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 Aaron’s two sons had come into the Lord’s presence and died. The Lord said, “Tell your brother Aaron that he cannot go into the holy place whenever he wants to. If he goes up to the canopy and stands in front of the throne of mercy on the ark, he will die, because I appear in the smoke above the throne of mercy. 3“This is what Aaron must do in order to come into the holy place: He must take a bull as an offering for sin and a ram as a burnt offering. 4He must put on a holy linen robe and wear linen undergarments. He must wear a linen belt and turban. These are holy clothes. He must wash his body and put them on.

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“In addition, the tenth day of this seventh month is a special day for the payment for sins. There will be a holy assembly. Humble yourselves, and bring the Lord a sacrifice by fire.
• Exodus 26:33Hang the canopy from the fasteners in the ceiling, and put the ark containing the words of my promise under it. The canopy will mark off the most holy place from the holy place.
• Exodus 30:10Once a year Aaron must make peace with the Lord by putting blood on its horns. Once a year—for generations to come—blood from the offering must be placed on the altar to make peace with the Lord. It is most holy to the Lord.”
• Exodus 40:20He took the words of God’s promise and put them in the ark. He put the poles on the ark and placed the throne of mercy on top of the ark.
• 1 Kings 8:6The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s promise to its place in the inner room of the temple (the most holy place) under the wings of the angels.
• Hebrews 9:3Behind the second curtain was the part of the tent called the most holy place.
• Hebrews 10:19Brothers and sisters, because of the blood of Jesus we can now confidently go into the holy place.
• Leviticus 16:13Then he will put the incense on the fire in the Lord’s presence. The cloud of incense will cover the throne of mercy, which is over the words of God’s promise, so that he will not die.
• Leviticus 8:35You will stay at the entrance to the tent of meeting day and night for seven days and serve as the Lord tells you. Then you will not die. This is what I was commanded.”
• Numbers 4:19This is what you must do so that they won’t die when they come near the most holy things: Aaron and his sons will go into the holy place and tell each man what he will do and what he will carry.
• Numbers 17:10The Lord said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the words of my promise, and keep it there as a sign to warn any other rebels. Then you will stop their complaints about me, and they won’t die.”
• Matthew 27:51Suddenly, the curtain in the temple was split in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split open.
• Hebrews 4:14We need to hold on to our declaration of faith: We have a superior chief priest who has gone through the heavens. That person is Jesus, the Son of God.
• Exodus 40:34Then the ⌞column of⌟ smoke covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tent.
• 1 Kings 8:10When the priests left the holy place, a cloud filled the Lord’s temple.
• 2 Chronicles 5:14The priests couldn’t serve because of the cloud. The Lord’s glory filled God’s 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