New English Translation
Leviticus 16:21
21Aaron is to lay his two hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins, and thus he is to put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man standing ready.
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
19Then he is to sprinkle on it some of the blood with his finger seven times, and cleanse and consecrate it from the impurities of the Israelites. 20“When he has finished purifying the holy place, the Meeting Tent, and the altar, he is to present the live goat. Aaron is to lay his two hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins, and thus he is to put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man standing ready. 22The goat is to bear on itself all their iniquities into an inaccessible land, so he is to send the goat away in the wilderness. 23“Aaron must then enter the Meeting Tent and take off the linen garments which he had put on when he entered the sanctuary, and leave them there.
Read all of Leviticus 16Leviticus 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 must lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.
- Exodus 29:10“You are to present the bull at the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons are to put their hands on the head of the bull.
- Leviticus 26:40However, when they confess their iniquity and their ancestors’ iniquity which they committed by trespassing against me, by which they also walked in hostility against me
- Ezra 10:1While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites – men, women, and children alike – gathered around him. The people wept loudly.
- Nehemiah 1:6may your ear be attentive and your eyes be open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying to you today throughout both day and night on behalf of your servants the Israelites. I am confessing the sins of the Israelites that we have committed against you – both I myself and my family have sinned.
- Nehemiah 9:3For one-fourth of the day they stood in their place and read from the book of the law of the lord their God, and for another fourth they were confessing their sins and worshiping the lord their God.
- Psalms 32:5Then I confessed my sin; I no longer covered up my wrongdoing. I said, “I will confess my rebellious acts to the Lord.” And then you forgave my sins. (Selah)
- Psalms 51:3For I am aware of my rebellious acts; I am forever conscious of my sin.
- Proverbs 28:13The one who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses them and forsakes them will find mercy.
- Daniel 9:3So I turned my attention to the Lord God to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
- Romans 10:10For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation.
- Isaiah 53:6All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.
- 2 Corinthians 5:21God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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