Leviticus 16:14
in Leviticus 16And he is to take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the mercy seat.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy-seat on the east; and before the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
KJV
And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
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This verse in Leviticus 16
Commentary
4 notes on this verseUpon the mercy-seat - To teach us, that God is merciful to sinners only through and for the blood of Christ. With his face east-ward, or upon the eastern part, towards the people, who were in the court which lay east-ward from the holy of holies, which was the most western part of the tabernacle.
This site's exposition
the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger
on Leviticus 16:14-15
The blood goes on the mercy seat and before it, seven times, applied with a finger. What is sprinkled is the lid of the box that holds the law, so the covering over the commandments is the thing that receives the blood. He then does for the people's goat exactly what he did for his own bullock, and the text repeats the whole procedure rather than summarising it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the L ORD , and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. 19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v18-19
And he shall take of the blood of the bullock,....
How the passage was read
On Leviticus 16:1-34On Leviticus 16:1-34
The day Israel still fasts
This chapter founds the Day of Atonement, in Hebrew Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish year: the one day the high priest entered the innermost room of the sanctuary with blood for the nation's sins. With no Temple standing since AD 70, the day is kept now as a full fast: roughly 25 hours with no food or drink, most of it spent in synagogue prayer, many wearing white.
The Mishnah (the first code of Jewish oral law, about AD 200) defines the day's five abstentions: eating and drinking, washing, anointing, leather shoes, and marital relations (Yoma 8:1). It also carries a saying worth any reader's time: the day atones for sins between a person and God, “but for sins between a person and his fellow, the Day of Atonement does not atone until he has appeased his fellow” (Yoma 8:9). Reconciliation with people is homework done before the day.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Yoma 8:1 (the five abstentions) · Mishnah Yoma 8:9 (appease your fellow first) · The Day of Atonement (this site's study)
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלָקַח֙ | velakach | and he will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| מִדַּ֣ם | midam | some of [the] blood of | H1818 → | 360 times |
| הַפָּ֔ר | hapar | the bull | H6499 → | 132 times |
| וְהִזָּ֧ה | vehizah | and he will spatter [it] | H5137 → | 24 times |
| בְאֶצְבָּע֛וֹ | veetzbao | with finger his | H676 → | 31 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֥י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַכַּפֹּ֖רֶת | hakaporet | the atonement cover | H3727 → | 27 times |
| קֵ֑דְמָה | kedemah | east -ward | H6924 → | |
| וְלִפְנֵ֣י | velifnei | and <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַכַּפֹּ֗רֶת | hakaporet | the atonement cover | H3727 → | 27 times |
| יַזֶּ֧ה | yazeh | he will spatter | H5137 → | 24 times |
| שֶֽׁבַע־ | sheva'- | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| פְּעָמִ֛ים | peamim | times | H6471 → | 118 times |
| מִן־ | min- | some of | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַדָּ֖ם | hadam | the blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
| בְּאֶצְבָּעֽוֹ׃ | beetzbao | with finger his | H676 → | 31 times |
וְלָקַח֙and he will take
velakachH3947 →966 times
מִדַּ֣םsome of [the] blood of
midamH1818 →360 times
הַפָּ֔רthe bull
haparH6499 →132 times
וְהִזָּ֧הand he will spatter [it]
vehizahH5137 →24 times
בְאֶצְבָּע֛וֹwith finger his
veetzbaoH676 →31 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֥י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הַכַּפֹּ֖רֶתthe atonement cover
hakaporetH3727 →27 times
קֵ֑דְמָהeast -ward
kedemahH6924 →
וְלִפְנֵ֣יand <to> before
velifneiH6440 →2123 times
הַכַּפֹּ֗רֶתthe atonement cover
hakaporetH3727 →27 times
יַזֶּ֧הhe will spatter
yazehH5137 →24 times
שֶֽׁבַע־seven
sheva'-H7651 →394 times
פְּעָמִ֛יםtimes
peamimH6471 →118 times
מִן־some of
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַדָּ֖םthe blood
hadamH1818 →360 times
בְּאֶצְבָּעֽוֹ׃with finger his
beetzbaoH676 →31 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 10:4because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:11
Day after day every priest stands to minister and to offer again and again the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
- Isaiah 1:11–15
“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood…
- Micah 6:6–8
With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?
- Romans 11:27
And this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
- 1 John 3:5
But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.
- Hebrews 10:11
Through
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.
it leads to
- Leviticus 16:34
This 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 16:34
Through
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.
it leads to
- Hebrews 9:12
He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.
- Hebrews 9:12
Through
Hebrews 9:13For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,
it leads to
- Numbers 19:2–21
“This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red heifer that has no defect and has never been placed under a yoke.
- Numbers 19:2–21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
On this chapter
About Leviticus

This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Sir Robert Anderson, Types in Hebrews.
