Then they brought the goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, who laid their hands on them.
Parallel translations
- WEB They brought near the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly; and they laid their hands on them.
- KJV And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them:
- NKJV Then they brought out the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them.
- NASB Then they brought the male goats of the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them.
- NLT The male goats for the sin offering were then brought before the king and the assembly of people, who laid their hands on them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The goats for the sin offering are brought before the king and assembly, who lay their hands on them. The laying on of hands identifies the people with the sacrifice that bears their sin.
Overview
The whole assembly, with the king, lays hands on the sin-offering goats, symbolically transferring their guilt to the animals. This act of identification expresses that the sacrifice stands in the people's place to bear their sin. The picture of guilt laid upon a substitute points directly to Christ, on whom the LORD laid the iniquity of us all.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Lev 4:15The elders of the congregation are to lay their hands on the bull’s head before the LORD, and it shall be slaughtered before the LORD.
- Lev 1:4He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
- Lev 4:24He is to lay his hand on the head of the goat and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD. It is a sin offering.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Temple, priesthood, and the repeated need for a faithful king who seeks the LORD all point past every imperfect reign to the King and Temple who finally and fully dwell with God's people.
How 2 Chronicles 29:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.