And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house.
- BSB Aaron is to present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household.
- NKJV “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house.
- NASB Then Aaron shall offer the bull as the sin offering, which is for himself, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household.
- NLT “Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the Lord.
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 offers the bull as a sin offering for himself and his household first. The mediator must be cleansed before he can atone for others.
Overview
Before atoning for the nation, Aaron makes atonement for himself and his house with the bull. As a sinner himself, the high priest needed cleansing first. This contrast highlights the superiority of Christ, the sinless High Priest who needed no sacrifice for Himself and so could perfectly atone for His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Lev 9:7And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded.
- Heb 9:7But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
- Heb 7:27Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
- Heb 5:2–3Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
- Ezra 10:18–19And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.
- Ezek 43:19And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering.
- Job 1:5And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
- Lev 8:14–17And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering.
- Ezek 43:27And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.
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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 16:6 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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