Leviticus 16:2

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

1Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence of the LORD. And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. 3This is how Aaron is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4He is to wear the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments. He must tie a linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are holy garments, and he must bathe himself with water before he wears them.

Leviticus 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

• And the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• toאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• Tellדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• your brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
• Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
• notאַל'al · notH408
• to enterבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• freelyכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• freelyעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• the Most Holy Placeקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
• behindבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: insideH1004
• the veilפָּרֹ֫כֶתpôreketh · curtainH6532
• frontפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• of the mercy seatכַּפֹּרֶתkappôreth · mercy seatH3727
• ·אֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• onעַל‛al · uponH5921
• the arkאֲרוֹן'ârôn 'ârôn · arkH727
• or elseלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• he will dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• becauseכִּיkîy · forH3588
• I appearרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• in the cloudעָנָן‛ânân · cloudH6051

Cross-references for Leviticus 16:2

• Leviticus 23:27“The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You shall hold a sacred assembly and humble yourselves, and present a food offering to the LORD.
• Exodus 26:33And hang the veil from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the veil. So the veil will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
• Exodus 30:10Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on the horns of the altar. Throughout your generations he shall make atonement on it annually with the blood of the sin offering of atonement. The altar is most holy to the LORD.”
• Exodus 40:20Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark.
• 1 Kings 8:6Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.
• Hebrews 9:3Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,
• Hebrews 10:19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
• Leviticus 16:13He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the cloud of incense will cover the mercy seat above the Testimony, so that he will not die.
• Leviticus 8:35You must remain at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days and keep the LORD’s charge so that you will not die, for this is what I have been commanded.”
• Numbers 4:19In order that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and what he is to carry.
• Numbers 17:10The LORD said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebellious, so that you may put an end to their grumbling against Me, lest they die.”
• Matthew 27:51At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, and the rocks were split.
• Hebrews 4:14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.
• Exodus 40:34Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
• 1 Kings 8:10And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD
• 2 Chronicles 5:14so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud. For the glory 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

• Atonement
• Church
• Cloud
• God Continued...
• Mercy-Seat
• Shekinah
• Symbols and Similitudes
• Worship

In the dictionaries

• Aaron
• Moses
• Holy place
• Ark
• Attire
• Burnt offering
• Coat
• Curtain
• High priest
• Mercyseat

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