Exodus 29 · Verse 20

Exodus 29:20

Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
Exodus 29:20, King James Version

Exodus 29:20 in other translations

BSBSlaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on the right earlobes of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Sprinkle the remaining blood on all sides of the altar.
WEBThen you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood, and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot; and sprinkle the blood around on the altar.
ASVThen shalt thou kill the ram, and take of its blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
YLTand thou hast slaughtered the ram, and hast taken of its blood, and hast put on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot, and hast sprinkled the blood on the altar round about;
DARBYand thou shalt slaughter the ram, and take of its blood, and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot; and thou shalt sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
BBEYou are to put the sheep to death, and take some of its blood and put it on the point of Aaron's right ear, and of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and the great toes of their right feet, dropping the rest of the blood on the sides of the altar.
WebsterThen shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.

What does Exodus 29:20 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 29:10-22

10-22. And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle--This part of the ceremonial consisted of three sacrifices: (1) The sacrifice of a bullock, as a sin offering; and in rendering it, the priest was directed to put his hand upon the head of his sacrifice, expressing by that act a consciousness of personal guilt, and a wish that it might be accepted as a vicarious satisfaction. (2) The sacrifice…

Read the full comment on Exodus 29:10-22 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 20 Take of his blood - The putting the blood of the sacrifice on the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot, was doubtless intended to signify that they should dedicate all their faculties and powers to the service of God; their ears to the hearing and study of his law, their hands to diligence in the sacred ministry and to all acts of obedience, and their feet to walking in the way of God's precepts. And this sprinkling appears to have been used to teach them that they could neither hear, work, nor walk profitably, uprightly, and well-pleasing in the sight of God, without this application of the blood of the sacrifice. And as the blood of rams, bulls, and goats, could never take away sin, does not this prove to us that something infinitely better is shadowed out, and that we can do nothing holy and pure in the sight of a just and holy God, but through the blood of atonement? See Clarke's note on Exo 30:20.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 29:1-37

The continual burnt-offerings, God's promise to dwell among Israel. (38-46) Verses 1-37 Aaron and his sons were to be set apart for the priest's office, with ceremony and solemnity. Our Lord Jesus is the great High Priest of our profession, called of God to be so; anointed with the Spirit, whence he is called Messiah, the Christ; clothed with glory and beauty; sanctified by his own blood; made perfect, or…

Read the full comment on Exodus 29:1-37 →

Exodus 29:20 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְשָׁחַטְתָּ֣ve.sha.cha.Taand you will slaughterH7819
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָאַ֗יִלha.'A.yilthe ramH352
וְלָקַחְתָּ֤ve.la.kach.Taand you will takeH3947
מִדָּמוֹ֙mi.da.Mosome of blood itsH1818
וְנָֽתַתָּ֡הve.na.ta.Tahand you will put [it]H5414
עַל\־'al-onH5921
תְּנוּךְ֩te.nuKh[the] lobe ofH8571
אֹ֨זֶן'O.zen[the] ear ofH241
אַהֲרֹ֜ן'a.ha.RonAaronH175
וְעַל\־ve.'al-and onH5921
תְּנ֨וּךְte.Nukh[the] lobe ofH8571
אֹ֤זֶן'O.zen[the] ear ofH241
בָּנָיו֙ba.Navsons hisH1121
הַיְמָנִ֔יתhay.ma.Nit<the> rightH3233
וְעַל\־ve.'al-and onH5921
בֹּ֤הֶןBo.hen[the] thumb ofH931
יָדָם֙ya.Damhand theirH3027
הַיְמָנִ֔יתhay.ma.Nit<the> rightH3233
וְעַל\־ve.'al-and onH5921
בֹּ֥הֶןBo.hen[the] big toe ofH931
רַגְלָ֖םrag.Lamfoot theirH7272
הַיְמָנִ֑יתhay.ma.Nit<the> rightH3233
וְזָרַקְתָּ֧ve.za.rak.Taand you will sprinkleH2236
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַדָּ֛םha.Damthe bloodH1818
עַל\־'al-onH5921
הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַha.miz.Be.achthe altarH4196
סָבִֽיב\׃sa.Vivall aroundH5439

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 29:20

  • Isaiah 50:5

    The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.

  • Leviticus 16:19

    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.

  • Hebrews 9:19-23

    For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. …

  • Leviticus 14:7

    And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.

  • Hebrews 12:24

    And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

  • Hebrews 10:22

    Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

  • Leviticus 16:14-15

    And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. 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:

  • Leviticus 8:24

    And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.

  • Leviticus 14:16

    And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord:

  • Leviticus 14:14

    And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:

  • Isaiah 52:15

    So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

  • Mark 7:33

    And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
put it upon the tip.All this doubtless was intended to signify, that the priest should dedicate all his faculties and powers to the service of God; his ear to the hearing and study of the law; his hands to diligence in the sacred ministry, and to all acts of obedience; and his feet to walking in the way of God's precepts; for the ear is the symbol of obedience, the hand of action, and the foot of the path or conduct in life. And the sprinkling might further teach him, that he could neither hear, work, nor walk profitably, uprightly, and well pleasingly in the sight of God, without the application of the blood of the sacrifice.
Le 8:24; 14:14; Isa 50:5; Mr 7:33
sprinkle.
Le 14:7,16; 16:14,15,19; Isa 52:15; Heb 9:19-23; 10:22; 12:24
1Pe 1:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Exodus 29:19

    And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.

  • Exodus 29:20

    Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.

  • Exodus 29:21

    And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.

Read all of Exodus 29

Exodus 29:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y matarás el carnero, y tomarás de su sangre, y pondrás sobre la ternilla de la oreja derecha de Aarón, y sobre la ternilla de las orejas de sus hijos, y sobre el dedo pulgar de las manos derechas de ellos, y sobre el dedo pulgar de los pies derechos de ellos, y esparcirás la sangre sobre el altar alrededor.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et tu égorgeras le bélier, et tu prendras de son sang, et tu le mettras sur le lobe de l’oreille droite d’Aaron, et sur le lobe de l’oreille droite de ses fils, et sur le pouce de leur main droite, et sur le gros orteil de leur pied droit; et tu feras aspersion du sang sur l’autel, tout autour.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und du sollst den Widder schlachten und von seinem Blute nehmen und es auf das rechte Ohrläppchen Aarons tun und auf das rechte Ohrläppchen seiner Söhne und auf den Daumen ihrer rechten Hand und auf die große Zehe ihres rechten Fußes; und du sollst das Blut an den Altar sprengen ringsum.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quem cum immolaveris, sumes de sanguine ejus, et pones super extremum auriculæ dextræ Aaron et filiorum ejus, et super pollices manus eorum ac pedis dextri, fundesque sanguinem super altare per circuitum.