Leviticus 16:24
in Leviticus 16He is to bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his own clothes. Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering to make atonement for himself and for the people.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and he shall bathe his flesh in water in a holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt-offering and the burnt-offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.
KJV
And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.
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This verse in Leviticus 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHe shall put on his linen garments - Not his ordinary priestly linen garments, for he was to leave them in the tabernacle, ver. 23, but the high-priestly garments, called his garments properly, and by way of distinction. And this change of his garments was not without cause.
This site's exposition
take off the linen garments he put on
on Leviticus 16:23-25
The linen is taken off and left in the holy place, worn once. He washes again, puts the golden garments back on, and comes out to offer the burnt offerings where the people can see. The clothes mark the change between the day's two halves.
This site's exposition
put on his own clothes
John Wesley takes his own clothes to mean the high priest's proper garments, which belong to him alone. Then come the two burnt offerings. Matthew Henry reads that order as pardon first and thanks after.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
When we have the comfort of our pardon God must have the glory of it. If we have the benefit of the sacrifice of atonement, we must not grudge the sacrifices of acknowledgment. And, it should seem, the burning of the fat of the sin-offering was deferred till now (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The fat was ordered to be burnt upon the altar; the rest of the carcasses to be cut down and given to some priestly attendants to burn without the camp, in conformity with the general law for the sin offerings (Le 4:8-12;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
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
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְרָחַ֨ץ | verachatz | and he will wash | H7364 → | 72 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּשָׂר֤וֹ | besaro | body his | H1320 → | 270 times |
| בַמַּ֙יִם֙ | vamayim | with <the> water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| בְּמָק֣וֹם | bemakom | in a place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| קָד֔וֹשׁ | kadoosh | holy | H6918 → | 116 times |
| וְלָבַ֖שׁ | velavash | and he will put on | H3847 → | 110 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּגָדָ֑יו | begadav | garments his | H899 → | 217 times |
| וְיָצָ֗א | veyatza' | and he will come out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| וְעָשָׂ֤ה | veasah | and he will offer | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֹֽלָתוֹ֙ | olato | burnt offering his | H5930 → | 287 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֹלַ֣ת | ʾolat | [the] burnt offering of | H5930 → | 287 times |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְכִפֶּ֥ר | vekhiper | and he will make atonement | H3722 → | 102 times |
| בַּעֲד֖וֹ | baado | for himself | H1157 → | 105 times |
| וּבְעַ֥ד | uvead | and for | H1157 → | 105 times |
| הָעָֽם׃ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
וְרָחַ֨ץand he will wash
verachatzH7364 →72 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּשָׂר֤וֹbody his
besaroH1320 →270 times
בַמַּ֙יִם֙with <the> water
vamayimH4325 →581 times
בְּמָק֣וֹםin a place
bemakomH4725 →401 times
קָד֔וֹשׁholy
kadooshH6918 →116 times
וְלָבַ֖שׁand he will put on
velavashH3847 →110 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּגָדָ֑יוgarments his
begadavH899 →217 times
וְיָצָ֗אand he will come out
veyatza'H3318 →1067 times
וְעָשָׂ֤הand he will offer
veasahH6213 →2628 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֹֽלָתוֹ֙burnt offering his
olatoH5930 →287 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
עֹלַ֣ת[the] burnt offering of
ʾolatH5930 →287 times
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וְכִפֶּ֥רand he will make atonement
vekhiperH3722 →102 times
בַּעֲד֖וֹfor himself
baadoH1157 →105 times
וּבְעַ֥דand for
uveadH1157 →105 times
הָעָֽם׃the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Leviticus 22:6the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening. He must not eat from the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.
it leads to
- Leviticus 15:5
Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
- Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
- Numbers 19:7–10
Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
- Haggai 2:13
So Haggai asked, “If one who is defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled?” “Yes, it becomes defiled,” the priests answered.
- Leviticus 11:24–25
These creatures will make you unclean. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,
- Leviticus 15:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies18
On this chapter
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.