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It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place; for it is to him a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD—his portion forever.”
Leviticus 24:9 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB It shall be for Aaron and his sons; and they shall eat it in a holy place: for it is most holy to him of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire by a perpetual statute.”
  • KJV And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.
  • NKJV And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute.”
  • NASB And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the Lord’s offerings by fire, his portion forever.”
  • NLT The loaves of bread will belong to Aaron and his descendants, who must eat them in a sacred place, for they are most holy. It is the permanent right of the priests to claim this portion of the special gifts presented to 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

The removed bread belonged to Aaron and his sons to eat in a holy place as most holy. The priests shared in what was offered to God.

Overview

The old loaves became holy food for the priests, eaten only in the sanctuary because they were most holy. This provided for the priests while teaching that those who serve at the altar share in God's holy things. Jesus later cited this incident regarding David (Mark 2:25-26), showing mercy and need rightly informing the use of God's ordinances.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Lev 8:31And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons are to eat it.’
  • Luke 6:4He entered the house of God, took the consecrated bread and gave it to his companions, and ate what is lawful only for the priests to eat.”
  • Matt 12:4He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for them to eat, but only for the priests.
  • Mark 2:26During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.”
  • Lev 6:16Aaron and his sons are to eat the remainder. It must be eaten without leaven in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.
  • Lev 10:17“Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the holy place? For it is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the congregation by making atonement for them before the LORD.
  • Lev 21:22He may eat the most holy food of his God as well as the holy food,
  • 1 Sam 21:6So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there but the Bread of the Presence, which had been removed from before the LORD and replaced with hot bread on the day it was taken away.
  • Mal 1:12“But you profane it when you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is contemptible.’
  • Lev 8:3and assemble the whole congregation at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.”
  • Exod 29:32–33At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Leviticus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Leviticus 24:9YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LeviticusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 24:9 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.