42 Bible Verses about Atonement, in OT
Most Relevant Verses
Then Moses came and reported all the words of the LORD and all the statutes to the people, and they all answered with one voice, "We will do everything that the LORD has decreed."
You have declared this very day that the LORD will be your God. You are to walk in his ways, keep his statutes, commands, and judgments, and obey his voice.
The people replied, "We will serve the LORD our God and obey his voice."
Moses then told Aaron, "Approach the altar and bring your sin and whole burnt offerings. Make atonement for yourself and the people. Then bring the people's offering and make atonement for them, as the LORD commanded."
"If the whole congregation of Israel goes astray, and if the sin is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and if they go astray from one of the LORD's commands that should not be violated, then they will stand guilty. When the sin that they have committed becomes known, the entire congregation is to bring a young bull as a sin offering to the Tent of Meeting,
"Here's what you are to do when you all go astray and fail to observe all these commands that the LORD had spoken to Moses, including anything that the LORD commanded you by the authority of Moses, starting from the day the LORD commanded Moses and continuing through your generations. When anything is done without the knowledge of the congregation, the entire community is to offer one young bull for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD, along with its meal and drink offerings offered according to procedure, and one male goat for a sin offering. read more.
Then the priest is to make atonement for the entire community of the Israelis, and they will be forgiven for inadvertent sins. They are to bring their offering, an offering made by fire to the LORD, as well as their sin offering, into the LORD's presence on account of their error. Then the entire community of Israel will be forgiven, along with the resident alien who lives among them, since all the people will have sinned inadvertently."
"When a person has sexual relations with a woman servant who is engaged to another man, but she has not been completely redeemed nor has her freedom been granted to her, there is to be an inquiry, but they won't be put to death, since she has not been freed. The perpetrator is to bring his guilt offering to the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting that is, a ram as a guilt offering. Then the priest is to make atonement for him with the ram as a guilt offering in the LORD's presence on account of his sin which he has committed, but which will be forgiven him."
The LORD told Moses, "A person sins against the LORD by acting treacherously toward his neighbor regarding something entrusted to his care, regarding security for a loan, robbery, if he has oppressed his neighbor, if he has found something that had been lost and then lied about it, or if he makes a false oath about any of these things, thus committing a sin with respect to these things. read more.
If that person has sinned and has been found guilty, then he is to return the stolen thing that he took or obtained by oppression, or the security that had been entrusted to him, or the lost thing that he had found, or the thing about which he had given a false oath. He is to restore it in full, add a fifth to it, then give it to whom it belongs the very day he's found guilty. Now as to his guilt offering, he is to bring to the LORD a ram without defect from the flock, estimated as to its value, to the priest. Then the priest is to make atonement for him in the LORD's presence, and it will be forgiven him regarding whatever he did."
"But if some person acts with a high hand, whether a native-born or a resident alien, he blasphemes God, and that person is to be eliminated from among his people. Because he has despised the law of the LORD and has broken his commands, that person is certainly to be eliminated. His iniquity will remain on him."
You are not to pollute the land where you live, because blood defiles the land, and the land cannot atone for blood that has been spilled on it, except through the blood of the one who spilled it.
Therefore I've sworn concerning Eli's family that the iniquity of his family is not to be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever."
This will be a perpetual statute for you as you make atonement once a year for the Israelis on account of all their sins." So Moses did just as the LORD had commanded him.
Each year Aaron is to make atonement on its horns with the blood of the sin offering of atonement. He is to make atonement on it each year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD."
The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons when they had approached the LORD and died. The LORD told Moses, "Remind your brother Aaron that at no time is he to enter the sacred place from the room that contains the curtain into the presence of the Mercy Seat on top of the ark. Otherwise, he'll die, because I will appear in a cloud at the Mercy Seat. Aaron is to enter the sacred place with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a whole burnt offering. read more.
He is to wear a sacred linen tunic and linen undergarments that will cover his genitals. He is to clothe himself with a sash and wrap his head with a linen turban. Because they are sacred garments, he is to wash himself with water before putting them on." "He is to take two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a whole burnt offering from the assembly of the Israelis. Then Aaron is to bring the bull as a sin offering for himself and make atonement for himself and his household. Then he is to take the two male goats and present them in the LORD's presence at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Aaron is to cast lots over the two male goats one lot for the LORD and the other one for the scapegoat. Aaron is then to bring the male goat on which the lot fell for the LORD and offer it as a sin offering. The male goat on which the lot fell for the scapegoat is to be brought alive into the LORD's presence to make atonement for himself. Then he is to send it into the wilderness." "Aaron is then to bring the bull for a sin offering for himself, thus making atonement for himself and his household. He is to slaughter the ox for himself. Then he is to take a censer and fill it with coals from the fire on the altar in the LORD's presence. With his hands full of spiced and refined incense, he is to bring it beyond the curtain. "Then he is to place the incense over the fire in the LORD's presence, ensuring that the smoke from the incense covers the Mercy Seat, according to regulation, so he won't die. He is to take blood from the ox and sprinkle it with his forefinger toward the surface of the Mercy Seat. Then he is to sprinkle the blood on the surface of the Mercy Seat with his forefinger seven times. "He is to slaughter the male goat as a sin offering for the people and bring its blood beyond the curtain and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull: He is to sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat that is, over the surface of the Mercy Seat. Then he is to make atonement on the sacred place on account of the uncleanness of the Israelis, their transgressions, and all their sins. This is how he is to act in the Tent of Meeting, which will remain with them in the middle of their uncleanness. "No person is to be there when he enters the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the sacred place, until he comes out and has made atonement on account of himself, his household, and the entire assembly of Israel. When he goes to the altar in the LORD's presence to make atonement for himself, he is to take some of the blood from the bull and the male goat, place it around the horns of the altar, and sprinkle it with the blood on his forefinger seven times, cleansing and sanctifying it from Israel's sins." "When he has completed making atonement at the sacred place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, then he is to present the live male goat. Aaron is to lay his two hands upon the head of the male goat and confess over it the sins of Israel, all their transgressions, and all their sins, thus placing them on the head of the male goat that he'll then send out to the wilderness by the hand of a man capable of carrying out this task. The male goat will bear on itself all their sins to a solitary land as Aaron sends the goat out to the wilderness. "Then Aaron is to enter the Tent of Meeting, take off his white linen clothes that he had put on when he entered the sacred place, and leave them there. He is to wash his body with water at the sacred place and put on his clothes. Then he is to go out and offer a whole burnt offering for himself and a whole burnt offering for the people, thereby making atonement on account of himself and on account of the people. "As to the fat from the burnt offering, he is to incinerate it on the altar. The one who sent away the male goat as a scapegoat is to wash his clothes and bathe his body with water. After doing so, he may enter the camp. "The bull for the sin offering and the male goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the sacred place, are to be taken outside the camp. Their skin, meat, and offal are to be incinerated. The one who burns them is to wash his clothes and bathe his body with water. After doing so, he may enter the camp." "This is to be a perpetual statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you (including both the native born and the resident alien) are to humble yourselves by not doing any work, because on that day, atonement will be made for you to cleanse you from all your sins. You are to be clean in the LORD's presence. It's the Sabbath of all Sabbaths for you, so humble yourselves. This is to be a perpetual statute. The priest who has been anointed and consecrated to be priest after his father is to make the atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen clothing and make atonement for the sacred sanctuary, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar where atonement is carried out. He is also to make atonement for the priests and the people of the entire assembly.
But only the high priest went into the second part, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins committed by the people in ignorance.
"You are to make a Mercy Seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. You are to make two cherubim of gold; you are to make them of hammered work at the two ends of the Mercy Seat. Place one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end. You are to make the cherubim at the two ends of the Mercy Seat, and of one piece with it. read more.
The cherubim are to spread their wings upward, covering the Mercy Seat with their wings and facing each other. The faces of the cherubim is to be turned toward the Mercy Seat. You are to put the Mercy Seat on top of the ark, and put the Testimony that I'll give you into the ark. I'll meet with you there, and I'll tell you all my commandments for the Israelis from above the Mercy Seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the Ark of the Testimony."
You are to put the altar in front of the curtain that is over the Ark of the Testimony, in front of the Mercy Seat that is over the Testimony where I'll meet with you.
The LORD told Moses, "Remind your brother Aaron that at no time is he to enter the sacred place from the room that contains the curtain into the presence of the Mercy Seat on top of the ark. Otherwise, he'll die, because I will appear in a cloud at the Mercy Seat.
When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the L ORD, he heard a voice speaking to him above the Mercy Seat over the Ark of the Testimony. He spoke to him from between the two cherubim.
because the life of the flesh is in the blood itself, and I myself have given it to you all so that atonement may be made for your souls on the altar, since the blood itself makes atonement through the life that is in it.
In fact, under the Law almost everything is cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of the blood there is no forgiveness.
I'll consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and I'll consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve as my priests.
Moses brought the ram that is, the second of the rams for consecration. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. Moses then slaughtered it, took some of its blood, and put it on Aaron's right earlobe, right thumb, and right great toe. Then Moses brought Aaron's sons, took some of the ram's blood, put it on their right earlobes, on their right thumbs, and on their right great toes, and then poured the blood on the altar and all around it. read more.
Then he took the fat from the tail, all the fat on the internal organs, the appendage of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat, and the right thigh. From the basket of unleavened bread that is in the LORD'S presence he took one piece of unleavened bread, one cake spread with olive oil, and one wafer, which he placed over the fat and the right thigh. He put all of these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and they all waved them in a raised offering to the LORD. After this, Moses took those things from their hands and burned them on the altar over the whole burnt offering for consecration. They served as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. Moses took the breast and waved it as a raised offering in the LORD's presence as the portion that belonged to Moses from the ram of consecration, just as the LORD had commanded him. Moses took some anointing oil and blood that was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his clothes, on his sons, and on their clothes, consecrating Aaron, his clothes, his sons, and their clothes.
For every high priest selected from among men is appointed to officiate on their behalf in matters relating to God, that is, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with people who are ignorant and easily deceived, since he himself is subject to weakness. For that reason he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for those of the people.
So Aaron drew near to the altar and slaughtered the calf for a sin offering on behalf of himself. Next, Aaron's sons brought the blood to him and he dipped his fingers in the blood and placed it on the horns of the altar. As to the rest of the blood, he poured it at the base of the altar. He incinerated the fat, the kidneys, and the appendage from the liver of the sin offering, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. read more.
He also incinerated the meat and skin outside the camp.
For every high priest selected from among men is appointed to officiate on their behalf in matters relating to God, that is, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
"You are to make a medallion of pure gold, and engrave on it "Holy to the LORD,' like the engravings of a signet. You are to put it on a blue cord and place it on the turban. It is to be on the front of the turban and worn on Aaron's forehead in order to take away any guilt contained in the holy things which the Israelis consecrate as holy gifts. It is to remain on his forehead continuously, so they may be accepted in the LORD's presence.
Now Moses diligently sought for the goat that had been offered as a sin offering, but it had already been incinerated, so he was angry with Aaron's sons who remained. He asked Eleazar and Ithamar, "Why didn't you eat the sin offering at the sacred place? It's most holy and he has given it to you so that you may bear the punishment for the iniquity of the entire congregation and make atonement for them in the LORD's presence.
He is to offer it in the LORD's presence and make atonement for her so that she becomes clean from her blood loss. This is the law concerning the bearing of a male or female child. If she cannot afford a goat, then two turtledoves or two young doves one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering will serve for him to make atonement for her, so that she becomes clean."
Then he is to place the rest of the oil in his palm on the head of the person to be cleansed, thus making atonement for him in the LORD's presence. This is how the priest is to present the sin offering to make atonement for the person being cleansed of his impurity. After this, he is to slaughter the whole burnt offering. The priest is to offer both the whole burnt and the grain offerings on the altar. After the priest makes atonement for him, he will be clean."read more.
"If the offeror is poor and cannot afford the regular offering, then he is to take one lamb for a guilt offering that will be presented in the form of a wave offering to atone for him, one tenth of a measure of fine flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, one log of olive oil, and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whichever he can afford. One is for a sin offering and the other is for a whole burnt offering.
Then the priest is to offer them one for a sin offering and the other for a whole burnt offering. That's how the priest will make atonement for him in the LORD's presence regarding his discharge."
"The more they increased in number, the more they sinned against me, so I will change their glory into shame. They feed on the sin of my people; they purpose in their heart to transgress.
Now the sons of Eli were worthless men who did not know the LORD. The custom of the priests with the people was that whenever a person offered a sacrifice, a servant of the priest would come with a three pronged fork in his hand while the meat was boiling, and he would stick it into the boiler or pot, and take everything the fork brought up that is, the priest would take it for himself. This is what they were supposed to do with all the Israelis who came there to Shiloh. read more.
But even before they burned the fat, the servant of the priest would come and say to the person offering the sacrifice, "Give me meat to roast for the priest. He won't accept boiled meat from you, but only raw." If the man told him, "They must surely burn up the fat first, and then take for yourself whatever you desire," the servant would say, "No, give it now, and if you don't, I'll take it by force!" By doing this, the sin of the young men was very serious in the LORD's sight because the men despised the LORD's offering.
"Indeed, from the least important to the most important, they're all greedy for dishonest gain. From prophet to priest, they all act deceitfully. They treated my people's wound superficially, telling them, "Peace, peace,' but there is no peace.
Her priests have violated my Law and profaned my sacred things. They didn't differentiate between what's sacred and what's common. They didn't instruct others to discern clean from unclean things. They refused to keep my Sabbaths.
"A son honors his father and a servant his master. So if I'm a father, where is my honor? And if I'm a master, where is my respect?" says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies to you priests who are despising my name. "But you ask, "How have we despised your name?' By presenting defiled food on my altar. And you ask, "How have we defiled you?' By saying, "The Table of the LORD is contemptible.' When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Offer that to your governor would he be pleased with you or receive you favorably?" asks the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.
"The more altars Ephraim builds for sin, the more altars there will be for sin. I prescribed great things from my Law for them, but they considered them profane. They offer me meat from the sacrifices of my offerings, and they eat from it, but the LORD does not accept them. He will now remember their transgression and pay them back for their sins; to Egypt they will return.
"Listen to what the LORD says, you rulers of Sodom, and pay attention to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! "How do your voluminous sacrifices benefit me?" the LORD is asking. "I've had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts. I don't enjoy the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats. "When you come to present yourselves in my presence, who has required you to trample on my courts?read more.
Stop bringing useless offerings! Incense is detestable to me, as are your New Moons, Sabbaths, and calling of convocations. I cannot stand iniquity within a solemn assembly. As for your New Moons and your appointed festivals, I abhor them. They've become a burden to me; I've grown weary of carrying that burden. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I'll hide my eyes from you. Even though you pray repeatedly, I won't listen. Your hands are full of blood, your fingers drenched with iniquity." "Wash yourselves, and make yourselves clean; remove your evil behavior from my presence; stop practicing what is evil. Learn to practice what is good; seek justice, alleviate oppression, defend orphans in court, and plead the widow's case.
"Whoever slaughters an ox is just like one who kills a human being; whoever sacrifices a lamb is just like one who breaks a dog's neck; whoever makes a grain offering is just like one who offers pig's blood; and whoever makes a memorial offering of frankincense is just like one who blesses an idol. Yes, these have chosen their own ways, and they take delight in their contaminated actions.
This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the meat. Indeed, when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I didn't speak or command them about burnt offering and sacrifice, but I did give them this command: "Obey me and I'll be your God, and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you so it will go well for you.' read more.
But they didn't listen, nor did they pay attention. They pursued their own plans, stubbornly following their own evil desires. They went backward and not forward.
