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 the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died. The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, 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 shall enter the holy place with this: with a bull for a sin offering and a ram for 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 girded with the linen sash and attired with the linen turban (these are holy garments). Then he shall bathe his body in water 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

• The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• to Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• Tellדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• your brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
• Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
• that he shall not enterבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• at anyכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• into the holyקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
• place insideמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
• place insideבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: insideH1004
• the veilפָּרֹ֫כֶתpôreketh · curtainH6532
• beforeאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• mercyכַּפֹּרֶתkappôreth · mercy seatH3727
• whichאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• is on the arkאֲרוֹן'ârôn 'ârôn · arkH727
• orלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• he will dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• I will appearרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• in the cloudעָנָן‛ânân · cloudH6051
• overעַל‛al · uponH5921

Cross-references for Leviticus 16:2

• Leviticus 23:27“On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord.
• Exodus 26:33You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies.
• Exodus 30:10Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year; 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 40:20Then he took the testimony and put it into the ark, and attached the poles to 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, to the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim.
• Hebrews 9:3Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies,
• Hebrews 10:19Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
• Leviticus 16:13He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the ark of the testimony, otherwise he will die.
• Leviticus 8:35At the doorway of the tent of meeting, moreover, you shall remain day and night for seven days and keep the charge of the Lord, so that you will not die, for so I have been commanded.”
• Numbers 4:19But do this to them that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his work and to his load;
• Numbers 17:10But the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they will not die.”
• Matthew 27:51And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook 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 fast our confession.
• Exodus 40:34Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
• 1 Kings 8:10It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord,
• 2 Chronicles 5:14so that the priests could not stand 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