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21 Laying both hands[a] on its head, he shall confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites and their trespasses, including all their sins, and so put them on the goat’s head.(A) He shall then have it led into the wilderness by an attendant. 22 The goat will carry off all their iniquities to an isolated region.(B)

When the goat is dispatched into the wilderness,

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Footnotes

  1. 16:21 Both hands: this gesture is for transferring sins to the head of the goat and is apparently different in meaning from the one-handed gesture that precedes the slaughtering of sacrificial animals (1:4; 3:2; 4:4; see note on 1:4).

21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat(A) and confess(B) over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins(C) to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

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