Leviticus 23 27

Leviticus 23:27 kjv

Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

Leviticus 23:27 nkjv

"Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.

Leviticus 23:27 niv

"The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the LORD.

Leviticus 23:27 esv

"Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the LORD.

Leviticus 23:27 nlt

"Be careful to celebrate the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of that same month ? nine days after the Festival of Trumpets. You must observe it as an official day for holy assembly, a day to deny yourselves and present special gifts to the LORD.

Leviticus 23 verses

Leviticus 23 27 Meaning

Leviticus 23:27 mandates that the tenth day of the seventh month is to be the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), a time of solemn assembly where the Israelites were commanded to humble themselves and present an offering by fire to the LORD. This day was supremely sacred, focused on national purification and reconciliation with God.

Leviticus 23 27 Context

Leviticus Chapter 23 outlines the seven annual appointed feasts or festivals of the LORD (moedim). These divine appointments provided Israel with a structured liturgical calendar that revolved around sacred times of worship, remembrance, and forward-looking hope. The chapter begins with the weekly Sabbath and then proceeds through Passover and Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and finally, the autumnal feasts: the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Booths (Sukkot).

Verse 27 specifically introduces the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, which is regarded as the holiest day in the Israelite calendar. Following the joyful sounds of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement shifts the focus to solemn introspection, national cleansing, and reconciliation with God. Its placement within the cycle underscores its profound significance as the climax of the sacred year, necessary before the final celebrations of Sukkot. Historically, for the Israelites, this day was paramount for addressing sin that might have accumulated over the past year, both corporately and individually, allowing for their continued relationship with a holy God.

Leviticus 23 27 Word analysis

• On the tenth day: This precise timing indicates divine intentionality and meticulousness in God's calendar for His people. It distinguishes it from other feasts and establishes its annual, fixed nature.
• Of the seventh month: In the ancient Near Eastern calendar, this was the month of Tishri (later called), marking the beginning of the civil year and a time for agricultural harvest in ancient Israel. Spiritually, it culminates a period of introspection starting from the first day of the seventh month.
• The Day of Atonement: From the Hebrew, Yom Kippurim (יום הכפרים). "Yom" means day. "Kippurim" comes from the root kaphar (כפר), which means "to cover," "to purge," "to expiate," "to reconcile," or "to atone." This term encapsulates the entire purpose of the day: the ceremonial cleansing and expiation of sins for the people and the tabernacle itself. It signified God's covering of sins through a prescribed ritual, allowing for His holy presence to remain among an otherwise sinful people. This act of "covering" pointed forward to a full "taking away" of sins.
• You shall have: A direct command, establishing a non-negotiable obligation. This is a divine mandate, not a suggestion or cultural custom.
• A holy convocation: Miqra kodesh (מקרא קדש). "Miqra" means a calling or summoning, a convocation, suggesting an assembly that is gathered by divine appointment. "Kodesh" means holy, set apart, sacred. This term implies a special assembly distinct from everyday life, dedicated entirely to God and His purposes, emphasizing the unique, set-apart nature of this day and its sacred purpose. All ordinary labor was strictly prohibited.
• And you shall afflict your souls: Ve’initem et nafshoteikhem (ועניתם את נפשתיכם). This is a central command of the Day. "Aflict" ('anah - ענה) implies to humble oneself, to suffer, to chasten, to fast, to deny oneself. "Your souls" (nafshoteikhem) refers to the whole person—mind, will, and emotions. While often interpreted primarily as fasting from food and drink, it signifies a deeper spiritual humbling: genuine repentance, self-reflection, remorse for sin, and a turning toward God in humility and dependence. It contrasted sharply with pagan rituals which often involved outward displays rather than internal contrition. This affliction was necessary to prepare the heart for the reception of God's atonement.
• And you shall present an offering made by fire to the LORD: This signifies the prescribed sacrifices that were integral to the atonement process on this day (as detailed in Lev 16 and Num 29). The "offering made by fire" (burnt offering, sin offering, etc.) served as the divinely appointed means through which the atonement ritual was enacted. It points to the idea that atonement involved not only inward affliction but also an outward, tangible expression of worship and obedience through sacrifice, foreshadowing the ultimate sacrifice of Christ.

Words-group analysis:

• "On the tenth day of the seventh month... Day of Atonement": This precise chronological detail emphasizes the specific divine appointment of Yom Kippur as a fixed annual event within God's sacred calendar, stressing its paramount importance and non-negotiable nature.
• "A holy convocation, and you shall afflict your souls": This phrase links outward communal gathering with inward personal humility and penitence. The assembly was not just for ritual observance but for a collective and individual experience of humbling before God, underscoring the spiritual depth required for atonement.
• "Afflict your souls, and you shall present an offering made by fire to the LORD": This juxtaposes the human responsibility of inner contrition and self-denial with God's provision for atonement through sacrificial offering. It illustrates that human effort alone is insufficient; God requires both genuine repentance and the shedding of blood (through sacrifice) to achieve reconciliation, prefiguring the cross where both divine demand for holiness and divine provision of mercy converged.

Leviticus 23 27 Bonus section

The detailed rituals and specific offerings for the Day of Atonement, though only broadly alluded to in Leviticus 23:27 with "offering made by fire," are extensively described in Leviticus chapter 16 and Numeri 29:7-11. These chapters specify the sin offerings for the high priest and the congregation, and the unique ritual of the two goats (one for the LORD, one for Azazel, the scapegoat), which profoundly illustrates the dual aspects of atonement: expiation (sins purged) and removal (sins carried away). The solemnity of Yom Kippur, and particularly the command to "afflict your souls," implicitly contrasted with the surrounding pagan practices that often sought to appease deities through elaborate external rites without requiring genuine internal contrition or moral transformation. This day called Israel to a uniquely spiritual and ethical relationship with their Holy God, where external acts were meaningful only in conjunction with a humble heart. While the rituals of Yom Kippur are shadows, fulfilled by Christ, the spiritual principles of repentance, humility, and the seriousness of sin remain eternally relevant for believers in the New Covenant.

Leviticus 23 27 Commentary

Leviticus 23:27 stands as the divine decree establishing the most solemn day in Israel’s annual calendar, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). It commanded a holy convocation, demanding that the Israelites gather in a set-apart assembly, ceasing all ordinary labor. Central to its observance was the mandate to "afflict your souls," a command signifying deep spiritual humility, self-denial, fasting, and sincere repentance for sins committed throughout the year. This was not mere physical hardship, but a profound internal work of sorrow for sin and a turning of the heart back to God. Coupled with this introspection was the presentation of "an offering made by fire to the LORD," indicating that atonement was not achieved by human affliction alone, but by God’s divinely ordained system of sacrificial offerings performed by the High Priest. This unique combination underscored that reconciliation with a holy God required both sincere human repentance and God's provision of a blood sacrifice. The Day of Atonement vividly pictured the absolute necessity of purging sin to maintain fellowship with God, acting as a crucial annual purification ritual for the nation, their priests, and the Tabernacle. This sacred day foreshadowed the ultimate and perfect atonement achieved through the single, all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the typological meaning of Yom Kippur by shedding His own blood, providing eternal cleansing and reconciliation for all who believe, thereby rendering the Levitical offerings obsolete.