The priest is to burn the fat on the altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons.
Parallel translations
- WEB The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’.
- KJV And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’.
- NKJV And the priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’.
- NASB And the priest shall offer up the fat in smoke on the altar, but the breast shall belong to Aaron and to his sons.
- NLT Then the priest will burn the fat on the altar, but the breast will belong to Aaron and his descendants.
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 priest burns the fat on the altar, and the breast becomes the portion of Aaron and his sons. God's part was burned; the priests received the breast.
Overview
The fat ascended to God in fire while the breast sustained the priesthood, dividing the offering between the LORD and His ministers. This arrangement honored God first and then provided for those who served Him. It illustrates the order of worship: God receives His due, and His servants are cared for.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Lev 3:16Then the priest is to burn the food on the altar as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the LORD’s.
- Lev 7:34I have taken from the sons of Israel the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as a permanent portion from the sons of Israel.’”
- Lev 3:11Then the priest is to burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire to the LORD.
- Lev 3:5Then Aaron’s sons are to burn it on the altar atop the burnt offering that is on the burning wood, as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
- Lev 8:29He also took the breast—Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination—and waved it before the LORD as a wave offering, as the LORD had commanded him.
- Lev 6:26The priest who offers it shall eat it; it must be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.
- Num 18:18And their meat belongs to you, just as the breast and right thigh of the wave offering belong to you.
- 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 5:13In this way the priest will make atonement for him for any of these sins he has committed, and he will be forgiven. The remainder will belong to the priest, like the grain offering.”
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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 7:31 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.