And he is to take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the mercy seat.
Parallel translations
- WEB He shall take some of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
- NASB Moreover, he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the atoning cover on the east side; also in front of the atoning cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
- NLT Then he must take some of the blood of the bull, dip his finger in it, and sprinkle it on the east side of the atonement cover. He must sprinkle blood seven times with his finger in front of the atonement cover.
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
Aaron sprinkles the bull's blood on and before the mercy seat seven times. Blood is applied at the very throne of God to make atonement.
Overview
The high priest sprinkles the blood of his sin offering on the front of the mercy seat and seven times before it, signifying complete atonement at God's throne. The mercy seat, where God's presence rested above the ark, becomes the place where blood satisfies justice. This anticipates Christ, presented as the "mercy seat" (propitiation) whose blood reconciles us to God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Lev 4:5–6Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood and bring it into the Tent of Meeting.
- Heb 9:25Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.
- Heb 9:13For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,
- Heb 10:4because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
- Lev 8:11He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them.
- Heb 9:7But only the high priest entered the second room, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.
- Lev 4:17and he is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the veil.
- Heb 12:24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
- Heb 10:10–12And by that will, we have been sanctified through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
- Heb 10:19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
- Rom 3:24–26and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 16:14 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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