Leviticus 16 · Verse 21

Leviticus 16:21

And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

Leviticus 16:21, King James Version

Leviticus 16:21 in other translations

BSB	Then he is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man appointed for the task.
WEB	Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is ready.
ASV	and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a man that is in readiness into the wilderness:
YLT	and Aaron hath laid his two hands on the head of the living goat, and hath confessed over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, and hath put them on the head of the goat, and hath sent it away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness;
DARBY	and Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the living goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away to the wilderness by the hand of a man standing ready;
BBE	And Aaron, placing his two hands on the head of the living goat, will make a public statement over him of all the evil doings of the children of Israel and all their wrongdoing, in all their sins; and he will put them on the head of the goat and send him away, in the care of a man who will be waiting there, into the waste land.
Webster	And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

What does Leviticus 16:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Leviticus 16:20-22

20-22. he shall bring the live goat--Having already been presented before the Lord (Le 16:10), it was now brought forward to the high priest, who, placing his hands upon its head, and "having confessed over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins," transferred them by this act to the goat as their substitute. It was then delivered into the hands of a person, who…

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Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 21 Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head, etc. - What this imposition of hands meant see in the notes on Exo 29:10 (note), and Lev 1:4 (note). And confess over him all the iniquities - transgressions - sins - The three terms used here, Iniquities, עונת avonoth, from עוה avah, to pervert, distort, or turn aside; Transgressions, פשעים peshaim, from פשע pasha, to transgress, to rebel; and Sins, חטאת chattaoth, from חטא chata, to miss the mark, are supposed by the Jews to comprise every thing that implies a breach of the Divine law, or an offense against God. See Clarke's note on Gen 12:13. Maimonides gives us the confession in the following words: - "O Lord, thy people, the house of Israel, have sinned and done iniquity, and trespassed before thee. O Lord, make atonement now for the iniquities and transgressions and sins that thy people, the house of Israel, have sinned and transgressed against thee; as it is written in the law of Moses thy servant, saying: That in this day he shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you from all your sins before the Lord, and ye shall be clean." - See the Mishna, vol. ii., p. 329. When this confession was finished, the goat was sent by a proper hand to the wilderness, and there let loose; and nothing farther was ever heard of it. Did not all this signify that Christ has so carried and borne away our sins, that against them who receive him as the only true atoning sacrifice they should never more be brought to remembrance? On the head of the scape-goat, a piece of scarlet cloth was tied, and the tradition of the Jews states that if God accepted the sacrifice, the scarlet cloth turned white while the goat was led to the desert; but if God had not accepted this expiation, the redness continued, and the rest of the year was spent in mourning. From the foundation of the Church of God it was ever believed by his followers, that there were certain infallible tokens by which he discovered to genuine believers his acceptance of them and their services. This was sometimes done by a fire from heaven consuming the sacrifice; sometimes by an oracular communication to the priest or prophet; and at other times, according to the Jewish account, by changing the fillet or cloth on the head of the scape-goat from scarlet to white: but most commonly, and especially under the Gospel dispensation, he gives this assurance to true believers by the testimony of his Spirit in their consciences, that he has forgiven their iniquities, transgressions, and sins, for his sake who has carried their griefs, and borne their sorrows.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Leviticus 16:15-34

Here are typified the two great gospel privileges, of the remission of sin, and access to God, both of which we owe to our Lord Jesus. See the expiation of guilt. Christ is both the Maker and the Matter of the atonement; for he is the Priest, the High Priest, that makes reconciliation for the sins of the people. And as Christ is the High Priest, so he is the Sacrifice with which atonement is made; for he is all in…

Read the full comment on Leviticus 16:15-34 →

Leviticus 16:21 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.

וְסָמַ֨ךְve.sa.Makhand he will leanH5564

אַהֲרֹ֜ן'a.ha.RonAaronH175

אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853

שְׁתֵּ֣יshe.Tei[the] twoH8147

יָדָ֗יוya.dovhands hisH3027

עַ֨ל'alonH5921

רֹ֣אשׁrosh[the] head ofH7218

הַשָּׂעִיר֮ha.sa.'Irthe male goatH8163

הַחַי֒ha.Chai<the> livingH2416

וְהִתְוַדָּ֣הve.hit.va.Dahand he will confessH3034

עָלָ֗יו'a.Lavover itH5921

אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853

כָּל\־kol-allH3605

עֲוֹנֹת֙'a.vo.Not[the] iniquities ofH5771

בְּנֵ֣יbe.Nei[the] people ofH1121

יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478

וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853

כָּל\־kol-allH3605

פִּשְׁעֵיהֶ֖םpish.'ei.Hemtransgressions theirH6588

לְכָל\־le.kholto allH3605

חַטֹּאתָ֑םcha.to.Tamsins theirH2403

וְנָתַ֤ןve.na.Tanand he will putH5414

אֹתָם֙'o.Tam<obj.> themH853

עַל\־'al-onH5921

רֹ֣אשׁrosh[the] head ofH7218

הַשָּׂעִ֔ירha.sa.'Irthe male goatH8163

וְשִׁלַּ֛חve.shi.Lachand he will send [it] awayH7971

בְּיַד\־be.yad-by [the] hand ofH3027

אִ֥ישׁ'isha manH376

עִתִּ֖י'i.TireadyH6261

הַמִּדְבָּֽרָה\׃ha.mid.Ba.rahthe wilderness towardsH4057

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

Cross references for Leviticus 16:21

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.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Ezra 10:1
Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.
Psalms 51:3
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
Proverbs 28:13
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Psalms 32:5
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
Nehemiah 9:3-5
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the Lord their God. Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the Lord their God. Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
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.
Leviticus 26:40
If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
Romans 10:10
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Daniel 9:3-20
And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. …
Leviticus 1:4
And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

lay.
1:4; Ex 29:10
confess over.
26:40; Ezr 10:1; Ne 1:6,7; 9:3-5; Ps 32:5; 51:3; Pr 28:13; Da 9:3-20
Ro 10:10
putting.
Isa 53:6; 2Co 5:21
a fit man. Heb. a man of opportunity.The man that took the scape-goat into the wilderness, and they that burned the sin offering, were to be looked upon as ceremonially unclean, and must not come into the camp till they had washed their clothes and bathed their flesh in water, which signified the defiling nature of sin; even the sacrifice which was made sin, was defiling: also the imperfection of the legal sacrifices, they were so far from taking away sin, that they left some stain even upon those that touched them.

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

Context

Leviticus 16:20
And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:
Leviticus 16:21
And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
Leviticus 16:22
And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

Read all of Leviticus 16

Leviticus 16:21 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y pondrá Aarón ambas manos suyas sobre la cabeza del macho cabrío vivo, y confesará sobre él todas las iniquidades de los hijos de Israel, y todas sus rebeliones, y todos sus pecados, poniéndolos así sobre la cabeza del macho cabrío, y lo enviará al desierto por mano de un hombre destinado para esto.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et Aaron posera ses deux mains sur la tête du bouc vivant, et confessera sur lui toutes les iniquités des fils d’Israël et toutes leurs transgressions, selon tous leurs péchés; il les mettra sur la tête du bouc, et l’enverra au désert par un homme qui se tiendra prêt pour cela;
German Elberfelder 1871	Und Aaron lege seine beiden Hände auf den Kopf des lebendigen Bockes und bekenne auf ihn alle Ungerechtigkeiten der Kinder Israel und alle ihre Übertretungen nach allen ihren Sünden; und er lege sie auf den Kopf des Bockes und schicke ihn durch einen bereitstehenden Mann fort in die Wüste,
Latin Clementine Vulgate	et posita utraque manu super caput ejus, confiteatur omnes iniquitates filiorum Israël, et universa delicta atque peccata eorum: quæ imprecans capiti ejus, emittet illum per hominem paratum, in desertum.