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Selected Verse: Leviticus 16:11 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Le 16:11	Strong Concordance	And Aaron [0175] shall bring [07126] the bullock [06499] of the sin offering [02403], which is for himself, and shall make an atonement [03722] for himself, and for his house [01004], and shall kill [07819] the bullock [06499] of the sin offering [02403] which is for himself:
	King James	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:

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself, &c.--The first part of the service was designed to solemnize his own mind, as well as the minds of the people, by offering the sacrifices for their sins. The sin offerings being slain had the sins of the offerer judicially transferred to them by the imputation of his hands on their head (Lev 4:4, Lev 4:15, Lev 4:24, Lev 4:29, Lev 4:33); and thus the young bullock, which was to make atonement for himself and the other priests (called "his house," Psa 135:19), was killed by the hands of the high priest. While the blood of the victim was being received into a vessel, taking a censer of live coals in his right hand and a platter of sweet incense in his left, he, amid the solemn attention and the anxious prayers of the assembled multitude, crossed the porch and the holy place, opened the outer veil which led into the holy of holies and then the inner veil. Standing before the ark, he deposited the censer of coals on the floor, emptied the plate of incense into his hand, poured it on the burning coals; and the apartment was filled with fragrant smoke, intended, according to Jewish writers, to prevent any presumptuous gazer prying too curiously into the form of the mercy seat, which was the Lord's throne. The high priest having done this, perfumed the sanctuary, returned to the door, took the blood of the slain bullock, and, carrying it into the holy of holies, sprinkled it with his finger once upon the mercy seat "eastward"--that is, on the side next to himself; and seven times "before the mercy seat"--that is, on the front of the ark. Leaving the coals and the incense burning, he went out a second time, to sacrifice at the altar of burnt offering the goat which had been assigned as a sin offering for the people; and carrying its blood into the holy of holies, he made similar sprinklings as he had done before with the blood of the bullock. While the high priest was thus engaged in the most holy place, none of the ordinary priests were allowed to remain within the precincts of the tabernacle. The sanctuary or holy place and the altar of burnt offering were in like manner sprinkled seven times with the blood of the bullock and the goat. The object of this solemn ceremonial was to impress the minds of the Israelites with the conviction that the whole tabernacle was stained by the sins of a guilty people, that by their sins they had forfeited the privileges of the divine presence and worship, and that an atonement had to be made as the condition of God's remaining with them. The sins and shortcomings of the past year having polluted the sacred edifice, the expiation required to be annually renewed. The exclusion of the priests indicated their unworthiness and the impurities of their service. The mingled blood of the two victims being sprinkled on the horns of the altar indicated that the priests and the people equally needed an atonement for their sins. But the sanctuary being thus ceremonially purified, and the people of Israel reconciled by the blood of the consecrated victim, the Lord continued to dwell in the midst of them, and to honor them with His gracious presence.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself, &c.--The first part of the service was designed to solemnize his own mind, as well as the minds of the people, by offering the sacrifices for their sins. The sin offerings being slain had the sins of the offerer judicially transferred to them by the imputation of his hands on their head (Lev 4:4, Lev 4:15, Lev 4:24, Lev 4:29, Lev 4:33); and thus the young bullock, which was to make atonement for himself and the other priests (called "his house," Psa 135:19), was killed by the hands of the high priest. While the blood of the victim was being received into a vessel, taking a censer of live coals in his right hand and a platter of sweet incense in his left, he, amid the solemn attention and the anxious prayers of the assembled multitude, crossed the porch and the holy place, opened the outer veil which led into the holy of holies and then the inner veil. Standing before the ark, he deposited the censer of coals on the floor, emptied the plate of incense into his hand, poured it on the burning coals; and the apartment was filled with fragrant smoke, intended, according to Jewish writers, to prevent any presumptuous gazer prying too curiously into the form of the mercy seat, which was the Lord's throne. The high priest having done this, perfumed the sanctuary, returned to the door, took the blood of the slain bullock, and, carrying it into the holy of holies, sprinkled it with his finger once upon the mercy seat "eastward"--that is, on the side next to himself; and seven times "before the mercy seat"--that is, on the front of the ark. Leaving the coals and the incense burning, he went out a second time, to sacrifice at the altar of burnt offering the goat which had been assigned as a sin offering for the people; and carrying its blood into the holy of holies, he made similar sprinklings as he had done before with the blood of the bullock. While the high priest was thus engaged in the most holy place, none of the ordinary priests were allowed to remain within the precincts of the tabernacle. The sanctuary or holy place and the altar of burnt offering were in like manner sprinkled seven times with the blood of the bullock and the goat. The object of this solemn ceremonial was to impress the minds of the Israelites with the conviction that the whole tabernacle was stained by the sins of a guilty people, that by their sins they had forfeited the privileges of the divine presence and worship, and that an atonement had to be made as the condition of God's remaining with them. The sins and shortcomings of the past year having polluted the sacred edifice, the expiation required to be annually renewed. The exclusion of the priests indicated their unworthiness and the impurities of their service. The mingled blood of the two victims being sprinkled on the horns of the altar indicated that the priests and the people equally needed an atonement for their sins. But the sanctuary being thus ceremonially purified, and the people of Israel reconciled by the blood of the consecrated victim, the Lord continued to dwell in the midst of them, and to honor them with His gracious presence.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
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. Lev 16:12 A censer - See Exo 25:38 note. The altar before the Lord - i. e. the altar of burnt-offering on which the fire was always burning. Lev 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 again within the veil. He sprinkled the blood seven times upon the mercy-seat, on its east side (not "eastward"), and then seven times upon the floor in front of it. If the mercy-seat may be regarded as an altar, the holiest one of the three, on this one occasion in the year atonement was thus made for it, as for the other altars, with sacrificial blood. Lev 16:15 Having completed the atonement in the holy of holies on behalf of the priests, the high priest had now to do the same thing on behalf of the people. Lev 16:16 The "holy place" - Here the place within the veil, the holy of holies. Tabernacle of the congregation - tent of meeting. atonement was now to be made for the tabernacle as a whole. The sense is very briefly expressed, but there seems to be no room to doubt that the high priest was to sprinkle the blood of each of the victims before the altar of incense, as he had done before the mercy-seat within the veil; and also to touch with blood the horns of the altar of incense Exo 30:10. That remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness - Compare Lev 16:19. The most sacred earthly things which came into contact with the nature of man needed from time to time to be cleansed and sanctified by the blood of the sin-offerings which had been taken into the presence of Yahweh. See Exo 28:38 note. Lev 16:18 The order of the ceremony required that atonement should first be made for the most holy place with the mercy-seat, then for the holy place with the golden altar, and then for the altar in the court. See Lev 16:20, Lev 16:33. The horns of the brazen altar were touched with the blood, as they were in the ordinary sin-offerings. Lev 4:25, Lev 4:30, Lev 4:34. Of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat - Some of the blood of the two victims was mingled together in a basin. Lev 16:21 Confess over him - The form of confession used on this occasion in later times was: "O Lord, Thy people, the house of Israel, have transgressed, they have rebelled, they have sinned before Thee. I beseech Thee now absolve their transgressions, their rebellion, and their sin that they have sinned against Thee, as it is written in the law of Moses Thy servant, that on this day he shall make atonement for you to cleanse you from all your sins, and ye shall be clean." A fit man - literally, a timely man, or a man at hand. Tradition says that the man was appointed for this work the year before. Lev 16:22 Unto a land not inhabited - Unto a place cut off, or (as in the margin) a place "of separation." It is evident that the one signification of the ceremony of this goat was the complete removal of the sins which were confessed over him. No symbol could so plainly set forth the completeness of Yahweh's acceptance of the penitent, as a sin-offering in which a life was given up for the altar, and yet a living being survived to carry away all sin and uncleanness.

The Scofield Bible Commentary, by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, [1917]
atonement (See Scofield) - (Exo 29:33).

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
He was then to slay the bullock of the sin-offering, and make atonement for himself and his house (or family, i.e., for the priests, Lev 16:33). But before bringing the blood of the sin-offering into the most holy place, he was to take "the filling of the censer (machtah, a coal-pan, Exo 25:38) with fire-coals," i.e., as many burning coals as the censer would hold, from the altar of burnt-offering, and "the filling of his hands," i.e., two hands full of "fragrant incense" (Exo 30:34), and go with this within the vail, i.e., into the most holy place, and there place the incense upon the fire before Jehovah, "that the cloud of (burning) incense might cover the capporeth above the testimony, and he might not die." The design of these instructions was not that the holiest place, the place of Jehovah's presence, might be hidden by the cloud of incense from the gaze of the unholy eye of man, and so he might separate himself reverentially from it, that the person approaching might not be seized with destruction. But as burning incense was a symbol of prayer, this covering of the capporeth with the cloud of incense was a symbolical covering of the glory of the Most Holy One with prayer to God, in order that He might not see the sin, nor suffer His holy wrath to break forth upon the sinner, but might graciously accept, in the blood of the sin-offering, the souls for which it was presented. Being thus protected by the incense from the wrath of the holy God, he was to sprinkle (once) some of the blood of the ox with his finger, first upon the capporeth in front, i.e., not upon the top of the capporeth, but merely upon or against the front of it, and then seven times before the capporeth, i.e., upon the ground in front of it. It is here assumed as a matter of course, that when the offering of incense was finished, he would necessarily come out of the most holy place again, and go to the altar of burnt-offering to fetch some of the blood of the ox which had been slaughtered there.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
The bullock - Mentioned in general, Lev 16:6. The ceremonies whereof are here particularly described. This was a different bullock or heifer from that Num 19:2, Num 19:5, Num 19:9-10, Num 19:17, as appears by comparing the places.

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¹⁹ Bless [01288] the LORD [03068], O house [01004] of Israel [03478]: bless [01288] the LORD [03068], O house [01004] of Aaron [0175]:

³³ And he shall lay [05564] his hand [03027] upon the head [07218] of the sin offering [02403], and slay [07819] it for a sin offering [02403] in the place [04725] where they kill [07819] the burnt offering [05930].

²⁹ And he shall lay [05564] his hand [03027] upon the head [07218] of the sin offering [02403], and slay [07819] the sin offering [02403] in the place [04725] of the burnt offering [05930].

²⁴ And he shall lay [05564] his hand [03027] upon the head [07218] of the goat [08163], and kill [07819] it in the place [04725] where they kill [07819] the burnt offering [05930] before [06440] the LORD [03068]: it is a sin offering [02403].

¹⁵ And the elders [02205] of the congregation [05712] shall lay [05564] their hands [03027] upon the head [07218] of the bullock [06499] before [06440] the LORD [03068]: and the bullock [06499] shall be killed [07819] before [06440] the LORD [03068].

⁴ And he shall bring [0935] the bullock [06499] unto the door [06607] of the tabernacle [0168] of the congregation [04150] before [06440] the LORD [03068]; and shall lay [05564] his hand [03027] upon the bullock's [06499] head [07218], and kill [07819] the bullock [06499] before [06440] the LORD [03068].

²² And the goat [08163] shall bear [05375] upon him all their iniquities [05771] unto a land [0776] not inhabited [01509]: and he shall let go [07971] the goat [08163] in the wilderness [04057].

²¹ And Aaron [0175] shall lay [05564] both [08147] his hands [03027] upon the head [07218] of the live [02416] goat [08163], and confess [03034] over him all the iniquities [05771] of the children [01121] of Israel [03478], and all their transgressions [06588] in all their sins [02403], putting [05414] them upon the head [07218] of the goat [08163], and shall send him away [07971] by the hand [03027] of a fit [06261] man [0376] into the wilderness [04057]:

³⁴ And the priest [03548] shall take [03947] of the blood [01818] of the sin offering [02403] with his finger [0676], and put [05414] it upon the horns [07161] of the altar [04196] of burnt offering [05930], and shall pour out [08210] all the blood [01818] thereof at the bottom [03247] of the altar [04196]:

³⁰ And the priest [03548] shall take [03947] of the blood [01818] thereof with his finger [0676], and put [05414] it upon the horns [07161] of the altar [04196] of burnt offering [05930], and shall pour out [08210] all the blood [01818] thereof at the bottom [03247] of the altar [04196].

²⁵ And the priest [03548] shall take [03947] of the blood [01818] of the sin offering [02403] with his finger [0676], and put [05414] it upon the horns [07161] of the altar [04196] of burnt offering [05930], and shall pour out [08210] his blood [01818] at the bottom [03247] of the altar [04196] of burnt offering [05930].

³³ And he shall make an atonement [03722] for the holy [06944] sanctuary [04720], and he shall make an atonement [03722] for the tabernacle [0168] of the congregation [04150], and for the altar [04196], and he shall make an atonement [03722] for the priests [03548], and for all the people [05971] of the congregation [06951].

²⁰ And when he hath made an end [03615] of reconciling [03722] the holy [06944] place, and the tabernacle [0168] of the congregation [04150], and the altar [04196], he shall bring [07126] the live [02416] goat [08163]:

¹⁸ And he shall go out [03318] unto the altar [04196] that is before [06440] the LORD [03068], and make an atonement [03722] for it; and shall take [03947] of the blood [01818] of the bullock [06499], and of the blood [01818] of the goat [08163], and put [05414] it upon the horns [07161] of the altar [04196] round about [05439].

³⁸ And it shall be upon Aaron's [0175] forehead [04696], that Aaron [0175] may bear [05375] the iniquity [05771] of the holy things [06944], which the children [01121] of Israel [03478] shall hallow [06942] in all their holy [06944] gifts [04979]; and it shall be always [08548] upon his forehead [04696], that they may be accepted [07522] before [06440] the LORD [03068].

¹⁹ And he shall sprinkle [05137] of the blood [01818] upon it with his finger [0676] seven [07651] times [06471], and cleanse [02891] it, and hallow [06942] it from the uncleanness [02932] of the children [01121] of Israel [03478].

¹⁰ And Aaron [0175] shall make an atonement [03722] upon the horns [07161] of it once [0259] in a year [08141] with the blood [01818] of the sin offering [02403] of atonements [03725]: once [0259] in the year [08141] shall he make atonement [03722] upon it throughout your generations [01755]: it is most [06944] holy [06944] unto the LORD [03068].

¹⁶ And he shall make an atonement [03722] for the holy [06944] place, because of the uncleanness [02932] of the children [01121] of Israel [03478], and because of their transgressions [06588] in all their sins [02403]: and so shall he do [06213] for the tabernacle [0168] of the congregation [04150], that remaineth [07931] among them in the midst [08432] of their uncleanness [02932].

¹⁵ Then shall he kill [07819] the goat [08163] of the sin offering [02403], that is for the people [05971], and bring [0935] his blood [01818] within [01004] the vail [06532], and do [06213] with that blood [01818] as he did [06213] with the blood [01818] of the bullock [06499], and sprinkle [05137] it upon the mercy seat [03727], and before [06440] the mercy seat [03727]:

¹⁴ And he shall take [03947] of the blood [01818] of the bullock [06499], and sprinkle [05137] it with his finger [0676] upon the mercy seat [03727] eastward [06924]; and before [06440] the mercy seat [03727] shall he sprinkle [05137] of the blood [01818] with his finger [0676] seven [07651] times [06471].

³⁸ And the tongs [04457] thereof, and the snuffdishes [04289] thereof, shall be of pure [02889] gold [02091].

¹² And he shall take [03947] a censer [04289] full [04393] of burning [0784] coals [01513] of fire [0784] from off the altar [04196] before [06440] the LORD [03068], and his hands [02651] full [04393] of sweet [05561] incense [07004] beaten small [01851], and bring [0935] it within [01004] the vail [06532]:

³³ And they shall eat [0398] those things wherewith the atonement was made [03722], to consecrate [04390] [03027] and to sanctify [06942] them: but a stranger [02114] shall not eat [0398] thereof, because they are holy [06944].

³⁴ And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto Moses [04872], Take [03947] unto thee sweet spices [05561], stacte [05198], and onycha [07827], and galbanum [02464]; these sweet [05561] spices [05561] with pure [02134] frankincense [03828]: of each [0905] shall there be a like [0905] weight:

³⁸ And the tongs [04457] thereof, and the snuffdishes [04289] thereof, shall be of pure [02889] gold [02091].

¹⁷ And for an unclean [02931] person they shall take [03947] of the ashes [06083] of the burnt heifer [08316] of purification for sin [02403], and running [02416] water [04325] shall be put [05414] thereto in a vessel [03627]:

⁹ And a man [0376] that is clean [02889] shall gather [0622] up the ashes [0665] of the heifer [06510], and lay them up [03240] without [02351] the camp [04264] in a clean [02889] place [04725], and it shall be kept [04931] for the congregation [05712] of the children [01121] of Israel [03478] for a water [04325] of separation [05079]: it is a purification for sin [02403].
¹⁰ And he that gathereth [0622] the ashes [0665] of the heifer [06510] shall wash [03526] his clothes [0899], and be unclean [02930] until the even [06153]: and it shall be unto the children [01121] of Israel [03478], and unto the stranger [01616] that sojourneth [01481] among [08432] them, for a statute [02708] for ever [05769].

⁵ And one shall burn [08313] the heifer [06510] in his sight [05869]; her skin [05785], and her flesh [01320], and her blood [01818], with her dung [06569], shall he burn [08313]:

² This is the ordinance [02708] of the law [08451] which the LORD [03068] hath commanded [06680], saying [0559], Speak [01696] unto the children [01121] of Israel [03478], that they bring [03947] thee a red [0122] heifer [06510] without spot [08549], wherein is no blemish [03971], and upon which never [03808] came [05927] yoke [05923]:

⁶ And Aaron [0175] shall offer [07126] his bullock [06499] of the sin offering [02403], which is for himself [01157], and make an atonement [03722] for himself, and for his house [01004].