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

1The Lord spoke to Moses after the two sons of Aaron died. The gift that they gave to the Lord was not holy. So they died. The Most Holy Place in the Tent of Meeting is behind the curtain. The Lord said to Moses, ‘Your brother Aaron cannot go behind the curtain at any time that he wants to. Tell him that. The Lord appears in a cloud over the lid of the Covenant Box. So Aaron will die if he does not obey the Lord. 3This is how Aaron must go into the Most Holy Place. He must bring a young bull for a sin offering. He must also bring a male sheep for a burnt offering. 4He must wash his body before he puts on his special clothes. He must wear his linen robe and linen clothes next to his body. They are holy. He must tie a linen belt round his body. He must put the linen hat on his head. These clothes are holy.

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

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‘The tenth day of the seventh month is the Day of Atonement. On that day, the people must come together. They must not eat any food. They must make an offering of food to the Lord.
• Exodus 26:33Hang the top of the curtain from the rings. Put the Covenant Box behind the curtain, in the Most Holy Place. The curtain will hang between the Most Holy Place and the Holy Place so that they are separate.
• Exodus 30:10Once every year, Aaron must make the altar clean and pure. He must put some of the blood from the sin offering on the horns of the altar. A priest must do this every year from now on. The altar is holy because it belongs to me, the Lord.’
• Exodus 40:20Moses took the two flat stones with God's special commands on them. He put them inside the Covenant Box. He put the poles through the rings on the box. He put the special lid on top of the box.
• 1 Kings 8:6Then the priests brought the Lord's Covenant Box to its proper place in the inside room of the temple. That was the Most Holy Place. They put it under the wings of the cherubs.
• Hebrews 9:3Behind a second curtain, there was a very special room. It was called the Most Holy Place.
• Hebrews 10:19So then, Christian friends, we see that Jesus died as a sacrifice on our behalf. Because of that, we may go into God's Most Holy Place. We are not afraid to do that.
• Leviticus 16:13He must put the incense on the burning material. It is in front of the Lord. The smoke will cover the lid of the Covenant Box. So he will not die.
• Leviticus 8:35Remember that you must stay at the door of the Tent of Meeting. You must stay there for seven days and seven nights. The Lord told me that you must do this. If you do not obey him, you will die.’
• Numbers 4:19Do not let the men in that clan die. That will happen if they come near to the most holy things. You must do this: Aaron and his sons must go into the Tent of Meeting. They will tell each man the work that he must do. And they must tell each man the things that he must carry.
• Numbers 17:10The Lord said to Moses, ‘Put Aaron's stick in front of the Covenant Box again. The people will see it there like a sign. Then they will remember that they must not turn against me. If they continue to complain, they will die.’
• Matthew 27:51At that moment, the curtain inside the temple tore completely into two parts. It tore from the top down to the bottom. The ground shook and rocks broke into pieces.
• Hebrews 4:14Jesus, the Son of God, helps us as God's most important priest. He is our great priest who has gone up into heaven. We say that we believe in him. So we must continue to show people that we trust him.
• Exodus 40:34Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting. The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
• 1 Kings 8:10When the priests came out from the Holy Place, a cloud filled the Lord's temple.
• 2 Chronicles 5:14The priests could not do their work to serve the Lord, because of the cloud. The bright glory of the Lord filled his temple.

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