Preface:    Aaron or one of his sons will go into the Holy of Holies and perform some rituals which represent the propitiation of God. This will become the yearly Great Day of Atonement. Most of which Aaron does in this chapter will be used as a guide for this day for the next 1500 years.

The Bible Summary of Leviticus 16 (in 140 characters or less): Once a year Aaron shall make atonement for the people. He shall bring one goat as a sin offering and release another as a scapegoat.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Leviticus. This will be the most extensive examination of Leviticus 16, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 16:

Introduction

         vv.     1–

         vv. 

         vv. 

         vv. 

         vv. 

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Leviticus 16 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Leviticus 16 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Leviticus 16

         Introduction         The Prequel of Leviticus 16

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Leviticus 16

         Introduction         The Places of Leviticus 16

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Leviticus 16

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 16

         Introduction         Outlines of Leviticus 16 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 16 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Leviticus 1–15)

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Leviticus 16)

         Introduction 

         v. 

         v. 

         v.       2              The Ark of God and the Mercy Seat (a photo)

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         v.      14              The Tabernacle of Moses (a graphic)

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         v.      18              The Altar of Sacrifice (a graphic)

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         Summary            A Brief Review of Leviticus 16

         Summary 

         Summary 

         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Leviticus 16 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Leviticus 16

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Leviticus 16

         Summary            Shmoop Summary of Leviticus 16

         Summary            The Day of Atonement (a chart)

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Leviticus 16

         Summary 

         Addendum          ESCAPE GOAT, THE—(FOR AZAZEL)

         Addendum          Abbreviated Doctrine of Propitiation (by R. B. Thieme, Jr.)

         Addendum          Definition of Atonement (from the Chafer Seminary)

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Leviticus 16

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Leviticus 16

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Leviticus 16

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Leviticus 16

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An Introduction to Leviticus 16

I ntroduction: Leviticus 16 covers the day of atonement, the one time of the year that the high priest would enter into the holy of holies and offer up a blood sacrifice on behalf of himself and Israel. The time element (i.e., once a year) is mentioned in Hebrews 9:7 and Exodus 30:10 and at the end of this chapter. The actual term, the Day of Atonement is not found here in this chapter. The Jewish term, as we have all heard, it Yom Kippur, however, the correct Biblical designation is Yôwm Kîppurîym (כִּפֻּרִים יוֹם) [pronounced yome kip-poo-REEM] and, in the English, that is Day of Atonements. The Jews made some changes in this day through their traditions, just as we in the Christian realm, adopted these changes and gave a theological significance to the word atonement which is similar to its true meaning, yet still removed (this will be covered in Leviticus 16:6).

Leviticus 16 appears to be something that Aaron will do to cleanse himself and his family (as two of his sons died by bringing strange fire before Y^ehowah); and this cleansing and atonement will extend to all of Israel. The phrase Day of Atonement only occurs three times in Scripture (Leviticus 23:27–28 25:9). In Leviticus 23, all we are given is the time frame for the Day of Atonement (it is the 10^th day of the 7^th month). By knowing the time frame, this takes us to Leviticus 16:29–30, where we are told that "And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your sins. (Leviticus 16:29–30; ESV) What is described in the subsequent verses is essentially an overview of what takes place in this chapter.

So, at first It appears that the rituals of this chapter are related to Aaron and his sons who sinned against God. However, the atonement extends much further, including all of the sons of Israel and even the Brazen Altar. Therefore, we have both an historical marker of when the first Day of Atonement occurs (this chapter) as well as a guide for all future Days of Atonement. At the end of this chapter in in Leviticus 23, the Day of Atonement will be institutionalized to be observed every year.

The honest Jew who reads this chapter (along with nearly any chapter of Leviticus) is forced to admit, we don’t follow any of these directives anymore. I know many traditional and conservative Jewish families and no one does anything like what is described in this book. This is true no matter how conservative a priest might be.

Timeline for Leviticus

There is very little narrative in the book of Leviticus; so this information may have been given to Moses in a few days or, at most, a few weeks; and Moses both wrote these things down and informed the people. Because of information previously studied in the introduction, we are not 100% certain if all of this material was given to Moses while in the newly erected Tabernacle. I would lean towards that being the case.

As I have done previously, since this chapters is what God is saying to Moses, I will begin and end the chapter with quotation marks. I will not insert a new set of quotation marks for each new paragraph.

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Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Leviticus.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so speaks Y^ehowah unto Moses after a death of a pair of sons of Aaron in their coming near to faces of Y^ehowah, and so they died. And so says Y^ehowah unto Moses, “Speak unto Aaron, your brother and he will not come in into the holy place in any time regarding the veil unto faces of Y^ehowah [to] the cover which [is] upon the Ark. And so he will not die when in the cloud I will appear upon the cover.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  . Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) And the Lord spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they were slain upon their offering strange fire:

And he commanded him, saying: Speak to Aaron thy brother, that he enter not at all into the sanctuary, which is within the veil before the propitiatory, with which the ark is covered, lest he die, (for I will appear in a cloud over the oracle),...

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Mar-Yah spoke to Mosha, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before Mar-Yah, and died; and Mar-Yah said to Mosha, "Tell Aaron your brother, not to come at all times into the Most Holy Place within the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark; lest he die: for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat.

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And the Lord spoke to Moses after the two sons of Aaron died in bringing strange fire before the Lord, so they died.

And the Lord said to Moses, Speak to Aaron your brother, and let him not come in at all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark of the testimony, and he shall not die; for I will appear in a cloud on the mercy seat.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And the Lord said to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they took in strange fire before the Lord and death overtook them; 

The Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, your brother, that he may not come at all times into the holy place inside the veil, before the cover which is on the ark, for fear that death may overtake him; for I will be seen in the cloud on the cover of the ark.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  Two of Aaron's sons died while offering incense to the LORD. After that time, the LORD spoke to Moses. The LORD said, "Talk to your brother Aaron. Tell him that he cannot go behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place anytime he wants to. The mercy-cover is in the room behind that curtain on top of the Holy Box, and I appear in a cloud over that mercy-cover. If Aaron goes into that room, he will die!

God’s Word™                         The 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.

Good News Bible (TEV)         The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who were killed when they offered unholy fire to the LORD.

He said, "Tell your brother Aaron that only at the proper time is he to go behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place, because that is where I appear in a cloud above the lid on the Covenant Box. If he disobeys, he will be killed.

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       Two of Aaron's sons had already lost their lives for disobeying the LORD, so the LORD told Moses to say to Aaron: I, the LORD, appear in a cloud over the place of mercy on the sacred chest, which is behind the inside curtain of the sacred tent. And I warn you not to go there except at the proper time. Otherwise, you will die!

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

UnfoldingWord (Simplified)    After the two sons of Aaron died because they burned incense to Yahweh in a manner that was contrary to what he had commanded, Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said to him, "Tell your brother Aaron not to go into the very holy place, which is inside the inmost curtain, where the sacred chest and its lid are, and where I am present in the cloud that is over it. If Aaron goes in that room when it is not the proper time, he will die!

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Christian Standard Bible        .

Berean Study Bible                .

Conservapedia                       .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                 CHAPTER 16¹

And Jehovah spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the face of Jehovah, and died,

And Jehovah said to Moses, Speak to Aaron, your brother, that he does not come at all times into the holy place within the veil before the face of the mercy seat, which is upon the ark, so that he does not die, because I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.

¹ 16:1-34. The day of covering. This chapter is the complete instructions for the ceremonies of the head priest on the day of covering or atonement, once each year. This was the one and only day during the year, the 10th of the 7th new moon that the head priest entered into the holy of holies before the face of God above the mercy seat, with blood to make a covering for sins. This was once a year only, Lev 16:34, Ex 30:10, that the blood was presented before the face of God above the mercy seat, and declares that our Lord Jesus Christ poured out His blood once, and appeared before the face of God, and sprinkled His blood on the mercy seat in heaven to take away our sins forever, and there is no more sacrifice for sin, Hebrews 7:27;9:1-12,23- 28;10:10-13.

International Standard V        The Day of Atonement

The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons when they had approached the Lord and died. The Lord told Moses. “Remind [Lit. Tell] your brother Aaron that at no time is he to enter the sacred place from the room that contains the curtain into the presence of the Mercy Seat [Lit. atonement place; and so throughout the book] on top of the ark. Otherwise, he’ll die, because I will appear in a cloud at the Mercy Seat.

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Word Literal Text   .

Urim-Thummim Version         YHWH spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they approached the presence of YHWH and died.

YHWH spoke to Moses, Speak to Aaron your brother that he does not come at all times to the Holy Place within the veil before the Covering-Lid that is on the Ark (that he does not die), for I will appear in the cloud-mass upon the Covering-Lid.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And Yahweh spoke to Moses, after the death of two of Aaron's sons, as they came before Yahweh and died.

And Yahweh said to Moses:
Speak to Aaron, your brother, and he will not come at any time to the holy place, covered by the curtain, to facing the cover which is on the crate, and he will not die. Because in the cloud, I will appear on the cover.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  The great day of atonement

• Yahweh spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the presence of Yahweh.

Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell your brother, Aaron, not to enter at any time he pleases the Most Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy Seat which is on the Ark, lest he die, for I appear in the cloud over the mercy Seat.

Num 29:7; Heb 9:7

Heb 6:19

• 16.1 The ceremony for the feast of Atonement was very expressive: one of two he-goats was set aside to carry the punishment for sin and there fore had to die; the other was sent off toward Azazel. Sym bolically the he-goat bore the sins of the people.

The Letter to the Hebrews, chapters 9 and 10, recalls these Jewish rituals when it mentions the forgiveness of sins that Christ won through his death and resurrection.

In verses 29-34 it is again said that these commands will be the everlasting law: how do we ex - plain that the church canceled them when Christ came? Paul explains this in Galatians 3–5.

New American Bible(2011)    .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989            .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

The Scriptures–2009              And יהוה spoke to Mosheh after the death of the two sons of Aharon, as they drew near before יהוה, and died. 

And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Speak to Aharon your brother not to come in at all times to the Set-apart Place inside the veil, before the lid of atonement which is on the ark, lest he die, because I appear in the cloud above the lid of atonement.

Tree of Life Version                Then Adonai spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they approached the presence of Adonai and died.

Adonai said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holiest Place behind the curtain—before the atonement cover which is on the Ark—so that he would not die. For I will be appearing in the cloud over the atonement cover.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            (Day of Atonement & the 2 Goats.) AND JESUS SPOKE TO MOSES AFTER THE TWO SONS OF AARON DIED IN BRINGING STRANGE FIRE BEFORE JESUS, SO THEY DIED. †(10:1-11) AND JESUS SAID TO MOSES, “SPEAK TO AARON YOUR BROTHER, AND LET HIM NOT COME IN AT ALL TIMES ‡(he could enter only on the Day of Atonement) INTO THE HOLY PLACE WITHIN THE VEIL BEFORE THE SEAT OF RECONCILIATION (Mercy Seat), WHICH IS

UPON THE ARK OF THE TESTIMONY, AND HE SHALL NOT DIE; FOR I WILL APPEAR IN A CLOUD ON THE SEAT OF RECONCILIATION.

Awful Scroll Bible                   Sustains To Become was to speak to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, as they drew near, turned before Sustains To Become and were to die.

Sustains To Become was to say to Moses: Be speaking to Aaron, your brother: You was to come in on the occasion, to the set apart place, within the veil, turned toward the cover of the ark - was you to die? - I was to appear in a cloud mass at the cover.

Concordant Literal Version    Yahweh spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they came near before Yahweh and died.

Yahweh said to Moses:Speak to Aaron your brother that he must not come at just any time into the holy place, inside the curtain before the propitiatory shelter which is on the coffer so that he may not die, for in the cloud shall I appear over the propitiatory shelter.

exeGeses companion Bible   TORAH ON KIPPURIM/ATONEMENTS: THE SCAPEGOAT

And Yah Veh words to Mosheh

after the death of the two sons of Aharon,

as they oblated at the face of Yah Veh and died:

and Yah Veh says to Mosheh,

Word to Aharon your brother,

to not come at all times

into the holies that houses the veil

at the face of the kapporeth on the ark

- that he not die:

for I appear in the cloud on the kapporeth.

Orthodox Jewish Bible                                                          ACHAREY MOS

And Hashem spoke unto Moshe after the mot of the two Bnei Aharon, when they approached before Hashem, and died;

And Hashem said unto Moshe, Speak unto Aharon thy brother, that he come not at any time into HaKodesh within the Parochet (curtain) before the Kapporet, which is upon the Aron; that he die not; for I will appear in the Anan upon the Kapporet.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    .

Lexham English Bible            The Day of Atonement

Then [Or “And”] Yahweh spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons, when they had come near before [Literally “before faces of”] Yahweh and they died.

And Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell [Or “Speak to”] your brother Aaron that he should not enter at any time into the sanctuary behind [Literally “from the interior/inside to”] the curtain in front of [Literally “to the faces of”] the atonement cover that is on the ark, so that he might not die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 The Yom Kippur Service

God spoke to Moses right after the death of Aaron's two sons, who brought an [unauthorized] offering before God and died.

God said to Moses:

Speak to your brother Aaron, and let him not enter the [inner] sanctuary that is beyond the partition concealing the Ark, so that he may not die, since I appear over the Ark cover in a cloud.

right

(cf. Saadia).

death of Aaron's two sons

Leviticus 10:2. The narrative is interrupted with the other laws of defilement, since it is important that the death of Aaron's sons serve as an object lesson for all Israel. After warning the other Israelites not to enter the sanctuary improperly, Aaron is also warned (cf. Ibn Ezra).

inner sanctuary

The Holy of Holies (see Exodus 26:33).

since I appear...

(Rashi; Rashbam; Ibn Ezra). Or, 'Since I must [only] be seen in the smoke [of the incense] over the Ark cover ...' (Yoma 53a; Rashi; Rashbam).

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible(2011)    .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B.                   § 13. The Great Day of Propitiation: Once a Year.

Chapter 16.

And Yahweh spake unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron,—when they had offered strange fire^b before Yahwehˎ and died.

And Yahweh said unto Moses—

Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he do not come at all times^c into the holy place, within the veil,—into the presence of the propitiatoryˎ which is upon the arkˎ so shall he not die, for <in the cloud> will I appear^d upon the propitiatory.

^b So it shd be (w. Onk., Jon., Sep., Syr. and Vul.) as in chap. x. 1—G.n. [M.C.T. omits “strange fire.”]

^c Or: “just at any time”; or “on every occasion.”

^d Or: “am I wont to appear.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  . sanctuary

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            And the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron: when they brought strange fire before the Lord, and were dead, the Lord said to Moses, Speak to Aaron thy brother, and let him not come at all times into the sanctuary, within the veil, into the presence of the propitiatory, which is on the ark of the testimony; that he may not die. For in a cloud I will appear on the propitiatory.

Context Group Version          And YHWH spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before YHWH, and died; and YHWH said to Moses, Speak to Aaron your brother, that he does not come at all times into the special place inside the veil, before the generosity-seat which is on the ark; that he will not die: for I will appear in the cloud on the generosity-seat.

English Standard Version      .

Legacy Standard Bible           And YHWH speaks to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, in their drawing near before YHWH, and they die; indeed, YHWH says to Moses, “Speak to your brother Aaron, and he does not come in at all times to the holy place within the veil, to the front of the propitiatory covering, which [is] on the Ark, and he does not die, for I am seen in a cloud on the propitiatory covering.

Literal Standard Version        .

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  And Jehovah spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before Jehovah and died, and Jehovah said to Moses, Speak to Aaron your brother, that he not come at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy-seat which is upon the ark, that he does not die, because I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and YHWH spoke to Mosheh after the death of the two sons of Aharon in their coming near to the face of YHWH, and YHWH said to Mosheh, speak to Aharon your brother, and do not come in every appointed time to the special tent curtain of the house, to the face of the lid which is upon the box, and he will not die, given that I will be seen in the cloud upon the lid,...

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young's Updated LT              .

The gist of this passage: 

1-2

Translation: And so Y^ehowah spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons when they came near to the presence of Y^ehowah, [after which] they died [for offering strange incense to God].

Aaron had four sons. The two older ones began to acts as priests, but they approached God with a strange incense.

The full story of what happened is found in Leviticus 10 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

I believe what is taking place here is additional information from God to Moses to reinforce what can and cannot be done in the Holy of Holies. The rare nature of actually entering the Holy of Holies will be dealt with specifically in this chapter. This passage leads into that.

Leviticus 16:1 And so Y^ehowah spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons when they came near to the presence of Y^ehowah, [after which] they died [for offering strange incense to God]. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

It is a verse like this which indicates that it is possible that some of the portions of the books of Moses may not be in strict chronological order. That is, there are certain chapters which contains God's exactly words to Moses (and Aaron) but it is possible that He spoke to Moses first concerning the material in chapter 15 and then the material in chapter 14. However, this places this chapter sometime immediately after their deaths.

On the other hand, perhaps what takes place in between was said while Aaron was in mourning. However, in the intervening chapters, some of them begin with God speaking only to Moses and others to both Moses and Aaron. Before this atonement is made, perhaps God is giving Aaron time to grieve and adjust?

Translation: So Y^ehowah said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron, your brother...

The Revealed God speaks to Moses, telling him what he must say to him and his sons.

Translation: ...so that he will not enter into the Holy Place at any time regarding the veil [and] the Presence of Y^ehowah [on] the cover which [is] on the Ark.

Even though Aaron is the high priest and his sons are all in line to become priests to God, this does not give them total access to the Tabernacle. They could go into the main chamber for specific reasons. They could go into the back chamber, which is the Holy of Holies, only on a very specific day (which is going to be the topic of this chapter of Leviticus).

In the Holy of Holies is the Ark of God and on top of the Ark of God is the Mercy Seat, which is a golden lid laying over the Ark (by itself, the Ark in an open box). There are two angels on top of the Mercy Seat representing the elect angels and fallen angels who are observing the plan of God take place on this earth. Specifically, they will be watching the Son of God, the Savior of mankind, and what He does on this earth (which is all represented by the Ark of God, by the Mercy Seat, and by the contents of the Ark.

The Ark of God and the Mercy Seat (a photo); from Quora; accessed June 17, 2024. We do not know just how ornate the Ark and the Mercy Seat (the cover of the Ark) were. If you browse images of the Ark and Mercy Seat, you will see a variety of differences. That is because we no longer have the original Ark or Mercy Seat, which is what we should expect. When the reality of the shadow image appears, we no longer need the shadow image. The Ark of God, which is the shadow image (also called the type) represents the Lord Jesus Christ (Who is the reality; also called the antitype).

Translation: Therefore, he will not die when the I appear in the cloud over the cover [or, Mercy Seat]. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

God will make His Presence known in the Holy of Holies, and He does not want people just wandering in their out of curiosity. They will be allowed to enter into the Holy of Holies once a year for a very specific ritual.

Leviticus 16:2 So Y^ehowah said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron, your brother so that he will not enter into the Holy Place at any time regarding the veil [and] the Presence of Y^ehowah [on] the cover which [is] on the Ark. Therefore, he will not die when the I appear in the cloud over the cover [or, Mercy Seat]. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Here is Aaron, the high priest, one of the most dedicated and spiritual persons of his generation, and Y^ehowah is telling him not to come into the holy of holies. Part of the problem is the meaning of the translation. It reads that Aaron should not come into the holy [place] at all times; this is an idiom meaning, just at any time. This is a solemn warning that Aaron not die the sin unto death as did his eldest sons. What is being impressed upon Moses is the true sanctity of the holy of holies. What will occur in this chapter will speak to many generations, but the explicit timing would be but once a year.

Leviticus 16:1–2 And so Y^ehowah spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons when they came near to the presence of Y^ehowah, [after which] they died [for offering strange incense to God]. So Y^ehowah said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron, your brother so that he will not enter into the Holy Place at any time regarding the veil [and] the Presence of Y^ehowah [on] the cover which [is] on the Ark. Therefore, he will not die when the I appear in the cloud over the cover [or, Mercy Seat]. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

What appears to be the case is, Moses is recounting what God said directly after this incident, because that is going to lead into a talk about the Day of Atonement.

The religious system God put into the hands of Israel was extremely complex, and there is no easy way to organize it and present it.

Leviticus 16:1–2Jehovah spoke to Moses shortly after the deaths of Aaron’s two sons, when the came near to the Presence of God with strange incense and died as a result. So Jehovah said to Moses, “You need to carefully instruct your brother Aaron. He cannot simply enter into the Holy of Holies, behind the veil, at any time. After all, the Presence of God may be found upon the Mercy Seat. If he follows instructions, he will not die nor will his sons die when I appear in the cloud over the Mercy Seat. (Kukis paraphrase)

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Some translations begin a new paragraph with v. 3, but that paragraph may extend to v. 4 or to v. 5.

Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        In this [way] will come Aaron unto the Holy Place with a young bull, son of a bull for a sin-offering and a ram for a burnt-offering. An undergarment of white linen, holy, he will put on; and drawers of white linen will be upon his body; and with a waistband of white linen he will encircle [his waist]; and with a turbine of white linen he will wrap around [his head]. Garments of holiness they [are]. And he has washed in the waters his body and he has put them on.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Targum (Onkelos)                  .

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Aramaic Targum                    .

The Psalms Targum              .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) Unless he first do these things. He shall offer a calf for sin, and a ram for a holocaust.

He shall be vested with a linen tunick: he shall cover his nakedness with linen breeches: he shall be girded with a linen girdle, and he shall put a linen mitre upon his head. For these are holy vestments: all which he shall put on, after he is washed.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        "Herewith shall Aaron come into the sanctuary: with a young bull for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches on his body, and shall put on the linen sash, and he shall be dressed with the linen turban. They are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water, and put them on.

Original Aramaic Psalms        .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       Thus shall Aaron enter into the holy place: with a calf of the herd for a sin-offering, and having a ram for a whole burnt offering.

And he shall put on the consecrated linen tunic, and he shall have on his flesh the linen drawers, and shall gird himself with a linen sash, and shall put on the linen cap, they are holy garments; and he shall bathe all his body in water, and shall put them on.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             Let Aaron come into the holy place in this way: with an ox for a sin-offering and a male sheep for a burned offering. 

Let him put on the holy linen coat, and the linen trousers on his body, and the linen band round him, and the linen head-dress on his head; for this is holy clothing, and before he puts them on his body is to be washed with water.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  "Before Aaron enters the Most Holy Place, he will offer a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. Aaron will wash his whole body with water and put on the special clothes. He will put on the linen underwear next to his body, the linen robe, the linen belt, and then he will put the linen turban on his head.

God’s Word™                         "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. He 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.

Good News Bible (TEV)         He may enter the Most Holy Place only after he has brought a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering."

Then the LORD gave the following instructions. Before Aaron goes into the Most Holy Place, he must take a bath and put on the priestly garments: the linen robe and shorts, the belt, and the turban.

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       Before entering this most holy place, you must offer a bull as a sacrifice for your sins and a ram as a sacrifice to please me. You will take a bath and put on the sacred linen clothes, including the underwear, the robe, the sash, and the turban.

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

The Passion Translation        .

Unfolding Bible Simplified      When Aaron enters the very holy place in the sacred tent, he must bring a bull that will be killed to become an offering for sins, and a ram to be killed to be an offering that the priests will burn whole on the altar.  

Then Aaron must bathe his whole body and put on the linen underwear and the linen tunic. He must tie the linen sash around his waist and wrap the turban around his head. These are his sacred garments.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Christian Standard Bible        .

Berean Study Bible                .

Conservapedia Translation    .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                          Thus Aaron shall come into the holy place, with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen undershorts on his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and he shall be wrapped with the linen official turban; these are holy garments; he shall wash his flesh in water, and put them on.

International Standard V        Aaron is to enter the sacred place with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a whole burnt offering. He is to wear a sacred linen tunic and linen breeches that will cover his genitals. He is to clothe himself with a sash and wrap his head with a linen turban. Because they are sacred garments, he is to wash himself with water before putting them on.”

H. C. Leupold                         .

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    .

Urim-Thummim Version         Aaron will come into the Holy Place with a young bull for a Sin-Offering, and a ram for a whole Burnt-Offering. He will put on the Holy linen tunic and he will have the linen underwear on his flesh and will be secured with a linen girdle, and with the linen turban will he be attired. These are Holy garments; therefore he will wash his flesh in water and will put them on.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And with this Aaron will come to the holy place, with a bull son of cattle, for sinstuff, and a ram for raised-offer. He will wear a cloak of holy linen, and linen pants will be on his flesh, and he will wear a linen girdle, and he will be shrouded in a linen turban. These are holy clothes, and he will wash his flesh in water, and wear them.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  This is how Aaron will enter the Holy Place with a bullock for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He is to put on the sacred linen tunic and linen undergarments next to his body; he is to have the linen sash around him and wear the linen turban. These are sacred garments, so he must bathe in water before he puts them on.

New American Bible (2011)   .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989   .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Kaplan Translation                 .

The Scriptures–2009              “With this Aharon should come into the Set-apart Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as an ascending offering. 

“He should put on the set-apart linen long shirt, with linen trousers on his flesh, and gird himself with a linen girdle, and be dressed with the linen turban – they are set-apart garments. And he shall bathe his body in water, and shall put them on.

Tree of Life Version                .

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            .

Awful Scroll Bible                   Therefore was Aaron to come in to that set apart, with a young of the large cattle, even a young bull, for the miss of the mark, and a ram for a whole burnt offering. He was to put on the designated linen tunic, and linen trousers on his flesh, and he was to gird on the white linen waistband, and the white linen turban, was he to be wrapped, even these are the designated garments. He is to have washed his flesh in water and put them on.

Concordant Literal Version    In this way shall Aaron come into the holy place:with a young bull, the calf of the herd, as a sin offering, and a ram as an ascent offering.

The holy linen tunic shall he put on, and linen breeches shall be over his flesh, and with a linen sash shall he gird himself, and with a linen turban shall he be turbaned; they are holy garments. He will bathe his flesh in water and put them on.

exeGeses companion Bible   Thus Aharon comes into the holies:

with a bullock son of the oxen for the sin

and a ram for a holocaust:

he enrobes the holy linen coat

and the linen breeches on his flesh

and girds a linen girdle and attires the linen tiara

- the holy clothes:

and he baptizes his flesh in water

and enrobes them:...

Orthodox Jewish Bible           Thus shall Aharon come into HaKodesh: with a young bull for a chattat, and a ram for an olah (burnt offering).

He shall put on the Kesones Bahd Kodesh (holy linen tunic [see Yn 19:23 on Moshiach's Kesones, the day kapporah was made by the Kohen L'Olahm al Divrati Melki-Tzedek—Ps 110:4]), and he shall have the Mikhnesei Bahd (linen breeches) upon his basar, and shall be girded with a Avnet Bahd (linen sash), and with the Mitznefet Bahd (linen turban) shall he be attired; these are Bigdei Kodesh; therefore shall he immerse his basar in mayim, and so put them on.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    

Lexham English Bible            “Aaron must enter the sanctuary with this: a young bull [Literally “a bull a son of cattle”] as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. He must put on a holy linen tunic, [Literally “a tunic of linen of holiness”] and linen undergarments must be on his body, and he must fasten himself [The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation] with a linen sash, and he must wrap a linen turban around his head [Supplied from context in the English translation]—they are holy garments, and he shall wash his body with water, then [Or “and”] he shall put them on. And he must take from the Israelites’ [Literally “sons/children of Israel”] community two he-goats as a sin offering and one ram as a burnt offering. V. 5 is included for context.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 When Aaron enters [this inner] sanctuary, it must be with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

He must put on a sanctified white linen tunic, and have linen pants on his body. He must [also] gird himself with a linen sash, and bind his [head] with a linen turban. These are sacred vestments, and [therefore], before putting them on, he must immerse in a mikvah.

He must put on...

On Yom Kippur, the High Priest wore four white linen vestments (Yad, Kley HaMikdash 8:3). The rest of the year, he would wear eight vestments (see Exodus 28:42).

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible (2011)   .

New Catholic Bible                 .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. <Herewith>^e shall Aaron come into the holy place,—With a bullockˎ the choice of the herdˎ as a sin-bearer, and a ram as an ascending sacrifice. <A holy tunic of linen> shall he put onˎ and ||drawers of linen|| shall be upon his flesh, and <with a band of linen> shall he gird himself, and <with a turban of linen> shall his head be wrapped about,—<holy garments> they areʹ, therefore shall he bathe in water his fleshˎ and so put them on.

^e Or: “thus.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  Aaron shall come into the sanctuary this way: with a young bull, for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.  He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches on his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen miter he shall be dressed. These are holy garments. And he shall wash his flesh in water and put them on.

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            In this manner Aaron shall come into that holy place. With a young bull from the herd for a sin offering [he shall bring] a ram for a whole burnt offering. And he shall put on a holy linen vesture, and shall have linen drawers on his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and shall put on a linen tiara. These are holy garments, therefore he shall wash his whole body with water, and put them on.

Context Group Version          Herewith shall Aaron come into the special place: with a young bull for a purification-offering, and a ram for an ascension [offering]. He shall put on the special linen coat, and he shall have the linen trousers on his flesh, and shall be girded with the linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired: they are the special garments; and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and put them on.

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    With this Aaron shall come into the sanctuary: with a bull, a son of the herd, for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on a holy linen coat, and linen underpants shall be on his flesh, and he shall gird himself with a linen girdle, and he shall wrap himself in a linen miter; they are holy garments. And he shall bathe his flesh with water and shall put them on.

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        .

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  Aaron will come into the holy place this way: with a young bull for a sin-offering and a ram for a burnt-offering.

He will put on the holy linen tunic and he will have the linen underwear upon his flesh and will be girded with the linen sash and he will be attired with the linen headdress. They are the holy garments and he will bathe his flesh in water and put them on.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Owen's Translation                .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    In this, Aharon will come to the special place with a bull, a son of cattle, for a failure, and a buck for an ascension offering. He will wear a special tunic of strand and undergarments of strand will exist upon his flesh, and he will gird up with a sash of strand, and he will wind around with a turban of strand, they are special garments, and he will bathe his flesh in the waters, and he will wear them,...

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      Thus shall Aaron come into the Holy Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering. He shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his flesh; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be wrapped. These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his flesh in water, and put them on.

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young’s Updated LT             .

The gist of this passage: 

3-4

Translation: Aaron will come to the Holy Place in this [manner]: with a young bull, son of a bull, for a sin-offering and a ram for a burnt-offering.

Aaron is to come to the Holy Place (the Tabernacle), and he will be dressed in a certain way and he will bring certain animal sacrifices.

He will bring a young bull and a ram to be offered up.

Leviticus 16:3 Aaron will come to the Holy Place in this [manner]: with a young bull, son of a bull, for a sin-offering and a ram for a burnt-offering. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

When Aaron enters into the holy of holies, it must be tied to sacrifice. The sin offering is the man-ward side of the cross; Jesus Christ died for our sins. The burnt offering is the God-ward side of the cross; God the Father accepted His perfect sacrifice on our behalf. There was but one sacrifice, but it took several different animal sacrifices to explain soteriology to the Jews.

This entrance into the holy of holies was to occur but once a year. No one was able to see what was going on; they all knew if they knew Scripture. But into the second [room; i.e., the holy of holies] on the high priest [enters], once a year, not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit signifies this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed, while the outer Tabernacle is still standing, which is a type [or, symbol] for the present time. Accordingly, both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they [are] only food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the dispensation of this new order. But when Christ appeared a high priest of the good things that have come, through the greater and more perfect Tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation. And not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:7–12).

Translation: He will put on a white linen undergarment; and white linen drawers will be upon his body. He will encircle [his waist] with a white linen belt and he will wrap a white linen turbine around [his head]. These [are] holy garments.

Aaron has a specific set of clothing to wear. Here, the white linen garments are emphasized. Usually, he is wearing blue and violet. I don’t know if he is considered the High Priest at this time. That could explain the clothing that he is wearing.

Translation: He has washed his body in the waters and he has put [these] clothes on [afterward]. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Before putting on this clothing, Aaron will bathe himself.

Leviticus 16:4 He will put on a white linen undergarment; and white linen drawers will be upon his body. He will encircle [his waist] with a white linen belt and he will wrap a white linen turbine around [his head]. These [are] holy garments. He has washed his body in the waters and he has put [these] clothes on [afterward]. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

The imperfect tense with all of these verbs means that during the entire process, he will be wearing these garments. Only the high priest wore these garments because he was unique, just as our Lord Jesus Christ is the unique God-man. The cleanliness speaks of our Lord's perfection. The fact that he could go into the holy of holies speaks of ceremonial perfection to match our Lord's perfection.

Leviticus 16:3–4 Aaron will come to the Holy Place in this [manner]: with a young bull, son of a bull, for a sin-offering and a ram for a burnt-offering. He will put on a white linen undergarment; and white linen drawers will be upon his body. He will encircle [his waist] with a white linen belt and he will wrap a white linen turbine around [his head]. These [are] holy garments. He has washed his body in the waters and he has put [these] clothes on [afterward]. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Leviticus 16:3–4 Aaron will come to the holy place in this manner: he will bring a young bull for a sin-offering and a ram for a burnt-offering. He will wear white linen clothing—an undergarment, drawers, a belt and a turbine—everything made from white linen. These are the holy garments of his priesthood. He will put them on after thoroughly washing himself. (Kukis paraphrase)