Hebrew: \u05e2\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e0\u05b6\u05e4\u05b6\u05e9\u05c1 (\u2018anah nephesh<\/em>), \u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05e4\u05b7\u05e8 (kaphar<\/em>)
English: deny yourselves, make right<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In late September or early October, the Jewish people celebrate Yom Kippur<\/em>, the Day of Atonement. This holiest day of the Jewish calendar, in which the Jewish people abstain from various practices, including eating, drinking, and sexual relations, stems from the instructions given in Leviticus 16 (see also Leviticus 23:26-32; Numbers 29:7-11). On that day, the high priest was to enter the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle (and later, the Temple), and offer purification for the sanctuary, the priests, and the entire community. In this way, the people, marred by sin, would be atoned (or made right) before God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leviticus 23:26-32 outlines what the observance of this day was to look like for the people of Israel. The description of some of these practices can sound confusing to our modern ears, so translators take various approaches to help readers understand the meaning of the Hebrew wording in this description.<\/p>\n\n\n
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For example, in Leviticus 23:27, in the instructions given to the people, the KJV reads, \u201cYe shall afflict your souls.\u201d The ESV picks up this language: \u201cYou shall afflict yourselves\u201d (see also NKJV). Are readers to understand that these ancient Israelites were doing physical harm to themselves (the most natural understanding of \u201cafflict\u201d today)? The Hebrew verb used here is \u2018anah<\/em> (ah-NAH), which appears more than eighty times in the Old Testament. This term can have numerous connotations but generally refers to being in a bent down or low position. It can be used to speak of a physical, crouched-down or bowed-down position. In a non-physical sense, it can refer to being humble, subjected, or oppressed. So if the action is done to oneself, as here, it essentially means to make oneself humble or weak. But many people today are likely to get the wrong impression with the term \u201cafflict.\u201d Some translations have rendered the term \u201chumble yourselves\u201d (for example, NASB, NRSV). The NLT translators opted to go with \u201cdeny yourselves,\u201d which gets at the general sense of humble submission but also conveys the idea that there is an active rejection of desire (mainly for food), which is behind the meaning of \u201caffliction\u201d as used in the KJV. Most modern translations also include a footnote to suggest that this \u201cdenial\u201d or \u201caffliction\u201d is practiced chiefly in abstaining from food (i.e., fasting).<\/p>\n\n\n
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Another English term often used in this passage that may not be readily understood by modern readers (particularly those without a church background) is the word \u201catonement\u201d itself. In Leviticus 23:28, the Hebrew verb kaphar<\/em> (kah-FAR) is used to describe what happens before the Lord on the Day of Atonement as the high priest performs his duties. This Hebrew term, which means \u201cto cover\u201d (see Genesis 6:14, where Noah\u2019s ark was \u201ccovered\u201d [i.e., waterproofed] with tar or pitch), is taken up in a metaphorical sense throughout the Old Testament to refer to the \u201ccovering\u201d or appeasement of sin. God provided the people with a way (through sacrifices and the Day of Atonement) for their sin to be forgiven and their relationship with him to be restored. This is what our English term \u201catonement\u201d means. But in the interest of making this concept more understandable for modern readers, the NLT translators rendered the wording in Leviticus 23:28 as \u201cmaking you right with the lord<\/font> your God.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are two examples in which the NLT renders the contextual meaning of Hebrew terms but does so in language that is readily understood by modern readers. As we reflect on the Day of Atonement as described in Scripture, let us pause to let the reality sink in that Jesus, our great High Priest, has provided atonement, making us right with God, through his once-for-all sacrifice on the cross (see Hebrews 10:1-18).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hebrew: \u05e2\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e0\u05b6\u05e4\u05b6\u05e9\u05c1 (\u2018anah nephesh), \u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05e4\u05b7\u05e8 (kaphar)English: deny yourselves, make right by Jonathan W. Bryant, PhD, Senior Editor, Tyndale Bibles In late September or early October, the Jewish people celebrate Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This holiest day of the Jewish calendar, in which the Jewish people abstain from various practices, including eating, drinking, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[44,45,236,55],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6408"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6408"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6416,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6408\/revisions\/6416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}