The goat shall carry all their iniquities on himself to a solitary land, and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.
Parallel translations
- 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.
- BSB The goat will carry on itself all their iniquities into a solitary place, and the man will release it into 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, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
- Isa 53:11–12After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied. My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of himself; and he will bear their iniquities.
- Mic 7:19He will again have compassion on us. He will tread our iniquities under foot; and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
- Gal 3:13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs 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, nor repaid us for our iniquities.
- 1 Pet 2:24who his own self bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.
- Heb 9:28so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those who are eagerly waiting for him for salvation.
- Ezek 18:22None of his transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him. In his righteousness that he has done, he shall live.
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
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.