And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.
- BSB Put the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place.
- NKJV You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy.
- NASB You shall put the atoning cover on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place.
- NLT “Then put the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—on top of the Ark of the Covenant inside the Most Holy Place.
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 mercy seat was to be placed on the ark in the Most Holy Place. This was the very throne and meeting place of God with His people.
Overview
Atop the ark sat the mercy seat, where atoning blood was sprinkled and God promised to meet Moses. It was the focal point of God's presence in the sanctuary. Romans 3:25 presents Christ as the true 'mercy seat' (propitiation), where God's justice and mercy meet in His atoning death.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Exod 40:20And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
- Exod 25:21And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
- Heb 9:5And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 26:34 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
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