The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘They shall therefore follow my requirements, lest they bear sin for it, and die therein, if they profane it. I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.
- KJV They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them.
- NKJV ‘They shall therefore keep My ordinance, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby, if they profane it: I the Lord sanctify them.
- NASB They shall therefore perform their duty to Me, so that they do not bear sin because of it and die by it because they profane it; I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
- NLT “The priests must follow my instructions carefully. Otherwise they will be punished for their sin and will die for violating my instructions. I am the Lord who makes them holy.
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
Priests must keep these requirements carefully, or they will bear guilt and die for profaning the holy things; it is Yahweh who sanctifies them.
Overview
The warning of death shows how seriously God regards the holiness of His worship and His ministers. Yet the same verse names God as the one 'who sanctifies them,' so holiness is both demanded and granted by Him. This tension between holy demand and gracious provision finds its resolution in Christ, who both fulfills the law's requirement and sanctifies His people (Hebrews 10:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Exod 28:43Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die. This is to be a permanent statute for Aaron and his descendants.
- Num 18:32Once you have presented the best part of it, you will not incur guilt because of it. But you must not defile the sacred offerings of the Israelites, or else you will die.’”
- Num 18:22No longer may the Israelites come near to the Tent of Meeting, or they will incur guilt and die.
- Lev 16:2And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
- Lev 10:1–2Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command.
- Lev 22:16by allowing the people to eat the sacred offerings and thus to bear the punishment for guilt. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”
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 22:9 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.