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.
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.
- KJV And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an 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.
- 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 9:7Moses said to Aaron, “Draw near to the altar, and offer your sin offering, and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself, and for the people; and offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them; as Yahweh commanded.”
- Heb 9:7but into the second the high priest alone, once in the year, not without blood, which he offers for himself, and for the errors of the people.
- Heb 7:27who doesn’t need, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices daily, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. For he did this once for all, when he offered up himself.
- Heb 5:2–3The high priest can deal gently with those who are ignorant and going astray, because he himself is also surrounded with weakness.
- Ezra 10:18–19Among the sons of the priests there were found who had married foreign women: of the sons of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brothers, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.
- Ezek 43:19You shall give to the priests the Levites who are of the offspring of Zadok, who are near to me, to minister to me, says the Lord Yahweh, a young bull for a sin offering.
- Job 1:5It was so, when the days of their feasting had run their course, 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 renounced God in their hearts.” Job did so continually.
- Lev 8:14–17He brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering.
- Ezek 43:27When they have accomplished the days, it shall be that on the eighth day, and forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, says the Lord Yahweh.
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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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