Bible/Leviticus/16

Leviticus 16:17

16:16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. remaineth: Heb. dwelleth
And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

KJV

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No one shall be in the Tent of Meeting when he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, and has made atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.

And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goes in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

16:18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.

What does Leviticus 16:17 mean?

Leviticus 16:17 is a verse in the book of Leviticus, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include אָדָם (ʼâdâm), אֹהֶל (ʼôhel), מוֹעֵד (môwʻêd). It connects to 12 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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And
there
shall
be
no
manאָדָםʼâdâm/aw-dawm'/H120ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.)
in
the
tabernacleאֹהֶלʼôhel/o'-hel/H168a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance)
of
the
congregationמוֹעֵדmôwʻêd/mo-ade'/H4150properly, an appointment, i.e. a fixed time or season; specifically, a festival; conventionally ayear; by implication, an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting; also a signal (as appointed beforehand)
when
he
goethבּוֹאbôwʼ/bo/H935to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
in
to
make
an
atonementכָּפַרkâphar/kaw-far'/H3722to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively, to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel
in
the
holyקֹדֶשׁqôdesh/ko'-desh/H6944a sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity
place,
until
he
come
out,יָצָאyâtsâʼ/yaw-tsaw'/H3318to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proxim.
and
have
made
an
atonementכָּפַרkâphar/kaw-far'/H3722to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively, to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel
for
himself,
and
for
his
household,בַּיִתbayith/bah'-yith/H1004a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.)
and
for
all
the
congregationקָהָלqâhâl/kaw-hawl'/H6951assemblage (usually concretely)
of
Israel.יִשְׂרָאֵלYisrâʼêl/yis-raw-ale'/H3478Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity

Commentary on Leviticus 16:17

HENRY_FULL · Leviticus 16:17–21
15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: 16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. 18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord , and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. 19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. When the priest had come out from the sprinkling the blood of the bullock before the mercy-seat, 1. He must next kill the goat which was the sin-offering for the people ( v. 15 ) and go the third time into the holy of holies, to sprinkle the blood of the goat, as he had done that of the bullock; and thus he was to make atonement for the holy place ( v. 16 ); that is, whereas the people by their sins had provoked God to take away those tokens of his favourable presence with them, and rendered even that holy place unfit to be the habitation of the holy God, atonement was hereby made for sin, that God, being reconciled to them, might continue with them. 2. He must then do the same for the outward part of the tabernacle that he had done for the inner room, by sprinkling the blood of the bullock first, and then that of the goat, without the veil, where the table and incense-altar stood, eight times each as before. The reason intimated is because the tabernacle remained among them in the midst of their uncleanness, v. 16 . God would hereby show them how much their hearts needed to be purified, when even the tabernacle, only by standing in the midst of such an impure and sinful people, needed this expiation; and also that even their devotions and religious performances had much amiss in them, for which it was necessary that atonement should be made. During this solemnity, none of the inferior priests must come into the tabernacle ( v. 17 ), but, by standing without, must own themselves unworthy and unfit to minister there, because their follies, and defects, and manifold impurities in their ministry, had made this expiation of the tabernacle necessary. 3. He must then put some of the blood, both of the bullock and of the goat mixed together, upon the horns of the altar that is before the Lord, v. 18, 19 . It is certain that the altar of incense had this blood put upon it, for so it is expressly ordered ( Exod. xxx. 10 ); but some think that this directs the high priest to the altar of burnt-offerings, for that also is here called the altar before the Lord ( v. 12 ), because he is said to go out to it, and because it may be presumed that that also had need of an expiation; for too that the gifts and offerings of the children of Israel were all brought, from whose uncleanness the altar is here said to be hallowed.

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Exodus 34:3

And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.

Leviticus 16:10

But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

Leviticus 16:11

And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:

Isaiah 53:6

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. laid: Heb. made the iniquity of us all to meet on him

Daniel 9:24

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. finish: or, restrain make an: or, seal up prophecy: Heb. prophet

Luke 1:10

And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

Acts 4:12

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

1 Timothy 2:5

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Hebrews 1:3

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Hebrews 9:7

But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

1 Peter 2:24

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. on: or, to

1 Peter 3:18

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Topics

AtonementHigh Priest, theOfferingsSacrificesTabernacle

People & places in this verse

Things

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Leviticus 16:17.

Exodus 28:43

And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.

Exodus 29:30

And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place. that son: Heb. he of his sons

Exodus 30:16

And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.

Exodus 27:21

In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

Exodus 29:10

And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.

Exodus 29:11

And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Exodus 29:32

And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Exodus 29:33

And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.

Frequently asked questions

What does Leviticus 16:17 say?

Leviticus 16:17 (King James Version) reads: "And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel."

Is Leviticus 16:17 in the Old or New Testament?

Leviticus 16:17 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Leviticus.

Reflect

As you read Leviticus 16:17, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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