Leviticus 16:21

Leviticus 16:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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:
• New International Version (NIV)He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.

Context of Leviticus 16:21

19With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on the altar of burnt offering seven times and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites. 20“When he has finished atoning for the Holy Place and the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the wickedness of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat [the scapegoat, the sin-bearer], and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is prepared [for the task]. 22The goat shall carry on itself all their (the Israelites) wickedness, carrying them to a solitary (infertile) land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. 23“Then Aaron shall come into the Tent of Meeting and take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place (Holy of Holies), and shall leave them there.

Leviticus 16:21 word by word

וְסָמַ֨ךְ אַהֲרֹ֜ן אֶת־שְׁתֵּ֣י יָדָ֗יו עַ֨ל רֹ֣אשׁ הַשָּׂעִיר֮ הַחַי֒ וְהִתְוַדָּ֣ה עָלָ֗יו אֶת־כָּל־עֲוֹנֹת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאֶת־כָּל־פִּשְׁעֵיהֶ֖ם לְכָל־חַטֹּאתָ֑ם וְנָתַ֤ן אֹתָם֙ עַל־רֹ֣אשׁ הַשָּׂעִ֔יר וְשִׁלַּ֛ח בְּיַד־אִ֥ישׁ עִתִּ֖י הַמִּדְבָּֽרָה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
• shall layסָמַךְsâmak · to supportH5564
• bothשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• his handsיָדyâd · handH3027
• upon the headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• of the liveחַיchay · aliveH2416
• goatשָׂעִירώâ‛îyr ώâ‛ir · he-goatH8163
• and confessיָדָהyâdâh · to give thanksH3034
• over him all the iniquitiesעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771
• of the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• and all their transgressionsפֶּ֫שַׁעpesha‛ · transgressionH6588
• in all their sinsחַטָּאתchaţţâ'âh chaţţâ'th · sinH2403
• puttingנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
• awayשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• of a fitעִתִּי‛ittîy · timelyH6261
• manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• into the wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057

Cross-references for Leviticus 16:21

• Leviticus 1:4He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice], that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.
• Exodus 29:10“Then you shall bring the bull before the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the bull’s head.
• Leviticus 26:40‘If they confess their wickedness and the wickedness of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they have committed against Me—and also in their acting with hostility toward Me—
• Ezra 10:1Now while Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and laying himself face down before the house of God, a very large group from Israel, of men, women, and children, gathered to him, for the people wept bitterly.
• Nehemiah 1:6please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You, day and night, on behalf of Your servants, the sons (descendants) of Israel (Jacob), confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against You; I and my father’s house have sinned.
• Nehemiah 9:3While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day and for another fourth [of it] they confessed [their sins] and worshiped the Lord their God.
• Psalms 32:5I acknowledged my sin to You, And I did not hide my wickedness; I said, “I will confess [all] my transgressions to the Lord”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.
• Psalms 51:3For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; My sin is always before me.
• Proverbs 28:13He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But whoever confesses and turns away from his sins will find compassion and mercy.
• Daniel 9:3So I directed my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.
• Romans 10:10For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation.
• Isaiah 53:6All of us like sheep have gone astray, We have turned, each one, to his own way; But the Lord has caused the wickedness of us all [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing] To fall on Him [instead of us].
• 2 Corinthians 5:21He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].

Commentaries on Leviticus 16:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head, etc. - What this imposition of hands meant see in the notes on Exodus 29:10; (note), and Leviticus 1:4; (note). And confess over him all the iniquities - transgressions - sins - The three terms used here, Iniquities, עונת avonoth, from עוה avah, to pervert, distort, or turn aside; Transgressions, פשעים peshaim, from פשע pasha, to transgress, to rebel; and Sins, חטאת chattaoth, from חטא chata, to miss the mark…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11-25Verses 11-25 It is important, in reference to the meaning of the day of atonement, to observe the order of the rites as they are described in these verses. Leviticus 16:12 A censer - See Exodus 25:38 note. The altar before the Lord - i. e. the altar of burnt-offering on which the fire was always burning. Leviticus 16:14 The high priest must have come out from the most holy place to fetch the blood, leaving the censer smoking within, and then have entered…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-34Verses 15-34 Here are typified the two great gospel privileges, of the remission of sin, and access to God, both of which we owe to our Lord Jesus. See the expiation of guilt. Christ is both the Maker and the Matter of the atonement; for he is the Priest, the High Priest, that makes reconciliation for the sins of the people. And as Christ is the High Priest, so he is the Sacrifice with which atonement is made; for he is all in all in our reconciliation to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-34The day of atonement, on the tenth day of the seventh month, was the most serious and holy day of the year for Israelites (see Leviticus 16:29; 23:27; Numbers 29:7). It was the only required fast and a Sabbath of rest for all the people (Leviticus 23:32). The Feast of Trumpets came before it and announced its arrival (Numbers 29:1, 7–11). On this day, God forgave the sins of the community. Only the high priest, Aaron, could lead the ceremony because he…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-2220-22. he shall bring the live goat--Having already been presented before the Lord (Le 16:10), it was now brought forward to the high priest, who, placing his hands upon its head, and "having confessed over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins," transferred them by this act to the goat as their substitute. It was then delivered into the hands of a person, who was appointed to lead him away into a…Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 16:21

• Atonement
• Church
• Hand
• Offerings
• Scapegoat
• Sin
• Substitution

In the dictionaries

• Aaron
• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Children of Israel
• Attire
• Burnt offering
• Coat
• Confession
• High priest

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