The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’.
Parallel translations
- KJV And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’.
- BSB The priest is to burn the fat on the altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron 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 3:16The priest shall burn them on the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma; all the fat is Yahweh’s.
- Lev 7:34For the waved breast and the heaved thigh I have taken from the children of Israel out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as their portion forever from the children of Israel.’”
- Lev 3:11The priest shall burn it on the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire to Yahweh.
- Lev 3:5Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar on the burnt offering, which is on the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
- Lev 8:29Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before Yahweh. It was Moses’ portion of the ram of consecration, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
- Lev 6:26The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the Tent of Meeting.
- Num 18:18Their meat shall be yours, as the wave offering breast and as the right thigh, it shall be yours.
- Lev 6:16That which is left of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten without yeast in a holy place. They shall eat it in the court of the Tent of Meeting.
- Lev 5:13The priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin that he has sinned in any of these things, and he will be forgiven; and the rest shall be the priest’s, as the meal 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.