Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 29:23
Then they brought the goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, who laid their hands on them.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records the restoration of temple worship under King Hezekiah. The text describes the moment the community presents goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembled people.
The words — וַ/יִּסְמְכ֥וּ (va/i.yis.me.Khu) translates literally as "and they laid," denoting the physical act of placing hands on the animals. לִ/פְנֵ֥י (li/f.Nei) means "before," indicating the goats were positioned directly in front of the king and the assembly.
The thread — The text connects this ritual to Levitical law, where representatives laid hands on sin offerings in Leviticus 4:15 and 4:24. The same gesture appears in Leviticus 1:4, though that passage explicitly applies to burnt offerings.
Why it lands — The text states that the king and assembly physically touched the sin offering animals before their slaughter. It requires the reader to recognize the ritual transfer of guilt from the community to the substitute animal.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them:
Cross-references
- Leviticus 4:15 The elders of the congregation are to lay their hands on the bull’s head before the LORD, and it shall be slaughtered before the LORD.
- Leviticus 1:4 He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
- Leviticus 4:24 He is to lay his hand on the head of the goat and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD. It is a sin offering.