The goat will carry on itself all their iniquities into a solitary place, and the man will release it into the wilderness.
Parallel translations
- WEB The goat shall carry all their iniquities on himself to a solitary land, and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.
- NASB Then the goat shall carry on itself all their wrongdoings to an isolated territory; he shall release the goat in the wilderness.
- NLT As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land.
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 goat carries all the people's sins to a solitary land and is released. Their iniquity is removed far away, never to return.
Overview
The scapegoat bears Israel's sins into an uninhabited region and is let go, depicting the complete and final removal of guilt. As far as the east is from the west, so God removes sin from His people. This fulfills in Christ, who takes away the sin of the world so that it is remembered against us no more.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- John 1:29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
- Isa 53:11–12After the anguish of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.
- Mic 7:19He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea.
- Gal 3:13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
- Ps 103:12As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
- Ps 103:10He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities.
- 1 Pet 2:24He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- Heb 9:28so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.
- Ezek 18:22None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. Because of the righteousness he has practiced, he will live.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 16:22 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.