Leviticus 16:2
BSB · Public Domain (CC0)“And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.”
A short, plain-language explanation of Leviticus 16:2 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.
“And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.”
Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)“And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.”
King James Version · Public Domain“and Jehovah said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy-seat which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat.”
American Standard Version · Public Domain“yea, Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Speak unto Aaron thy brother, and he cometh not in at all times unto the sanctuary within the vail, unto the front of the mercy-seat, which <FI>is<Fi> upon the ark, and he dieth not, for in a cloud I am seen upon the mercy-seat.”
Young's Literal Translation · Public DomainOther passages that echo Leviticus 16:2 — 22 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Exodus 25:17And you are to construct a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
- Exodus 25:22And I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony; I will speak with you about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.
- Exodus 26:33And hang the veil from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the veil. So the veil will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
- Exodus 30:10Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on the horns of the altar. Throughout your generations he shall make atonement on it annually with the blood of the sin offering of atonement. The altar is most holy to the LORD.”
- Exodus 40:20Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark.
- Exodus 40:34Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
- Leviticus 8:35You must remain at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days and keep the LORD’s charge so that you will not die, for this is what I have been commanded.”
- Leviticus 16:13He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the cloud of incense will cover the mercy seat above the Testimony, so that he will not die.
- Leviticus 16:34This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement once a year for the Israelites because of all their sins.” And all this was done as the LORD had commanded Moses.
- Leviticus 23:27“The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You shall hold a sacred assembly and humble yourselves, and present an offering made by fire to the LORD.
- Numbers 4:19In order that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and what he is to carry.
- Numbers 17:10The LORD said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebellious, so that you may put an end to their grumbling against Me, lest they die.”
- Numbers 18:7But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”
- 1 Kings 8:6Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.
- 1 Kings 8:10And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD
- 2 Chronicles 5:14so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.
- Matthew 27:51At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split.
- Hebrews 4:14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.
- Hebrews 9:3Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,
- Hebrews 9:7But only the high priest entered the second room, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.
- Hebrews 9:25Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.
- Hebrews 10:19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).