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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)The Lord said to Moses, “Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover.

Context of Leviticus 16:2

1The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord. 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. 3“This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place: He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts 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“The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the Lord.
• Exodus 26:33Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the covenant law behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
• Exodus 30:10Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord.”
• Exodus 40:20He took the tablets of the covenant law and placed them in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it.
• 1 Kings 8:6The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.
• Hebrews 9:3Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,
• Hebrews 10:19Therefore, brothers and sisters, 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 smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die.
• Leviticus 8:35You must stay at the entrance to the tent of meeting day and night for seven days and do what the Lord requires, so you will not die; for that is what I have been commanded.”
• Numbers 4:19So 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 into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work and what he is to carry.
• Numbers 17:10The Lord said to Moses, “Put back Aaron’s staff in front of the ark of the covenant law, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.”
• Matthew 27:51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split
• Hebrews 4:14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
• Exodus 40:34Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
• 1 Kings 8:10When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord.
• 2 Chronicles 5:14and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple 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