Amplified Bible
Leviticus 16:2
2The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil (the Holy of Holies), before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die, for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.
Leviticus 16:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.
- English Standard Version (ESV)and the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.
- New King James Version (NKJV)and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
Context of Leviticus 16:2
1Then the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who had died when they [irreverently] approached the presence of the Lord. The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil (the Holy of Holies), before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die, for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3Aaron [as high priest] shall enter the Holy Place in this way: with [the blood of] a young bull as a sin offering and [the blood of] a ram as a burnt offering. 4He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be belted with the linen sash, and dressed with the linen turban (these are the holy garments). He shall bathe his body in water and put them on.
Read all of Leviticus 16Leviticus 16:2 word by word
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה דַּבֵּר֮ אֶל־אַהֲרֹ֣ן אָחִיךָ֒ וְאַל־יָבֹ֤א בְכָל־עֵת֙ אֶל־הַקֹּ֔דֶשׁ מִבֵּ֖ית לַפָּרֹ֑כֶת אֶל־פְּנֵ֨י הַכַּפֹּ֜רֶת אֲשֶׁ֤ר עַל־הָאָרֹן֙ וְלֹ֣א יָמ֔וּת כִּ֚י בֶּֽעָנָ֔ן אֵרָאֶ֖ה עַל־הַכַּפֹּֽרֶת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- Speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- unto Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
- thy brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
- that he comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- not at all timesעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
- into the holyקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
- withinבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: insideH1004
- the vailפָּרֹ֫כֶתpôreketh · curtainH6532
- beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- the mercy seatכַּפֹּרֶתkappôreth · mercy seatH3727
- upon the arkאֲרוֹן'ârôn 'ârôn · arkH727
- that he dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- not: for I will appearרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- in the cloudעָנָן‛ânân · cloudH6051
Cross-references for Leviticus 16:2
- Leviticus 23:27“Also the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble yourselves [by fasting] and present an offering by fire to the Lord.
- Exodus 26:33You shall hang the veil from the hooks [that connect the curtains together], and you shall bring the ark of the Testimony there within the veil. The veil shall separate for you the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.
- Exodus 30:10Once a year Aaron shall make atonement [for sin] on its horns. He shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”
- Exodus 40:20He took the Testimony [the stones inscribed with the Ten Commandments] and put it into the ark [of the covenant], and placed the poles [through the rings] on the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.
- 1 Kings 8:6Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, into the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim.
- Hebrews 9:3Behind the second veil there was another tabernacle [the inner one or second section] known as the Holy of Holies,
- Hebrews 10:19Therefore, believers, since we have confidence and full freedom to enter the Holy Place [the place where God dwells] by [means of] the blood of Jesus,
- Leviticus 16:13and put the incense on the fire [in the censer] before the Lord, so that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is on [the ark of] the Testimony, otherwise he will die.
- Leviticus 8:35You shall remain day and night for seven days at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, doing what the Lord has required you to do, so that you will not die; for so I (Moses) have been commanded.”
- Numbers 4:19But deal with them in this way, so that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his [specific] work and to his load [to be carried on the march].
- Numbers 17:10But the Lord said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony [in the ark], to be kept as a [warning] sign for the rebellious and contentious, so that you may put an end to their murmurings [of discontent] against Me, so that they do not die.”
- Matthew 27:51And [at once] the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split apart.
- Hebrews 4:14Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him as Savior].
- Exodus 40:34Then the cloud [the Shekinah, God’s visible, dwelling presence] covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
- 1 Kings 8:10Now it happened that when the priests had come out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the Lord’s house,
- 2 Chronicles 5:14so that the priests could not remain standing to minister because of the cloud; for the glory and brilliance of the Lord filled the house of God.
Commentaries on Leviticus 16:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2That he come not at all times into the holy place - By the holy place we are to understand here what is ordinarily called the Holy of Holies, or most holy place; that place within the veil where the ark of the covenant, etc., were laid up; and where God manifested his presence between the cherubim. In ordinary cases the high priest could enter this place only once in the year, that is, on the day of annual atonement; but in extraordinary cases he might…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The holy place within the vail - See Exodus 26:33-34; Hebrews 9:3. The cloud - Compare Exodus 16:10 note. The mercy seat - See Exodus 25:17 note.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2A veil separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. The sanctuary was like God's palace. The Most Holy Place was his throne room, and the ark was his throne (see Leviticus 1:1). In the ancient Near East, entering a king's presence without an invitation could mean death (Esther 4:11). So, Aaron could not enter the Most Holy Place informally. Even the high priest could not enter. The only exception was when God required his presence for the Day of…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, &c.--Common priests went every day into the part of the sanctuary without the veil to burn incense on the golden altar. But none except the high priest was allowed to enter within the veil, and that only once a year with the greatest care and solemnity. This arrangement was evidently designed to inspire a reverence for the most holy place, and the…Read the comment
Topics related to Leviticus 16:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Leviticus 16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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