in the year, and with great ceremony and caution. That place where God manifested his special presence must not be made common. If none must come into the presence-chamber of an earthly king uncalled, no, not the queen herself, upon pain of death (Esth. 4:11), was it not requisite that the same sacred respect should be paid to the Kings of kings? But see what a blessed change is made by the gospel of Christ; all good Christians have now boldness to enter into the holiest, through the veil, every day (Heb. 10:19, 20); and we come boldly (not as Aaron must, with fear and trembling) to the throne of grace, or mercy-seat, Heb. 4:16. While the manifestations of God's presence and grace were sensible, it was requisite that they should thus be confined and upon reserve, because the objects of sense the more familiar they are made the less awful or delightful they become; but now that they are purely spiritual it is otherwise, for the objects of faith the more they are conversed with the more do they manifest of their greatness and goodness: now therefore we are welcome to come at all times into the holy place not made with hands, for we are made to sit together with Christ in heavenly places by faith, Eph. 2:6. Then Aaron must not come near at all times, lest he die; we now must come near at all times that we may live: it is distance only that is our death. Then God appeared in the cloud upon the mercy-seat, but now with open face we behold, not in a dark cloud, but in a clear glass, the glory of the Lord, 2 Co. 3:18.
  • III. The person to whom the work of this day was committed, and that was the high priest only: Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place, v. 3. He was to do all himself upon the day of atonement: only there was a second provided to be his substitute or supporter, in case any thing should befal him, either of sickness or ceremonial uncleanness, that he could not perform the service of the day. All Christians are spiritual priests, but Christ only is the high priest, and he alone it is that makes atonement, nor needed he either assistant or substitute.
  • IV. The attire of the high priest in this service. He was not to be dressed up in his rich garments that were peculiar to himself: he was not to put on the ephod, with the precious stones in it, but only the linen clothes which he wore in common with the inferior priests, v. 4. That meaner dress did best become him on this day of humiliation; and, being thinner and lighter, he would in it be more expedite for the work or service of the day, which was all to go through his hands. Christ, our high priest, made atonement for sin in our nature; not in the robes of his own peculiar glory, but the linen garments of our mortality, clean indeed, but mean.

Lev 16:5-14

The Jewish writers say that for seven days before the day of expiation the high priest was to retire from his own house, and to dwell in a chamber of the temple, that he might prepare himself for the service of this great day. During those seven days he himself did the work of the inferior priests about the sacrifices, incense, etc., that he might have his hand in for this day: he must have the institution read to him again and again, that he might be fully apprised of the whole method.

  • 1. He was to begin the service of the day very early with the usual morning sacrifice, after he had first washed his whole body before he dressed himself, and his hands and feet again afterwards. He then burned the daily incense, dressed the lamps, and offered the extraordinary sacrifice appointed for this day (not here, but Num. 29:8), a bullock, a ram, and seven lambs, all for burnt-offerings. This he is supposed to have done in his high priest's garments.
  • 2. He must now put off his rich robes, bathe himself, put on the linen garments, and present unto the Lord his own bullock, which was to be a sin-offering for himself and his own house, v. 6. The bullock was set between the temple and the altar, and the offering of him mentioned in this verse was the making of a solemn confession of his sins and the sins of his house, earnestly praying for the forgiveness of them, and this with his hands on the head of the bullock.
  • 3. He must then cast lots upon the two goats, which were to make (both together) one sin-offering for the congregation. One of these goats must be slain, in token of a satisfaction to be made to God's justice for sin, the other must be sent away, in token of the remission or dismission of sin by the mercy of God. Both must be presented together to God (v. 7) before the lot was cast upon them, and afterwards the scape-goat by itself, v. 10. Some think that goats were chosen for the sin-offering because, by the disagreeableness of their smell, the offensiveness of sin is represented: others think, because it was said that the demons which the heathens then worshipped often appeared to their worshippers in the form of goats, God therefore obliged his people to sacrifice goats, that they might never be tempted to sacrifice to goats.
  • 4. The next thing to be done was to kill the bullock for the sin-offering for himself and his house, v. 11. "Now,' say the Jews, "he must again put his hands on the head of the bullock, and repeat the confession and supplication he had before made, and kill the bullock with his own hands, to make atonement for himself first (for how could he make reconciliation for the sins of the people till he was himself first reconciled?) and for his house, not only his own family, but all the priests, who are called the house of Aaron,' Ps. 135:19. This charity must begin at home, though it must not end there. The bullock being killed, he left one of the priests to stir the blood, that it might not thicken, and then,
  • 5. He took a censer of burning coals (that would not smoke) in one hand, and a dish full of the sweet incense in the other, and then went into the holy of holies through the veil, and went up towards the ark, set the coals down upon the floor, and scattered the incense upon them, so that the room was immediately filled with smoke. The Jews say that he was to go in side-ways, that he might not look directly upon the ark where the divine glory was, till it was covered with smoke; then he must come out backwards, out of reverence to the divine majesty; and, after a short prayer, he was to hasten out of the sanctuary, to show himself to the people, that they might not suspect that he had misbehaved himself and died before the Lord.
  • 6. He then fetched the blood of the bullock from the priest whom he had left stirring it, and took that in with him the second time into the holy of holies, which was now filled with the smoke of the incense, and sprinkled with his finger of that blood upon, or rather towards, the mercy-seat, once over against the top of it and then seven times towards the lower part of it, v. 14. But the drops of blood (as the Jews expound it) all fell upon the ground, and none touched the mercy-seat. Having done this, he came out of the most holy place, set the basin of blood down in the sanctuary, and went out.

Lev 16:15-19

When the priest had come out from the sprinkling the blood of the bullock before the mercy-seat,

  • 1. He must next kill the goat which was the sin-offering for the people (v. 15) and go the third time into the holy of holies, to sprinkle the blood of the goat, as he had done that of the bullock; and thus he was to make atonement for the holy place (v. 16); that is, whereas the people by their sins had provoked God to take away those tokens of his favourable presence with them, and rendered even that holy place unfit to be the habitation of the holy God, atonement was hereby made for sin, that God, being reconciled to them, might continue with them.
  • 2. He must then do the same for the outward part of the tabernacle that he had done for the inner room, by sprinkling the blood of the bullock first, and then that of the goat, without the veil, where the table and incense-altar stood, eight times each as before. The reason intimated is because the tabernacle remained among them in the midst of their uncleanness, v. 16. God would hereby show them how much their hearts needed to be purified, when even the tabernacle, only by standing in the midst of such an impure and sinful people, needed this expiation; and also that even their devotions and religious performances had much amiss in them, for which it was necessary that atonement should be made. During this solemnity, none of the inferior priests must come into the tabernacle (v. 17), but, by standing without, must own themselves unworthy and unfit to minister there, because their follies, and defects, and manifold impurities in their ministry, had made this expiation of the tabernacle necessary.
  • 3. He must then put some of the blood, both of the bullock and of the goat mixed together, upon the horns of the altar that is before the Lord, v. 18, 19. It is certain that the altar of incense had this blood put upon it, for so it is expressly ordered (Ex. 30:10); but some think that this directs the high priest to the altar of burnt-offerings, for that also is here called the altar before the Lord (v. 12), because he is said to go out to it, and because it may be presumed that that also had need of an expiation; for to that the gifts and offerings of the children of Israel were all brought, from whose uncleanness the altar is here said to be hallowed.

Lev 16:20-28

The high priest having presented unto the Lord the expiatory sacrifices, by the sprinkling of their blood, the remainder of which, it is probable, he poured out at the foot of the brazen altar,

  • 1. He is next to confess the sins of Israel, with both his hands upon the head of the scape-goat (v. 20, 21); and whenever hands were imposed upon the head of any sacrifice it was always done with confession, according as the nature of the sacrifice was; and, this being a sin-offering, it must be a confession of sin. In the latter and more degenerate ages of the Jewish church they had a set form of confession prepared for the high priest, but God here prescribed none; for it might be supposed that the high priest was so well acquainted with the state of the people, and had such a tender concern for them, that he needed not any form. The confession must be as particular as he could make it, not only of all the iniquities of the children of Israel, but all their transgressions in all their sins. In one sin there may be many transgressions, from the several aggravating circumstances of it; and in our confessions we should take notice of them, and not only say, I have sinned, but, with Achan, "Thus and thus have I done.' By this confession he must put the sins of Israel upon the head of the goat; that is, exercising faith upon the divine appointment which constituted such a translation, he must transfer the punishment incurred from the sinners to the sacrifice, which would have been but a jest, nay, an affront to God, if he himself had not ordained it.
  • 2. The goat was then to be sent away immediately by the hand of a fit person pitched upon for the purpose, into a wilderness, a land not inhabited; and God allowed them to make this construction of it, that the sending away of the goat was the sending away of their sins, by a free and full remission: He shall bear upon him all their iniquities, v. 22. The losing of the goat was a sign to them that the sins of Israel should be sought for, and not found, Jer. 50:20. The later Jews had a custom to tie one shred of scarlet cloth to the horns of the goat and another to the gate of the temple, or to the top of the rock where the goat was lost, and they concluded that if it turned white, as they say it usually did, the sins of Israel were forgiven, as it is written, Though your sins have been as scarlet, they shall be as wool: and they add that for forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans the scarlet cloth never changed colour at all, which is a fair confession that, having rejected the substance, the shadow stood them in no stead.
  • 3. The high priest must then put off his linen garments in the tabernacle, and leave them there, the Jews say never to be worn again by himself or any other, for they made new ones every year; and he must bathe himself in water, put on his rich clothes, and then offer both his own and the people's burnt-offerings, v. 23, 24. When we have the comfort of our pardon God must have the glory of it. If we have the benefit of the sacrifice of atonement, we must not grudge the sacrifices of acknowledgment. And, it should seem, the burning of the fat of the sin-offering was deferred till now (v. 25), that it might be consumed with the burnt-offerings.
  • 4. The flesh of both those sin-offerings whose blood was taken within the veil was to be all burnt, not upon the altar, but at a distance without the camp, to signify both our putting away sin by true repentance, and the spirit of burning, and God's putting it away by a full remission, so that it shall never rise up in judgment against us.
  • 5. He that took the scape-goat into the wilderness, and those that burned the sin-offering, were to be looked upon as ceremonially unclean, and must not come into the camp till they had washed their clothes and bathed their flesh in water, which signified the defiling nature of sin; even the sacrifice which was but made sin was defiling: also the imperfection of the legal sacrifices; they were so far from taking away sin that even they left some stain upon those that touched them.
  • 6. When all this was done, the high priest went again into the most holy place to fetch his censer, and so returned to his own house with joy, because he had done his duty, and died not.

Lev 16:29-34

  • I. We have here some additional directions in reference to this great solemnity, particularly,
    • 1. The day appointed for this solemnity. It must be observed yearly on the tenth day of the seventh month, v. 29. The seventh had been reckoned the first month, till God appointed that the month in which the children of Israel came out of Egypt should thenceforward be accounted and called the first month. Some have fancied that this tenth day of the seventh month was the day of the year on which our first parents fell, and that it was kept as a fast in remembrance of their fall. Dr. Lightfoot computes that this was the day on which Moses came the last time down from the mount, when he brought with him the renewed tables, and the assurances of God's being reconciled to Israel, and his face shone: that day must be a day of atonement throughout their generations; for the remembrance of God's forgiving them their sin about the golden calf might encourage them to hope that, upon their repentance, he would forgive them all trespasses.
    • 2. The duty of the people on this day.
      • (1.) They must rest from all their labours: It shall be a sabbath of rest, v. 31. The work of the day was itself enough, and a good day's work if it was done well; therefore they must do no other work at all. The work of humiliation for sin requires such a close application of mind, and such a fixed engagement of the whole man, as will not allow us to turn aside to any other work. The day of atonement seems to be that sabbath spoken of by the prophet (Isa. 58:13), for it is the same with the fast spoken of in the verses before.
      • (2.) They must afflict their souls. They must refrain from all bodily refreshments and delights, in token of inward humiliation and contrition of soul for their sins. They all fasted on this day from food (except the sick and children), and laid aside their ornaments, and did not anoint themselves, as Daniel, ch. 10:3, 12. David chastened his soul with fasting, Ps. 35:13. And it signified the mortifying of sin and turning from it, loosing the bands of wickedness, Isa. 58:6, 7. The Jewish doctors advised that they should not on that day read those portions of scripture which were proper to affect them with delight and joy, because it was a day to afflict their souls.
    • 3. The perpetuity of this institution: It shall be a statute for ever, v. 29, 34. It must not be intermitted any year, nor ever let fall till that constitution should be dissolved, and the type should be superseded by the antitype. As long as we are continually sinning, we must be continually repenting, and receiving the atonement. The law of afflicting our souls for sin is a statute for ever, which will continue in force till we arrive where all tears, even those of repentance, will be wiped from our eyes. The apostle observes it as an evidence of the insufficiency of the legal sacrifices to take away sin, and purge the conscience from it, that in them there was a remembrance made of sin every year, upon the day of atonement, Heb. 10:1-3. The annual repetition of the sacrifices showed that there was in them only a faint and feeble effort towards making atonement; it could be done effectually only by the offering up of the body of Christ once for all, and that once was sufficient; that sacrifice needed not to be repeated.
  • II. Let us see what there was of gospel in all this.
    • 1. Here are typified the two great gospel privileges of the remission of sin and access to God, both which we owe to the mediation of our Lord Jesus. Here then let us see,
      • (1.) The expiation of guilt which Christ made for us. He is himself both the maker and the matter of the atonement; for he is,
        • [1.] The priest, the high priest, that makes reconciliation for the sins of the people, Heb. 2:17. He, and he only, is par negotio-fit for the work and worthy of the honour: he is appointed by the Father to do it, who sanctified him, and sent him into the world for this purpose, that God might in him reconcile the world to himself. He undertook it, and for our sakes sanctified himself, and set himself apart for it, Jn. 17:19. The high priest's frequently bathing himself on this day, and performing the service of it in fine linen clean and white, signified the holiness of the Lord Jesus, his perfect freedom from all sin, and his being beautified and adorned with all grace. No man was to be with the high priest when he made atonement (v. 17); for our Lord Jesus was to tread the wine-press alone, and of the people there must be none with him (Isa. 63:3); therefore, when he entered upon his sufferings, all his disciples forsook him and fled, for it any of them had been taken and put to death with him it would have looked as if they had assisted in making the atonement; none but thieves, concerning whom there could be no such suspicion, must suffer with him. And observe what the extent of the atonement was which the high priest made: it was for the holy sanctuary, for the tabernacle, for the altar, for the priests, and for all the people, v. 33. Christ's satisfaction is that which atones for the sins both of ministers and people, the iniquities of our holy (and our unholy) things; the title we have to the privileges of ordinances, our comfort in them, and benefit by them, are all owing to the atonement Christ made. But, whereas the atonement which the high priest made pertained only to the congregation of Israel, Christ is the propitiation, not for their sins only, that are Jews, but for the sins of the whole Gentile world. And in this also Christ infinitely excelled Aaron, that Aaron needed to offer sacrifice for his own sin first, of which he was to make confession upon the head of his sin-offering; but our Lord Jesus had no sin of his own to answer for. Such a high priest became us, Heb. 7:26. And therefore, when he was baptized in Jordan, whereas others stood in the water confessing their sins (Mt. 3:6), he went up straightway out of the water (v. 16), having no sins to confess.
        • [2.] As he is the high priest, so he is the sacrifice with which atonement is made; for he is all in all in our reconciliation to God. Thus he was prefigured by the two goats, which both made one offering: the slain goat was a type of Christ dying for our sins, the scape-goat a type of Christ rising again for our justification. It was directed by lot, the disposal whereof was of the Lord, which goat should be slain; for Christ was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.
          • First, The atonement is said to be completed by putting the sins of Israel upon the head of the goat. They deserved to have been abandoned and sent into a land of forgetfulness, but that punishment was here transferred to the goat that bore their sins, with reference to which God is said to have laid upon our Lord Jesus (the substance of all these shadows) the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53:6), and he is said to have borne our sins, even the punishment of them, in his own body upon the tree, 1 Pt. 2:24. Thus was he made sin for us, that is, a sacrifice for sin, 2 Co. 5:21. He suffered and died, not only for our good, but in our stead, and was forsaken, and seemed to be forgotten for a time, that we might not be forsaken and forgotten for ever. Some learned men have computed that our Lord Jesus was baptized of John in Jordan upon the tenth day of the seventh month, which was the very day of atonement. Then he entered upon his office as Mediator, and was immediately driven of the Spirit into the wilderness, a land not inhabited.
          • Secondly, The consequence of this was that all the iniquities of Israel were carried into a land of forgetfulness. Thus Christ, the Lamb of God, takes away the sin the of world, by taking it upon himself, Jn. 1:29. And, when God forgives sin, he is said to remember it no more (Heb. 8:12), to cast it behind his back (Isa. 38:17), into the depths of the sea (Mic. 7:19), and to separate it as far as the east is from the west, Ps. 103:12.
      • (2.) The entrance into heaven which Christ made for us is here typified by the high priest's entrance into the most holy place. This the apostle has expounded (Heb. 9:7, etc.), and he shows,
        • [1.] That heaven is the holiest of all, but not of that building, and that the way into it by faith, hope, and prayer, through a Mediator, was not then so clearly manifested as it is to us now by the gospel.
        • [2.] That Christ our high priest entered into heaven at his ascension once for all, and as a public person, in the name of all his spiritual Israel, and through the veil of his flesh, which was rent for that purpose, Heb. 10:20.
        • [3.] That he entered by his own blood (Heb. 9:12), taking with him to heaven the virtues of the sacrifice he offered on earth, and so sprinkling his blood, as it were, before the mercy-seat, where it speaks better things than the blood of bulls and goats could do. Hence he is said to appear in the midst of the throne as a lamb that had been slain, Rev. 5:6. And, though he had no sin of his own to expiate, yet it was by his own merit that he obtained for himself a restoration to his own ancient glory (Jn. 17:4, 5), as well as an eternal redemption for us, Heb. 9:12.
        • [4.] The high priest in the holy place burned incense, which typified the intercession that Christ ever lives to make for us within the veil, in virtue of his satisfaction. And we could not expect to live, no, not before the mercy-seat, if it were not covered with the cloud of this incense. Mere mercy itself will not save us, without the interposition of a Mediator. The intercession of Christ is there set forth before God as incense, as this incense. And as the high priest interceded for himself first, then for his household, and then for all Israel, so our Lord Jesus, in the 17th of St. John (which was a specimen of the intercession he makes in heaven), recommended himself first to his Father, then his disciples who were his household, and then all that should believe on him through their word, as all Israel; and, having thus adverted to the uses and intentions of his offering, he was immediately seized and crucified, pursuant to these intentions.
        • [5.] Herein the entry Christ made far exceeded Aaron's, that Aaron could not gain admission, no, not for his own sons, into the most holy place; but our Lord Jesus has consecrated for us also a new and living way into the holiest, so that we also have boldness to enter, Heb. 10:19, 20.
        • [6.] The high priest was to come out again, but our Lord Jesus ever lives, making intercession, and always appears in the presence of God for us, whither as the forerunner he has for us entered, and where as agent he continues for us to reside.
    • 2. Here are likewise typified the two great gospel duties of faith and repentance, by which we are qualified for the atonement, and come to be entitled to the benefit of it.
      • (1.) By faith we must put our hands upon the head of the offering, relying on Christ as the Lord our Righteousness, pleading his satisfaction as that which was alone able to atone for our sins and procure us a pardon. "Thou shalt answer, Lord, for me. This is all I have to say for myself, Christ has died, yea, rather has risen again; to his grace and government I entirely submit myself, and in him I receive the atonement,' Rom. 5:11.
      • (2.) By repentance we must afflict our souls; not only fasting for a time from the delights of the body, but inwardly sorrowing for our sins, and living a life of self-denial and mortification. We must also make a penitent confession of sin, and this with an eye to Christ, whom we have pierced, and mourning because of him; and with a hand of faith upon the atonement, assuring ourselves that, if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Lastly, In the year of jubilee, the trumpet which proclaimed the liberty was ordered to be sounded in the close of the day of atonement, ch. 25:9. For the remission of our debt, release from our bondage, and our return to our inheritance, are all owing to the mediation and intercession of Jesus Christ. By the atonement we obtain rest for our souls, and all the glorious liberties of the children of God.