“‘If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before Yahweh:
Parallel translations
- KJV And if his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD.
- BSB If one’s offering is a goat, he is to present it before the LORD.
- NKJV ‘And if his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord.
- NASB ‘Now if his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord,
- NLT “If you present a goat as your offering, bring it 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
A goat may also be brought as a peace offering before the LORD. The fellowship offering may come from goats as well as sheep and cattle.
Overview
The law extends the peace offering to goats, broadening the options available to worshipers. The same procedures apply regardless of which animal is chosen. This flexibility within a fixed pattern shows God's gracious accommodation while preserving the offering's meaning, all pointing toward the fellowship with God now freely available through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Matt 25:32–33Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
- Lev 9:3You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both a year old, without defect, for a burnt offering;
- Lev 22:19–27that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without defect, of the bulls, of the sheep, or of the goats.
- Lev 10:16Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burned: and he was angry with Eleazar and with Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying,
- Lev 3:1“‘If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings; if he offers it from the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without defect before Yahweh.
- Lev 1:2“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When anyone of you offers an offering to Yahweh, you shall offer your offering of the livestock, from the herd and from the flock.
- Lev 1:10“‘If his offering is from the flock, from the sheep, or from the goats, for a burnt offering, he shall offer a male without defect.
- 2 Cor 5:21For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
- Lev 9:15He presented the people’s offering, and took the goat of the sin offering which was for the people, and killed it, and offered it for sin, like the first.
- Lev 1:6He shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into pieces.
- Rom 8:3For what the law couldn’t do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh;
- Isa 53:2For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no good looks or majesty. When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
- Isa 53:6All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
- Lev 3:7–17If he offers a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before Yahweh;
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 3:12 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.