Leviticus 3:16
in Leviticus 3Then 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire, for a sweet savor; all the fat is Jehovah’s.
KJV
And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the Lord’s.
⋯
This verse in Leviticus 3
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Rather, as food of an offering made by fire for a sweet savour, shall all the fat be for Yahweh. Our bodily taste and smell furnish figures of the satisfaction with which the Lord accepts the appointed symbols of the true worship of the heart.
This site's exposition
from his offering he shall present an offering made by fire
on Leviticus 3:14-16
The goat's list drops the tail, since a goat's tail carries no fat worth burning. Verse 16 closes all three cases: all the fat is the LORD'S. Fat was reckoned the best of the animal, so the portion a man would most want is the portion he never receives.
This site's exposition
the priest is to burn the food on the altar
John Wesley limits the words all the fat to animals that could be offered in sacrifice. He follows 7:23 and 7:25, where the ban falls on the fat of an ox, a sheep or a goat.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Shall burn them - The parts mentioned, among which the tail is not one, as it was in the sheep. because that in goats is a refuse part. All the fat - This is to be limited, 1. To those beasts, which were offered or offerable in sacrifice, as it is explained, chap. vii, 23, 25.
It fed the holy fire; it was acceptable to God as our food is to us; and since in the tabernacle God did, as it were, keep house among them, by the offerings on the altar he kept a good table, as Solomon in his court, 1 Kings iv. Here is a general rule laid down, that all the fat is the Lord's (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And the priest shall burn them upon the altar,....
Christ is our peace, our peace-offering; for through him alone it is that we can expect to obtain mercy, and an answer of peace to our prayers; and in him an upright prayer shall be acceptable and successful, though we bring not a peace-offering. The less costly our devotions are the more lively and serious they should be.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
חקת עולם This whole verse is well expounded in Torath Cohanim (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Chapter 20 6-8).
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.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִקְטִירָ֥ם | vehiktiram | and he will make smoke them | H6999 → | 116 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֖ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חָה | hamizbechah | the altar towards | H4196 → | 401 times |
| לֶ֤חֶם | lechem | food of | H3899 → | 298 times |
| אִשֶּׁה֙ | ʾisheh | a fire offering | H801 → | 65 times |
| לְרֵ֣יחַ | lereiach | to an odor of | H7381 → | 58 times |
| נִיחֹ֔חַ | nichoach | soothing | H5207 → | 43 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חֵ֖לֶב | chelev | fat | H2459 → | 92 times |
| לַיהוָֽה׃ | layahweh | [belongs] to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וְהִקְטִירָ֥םand he will make smoke them
vehiktiramH6999 →116 times
הַכֹּהֵ֖ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חָהthe altar towards
hamizbechahH4196 →401 times
לֶ֤חֶםfood of
lechemH3899 →298 times
אִשֶּׁה֙a fire offering
ʾishehH801 →65 times
לְרֵ֣יחַto an odor of
lereiachH7381 →58 times
נִיחֹ֔חַsoothing
nichoachH5207 →43 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
חֵ֖לֶבfat
chelevH2459 →92 times
לַיהוָֽה׃[belongs] to Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 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
Isaiah 53:10Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days,…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 5:21
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
- Romans 8:32
He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?
- Galatians 3:13
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
- Zechariah 13:7
Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against…
- Ephesians 1:5
He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,
- 2 Corinthians 5:21
Through
Leviticus 4:31Then he is to remove all the fat, just as it is removed from the peace offering, and the priest is to burn it on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.…
it leads to
- Leviticus 4:26
He must burn all its fat on the altar, like the fat of the peace offerings; thus the priest will make atonement for that man’s sin, and he will be forgiven.
- Leviticus 4:35
And he shall remove all the fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the peace offerings, and he shall burn it on the altar along with the offerings made by…
- Genesis 8:21
When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth.…
- Leviticus 4:26
Where this verse is studied
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; 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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.