Leviticus 22:16
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This verse reveals a priest's weighty responsibility: it's not just about their own purity, but about actively preventing the people from sinning by eating consecrated food due to the priest's negligence. God's holiness, which sets apart both the priests and the offerings, demands diligent stewardship to keep both the people and the sacred provisions from becoming defiled.
and so cause them to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating their holy things: for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage is part of a larger section in Leviticus detailing the laws for priests, specifically concerning who can eat from the sacred offerings. It follows instructions on maintaining ritual purity for priests and restrictions on who, like strangers or hired servants, can partake in these holy foods. The verses leading up to this point emphasize that God's people, and especially His consecrated servants, must approach sacred things with reverence and purity.
What does it mean for food to be 'holy'? And why would eating it wrongly lead to 'iniquity and guilt'?
This verse highlights the sacred nature of the offerings set aside for God and consumed by the priests. These weren't just meals; they were tangible expressions of Israel's covenant relationship with the LORD. Eating them improperly wasn't a minor infraction but a profound offense that carried guilt. The text emphasizes that God Himself sanctifies these items, setting them apart. Therefore, handling them with anything less than utmost reverence was a direct affront to God's holiness and the covenant it represented.
The priests had a solemn responsibility. It wasn't just about not eating the holy things wrongly themselves, but actively preventing others from doing so.
This passage places a significant burden on the priests. They weren't merely passive recipients of sacred food; they were its guardians. The phrase 'cause them to bear the iniquity' implies that through their negligence or failure to instruct, the people (or even other priests) might wrongly partake of the holy things and incur guilt. The priests' role was to ensure that the sacred provisions were handled according to God's specific laws, thereby protecting the people from sin and maintaining the sanctity of worship.
Understand the original words
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avon · Hebrew Noun
A legal and moral condition of having committed an offense against God's law, requiring expiation or satisfaction. It carries the weight of responsibility for wrongdoing that separates a person from a holy God.
asham · Hebrew Noun
The state of being liable to punishment because of sin; it specifically refers to the debt or compensation owed due to a transgression. It emphasizes the need for restitution or atonement.
qodesh · Hebrew Noun
Things, people, or places set apart exclusively for God's use and service. Anything designated as holy is removed from common or profane use and belongs entirely to the Lord.
qadash · Hebrew Verb
The process of making something or someone holy; setting them apart for God's purposes. It involves the removal of impurity and the consecration of the object or person to God.
This passage highlights the consecration of priests for sacred service, setting the stage for the severe consequences of profaning holy things, as Leviticus 22:16 warns.
Numbers 18:7It emphasizes the exclusive and holy calling of the Levitical priesthood, underscoring why the 'holy things' were so strictly guarded and why their misuse would incur guilt.
1 Corinthians 11:27This New Testament passage echoes the theme of reverent reception of sacred elements, showing how unworthiness or impurity can lead to judgment, much like the transgression described in Leviticus 22:16.
Ezekiel 44:23This prophetic passage reiterates the importance of distinguishing between the common and the holy, and teaching the people the difference, which directly relates to preventing the 'iniquity of trespass' mentioned in Leviticus 22:16.
calvinLeviticus 22:1-16: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,"
Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the LORD.
Loquere ad Aharon, et filios ejus ut separent sese a sanctificationibus filiorum Israel et ne polluant nomen sanctitatis mese in his quae ipsi sanctificant mihi: ego Jehova.
Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all your se…
gillLeviticus 22:16: "Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their holy things: for I the LORD do sanctify them."
Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass,.... The punishment of sin: either the strangers: when they eat their holy things; the holy things belonging to the priests, which they permitting them to do, suffer them to be liable to the punishment incurred thereby, or else the priests themselves; so the Septuagint version renders the word "themselves"; and in l…
This verse reveals a priest's weighty responsibility: it's not just about their own purity, but about actively preventing the people from sinning by eating consecrated food due to the priest's negligence. God's holiness, which sets apart both the priests and the offerings, demands diligent stewardship to keep both the people and the sacred provisions from becoming defiled.
This passage is part of a larger section in Leviticus detailing the laws for priests, specifically concerning who can eat from the sacred offerings. It follows instructions on maintaining ritual purity for priests and restrictions on who, like strangers or hired servants, can partake in these holy foods. The verses leading up to this point emphasize that God's people, and especially His consecrated servants, must approach sacred things with reverence and purity.
This passage is part of a larger section in Leviticus detailing the laws for priests, specifically concerning who can eat from the sacred offerings. It follows instructions on maintaining ritual purity for priests and restrictions on who, like strangers or hired servants, can partake in these holy foods. The verses leading up to this point emphasize that God's people, and especially His consecrated servants, must approach sacred things with reverence and purity.
"and so cause them to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating their holy things: for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”" — This verse reveals a priest's weighty responsibility: it's not just about their own purity, but about actively preventing the people from sinning by eating consecrated food due to the priest's negl…
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Last reviewed October 2026
