And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the altar.
Parallel translations
- WEB and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it before the Tent of Meeting: and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.
- BSB He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar.
- NKJV And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of meeting; and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar.
- NASB and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.
- NLT lay your hand on its head, and slaughter it in front of the Tabernacle. Aaron’s sons will then splatter the sheep’s blood against all sides of the altar.
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 worshiper lays his hand on the lamb, kills it, and the priests apply its blood. Fellowship with God comes through identification with a substitute and its blood.
Overview
The same essential rite of hand-laying and blood-application governs the lamb peace offering, tying fellowship firmly to atonement. The worshiper identifies with the animal that dies in his place. This consistent linking of communion to substitutionary blood points to the believer's fellowship with God, grounded entirely in the shed blood of Christ the Lamb (1 John 1:7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Lev 1:5And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
- Lev 4:15And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD.
- 1 Pet 2:24Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
- Lev 3:13And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar round about.
- Lev 4:24And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD: it is a sin offering.
- Eph 2:18For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
- Lev 1:11And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar.
- Isa 53:11–12He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
- 2 Cor 5:19To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
- Eph 3:12In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
- Isa 53:6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
- 2 Cor 5:21For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
- Lev 3:2–5And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
- Matt 3:17And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
- Heb 10:19–22Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
- Lev 4:4And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock’s head, and kill the bullock before the LORD.
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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 3:8 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
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.