And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
Parallel translations
- WEB Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats; one lot for Yahweh, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
- BSB After Aaron casts lots for the two goats, one for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat,
- NKJV Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat.
- NASB Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat.
- NLT He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the Lord and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel.
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 casts lots over the two goats, one for Yahweh and one as the scapegoat. God's choice, not man's, assigns each goat its role.
Overview
By lot, one goat is designated for the LORD as a sin offering and the other as the "scapegoat" (Azazel, variously understood). Casting lots placed the decision in God's hands. The two goats together portray a single atonement: one bears the penalty of sin in death, the other carries sin away, both fulfilled in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Acts 1:23–26And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
- Prov 16:33The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.
- Jonah 1:7And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
- Josh 18:10–11And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions.
- Ezek 48:29This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD.
- 1 Sam 14:41–42Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped.
- Num 33:54And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man’s inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit.
- Num 26:55Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.
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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 16:8 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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