（利16）替罪羊与赎罪日 (Leviticus 16) The Scapegoat and the Day of Atonement

(ChatGPT was applied for translation from Chinese. 中文在后面）

The tenth day of the seventh month of the Sacred Calendar is the Day of Atonement. In 2025 it is from the sunset of October 1 in the solar calendar until the darkness of October 2. The sin spoken of in the Bible has different degrees of manifestation: some form what in the usual sense is breaking the law, some are at the edge of breaking the law, some are not breaking the law in the usual sense.

On the tenth day of the seventh month of the Sacred Calendar, the Day of Atonement, in ancient times there was the ritual of the scapegoat. The high priest needed to do like this:

Leviticus 16:21 “Both his hands pressed on the head of the goat, confessing over it all the #iniquities (avon) of the people of Israel, and all their #transgressions (pesha), that is, all their #sins (chataah). He shall put #them (otam) on the head of the goat, and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.”

Here the # symbol is my translation; the original text refers to three different sins. See

https://www.sefaria.org/Yoma.36b.5?lang=bi

https://www.sefaria.org/Yoma.36b.6?lang=bi

https://hebrew4christians.com/Meditations/Chata_ah/chata_ah.html

#Iniquity, is for selfish reasons deliberately doing what is not right. For example: committing adultery with another man’s wife to satisfy one’s own lust, or cohabiting unmarried; plagiarizing others’ work when writing papers in order to make oneself famous; exaggerating in a personal résumé to get a job; fraud, theft, tax evasion for the sake of one’s own wealth; even including skipping train fares, sneaking into movies, buying cheap pirated books to save money; deliberately overusing public facilities to save money; lying for one’s own benefit, and so on.

#Transgression, is deliberate offenses against the Creator, including persecuting believers, burning the Bible, mocking the teachings of the Bible, deliberately going against the teachings of the Bible in order to show opposition to faith in the Creator, and so on.

#Sin, is mistakes committed carelessly or unknowingly. For example, a Jew eating a fish burger, not realizing the fish was of a species without scales; or a Christian liking to drink duck-blood soup, not knowing that the Bible has the teaching not to eat blood; or using the company’s phone for international calls for private purposes, not realizing it was wrong, because colleagues around all did the same.

Therefore the first two, #iniquity (avon) and #transgression (pesha), are deliberate sins; the latter, #sin (chataah), is unintentional. The first two are more serious. When the high priest pressed his hands on the scapegoat and confessed these sins, he confessed first the more serious sins, and afterward the lighter ones. This is consistent with the order of the three sins that the Creator promised to forgive in Exodus 34:7: “keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving #iniquity and #transgression and #sin…”

Why does this verse about forgiveness mention deliberate sins first, and only later unintentional sins? In the Talmud it explains: when a person truly repents, the Lord counts the person’s iniquity and transgression (deliberate sins) as sin (unintentional sins). See https://www.sefaria.org/Yoma.36b.8?lang=bi

And if the Israelites on the Day of Atonement do not work, but devote this day to afflicting themselves for the sins they have committed, the Lord even forgives their sins (unintentional):

Leviticus 16:29–30 “On the tenth day of the seventh month you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. For on this day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your #sins.”

Because sin in the biblical sense is in many respects broader than crime in the sense of secular law, in most cases, a person in each year may commit new sins in the biblical sense, even those who are already saved Christians are not an exception. Although the Lord has already through the cross “provided the scapegoat” for the sins of the world, https://www.gotquestions.org/Azazel-scapegoat.html, yet believers still ought to “afflict themselves” (should somehow feel bad about their new sins) in repentance for new sins, and again resolve to follow more closely the teachings of the Bible. The Lord surely can be relied on to cleanse us from all sins.

Just as Psalm 32:1 King David said: “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”

（利16）替罪羊与赎罪日

圣经历七月初十是赎罪日，在2025年是从阳历10月1日日落开始，到10月2日天黑结束。圣经里说的罪，有不同程度的表现，有的形成了通常意义的犯法，有的在犯法的边缘，有的并没有在通常意义上违法。

在圣经历七月初十赎罪日，古代有替罪羊的仪式，大祭司需要这样做：

利未记16:21 “两手按在羊头上，承认以色列人诸般的 #不义（avon） #叛逆（pesha），就是他们一切的 #失误（chataah），把 #这些（otam）都归在羊的头上，借着所派之人的手，送到旷野去。”

这里#的符号是我的翻译，原文是三种不同的罪，参见

https://www.sefaria.org/Yoma.36b.5?lang=bi

https://www.sefaria.org/Yoma.36b.6?lang=bi

https://hebrew4christians.com/Meditations/Chata_ah/chata_ah.html

#不义，是为了自私的原因而故意作不对的事，例如：为了满足自己的情欲与有妇之夫通奸，或未婚同居，为了自己出名写论文时剽窃别人的工作，为了自己找工作在个人简历中夸大其词，为了自己的富有诈骗，偷窃，税务欺诈，甚至包括为了自己省钱而逃票坐火车，逃票看电影，买便宜的盗版书，为了自己省钱而故意过分使用公共设施，为了自己的利益而说谎话，等等。

#叛逆，是针对造物主的故意过犯，包括迫害信徒，焚烧圣经，嘲笑圣经教导，故意违背圣经的教导而以此表示反对信仰造物主，等等。

#失误，是不小心或不知道情况下犯的错，比如犹太人吃了鱼肉汉堡，没想到那鱼是没有鱼鳞的种类，或者基督徒喜欢喝鸭血汤，但不知道圣经有不吃血的教导，或者为私人目的使用公司电话给打国际长途，但不知道这样不对，因为周围同事都这样做。

所以前两者#不义（avon）和 #叛逆（pesha）是故意的罪，后者#失误（chataah)是无意的，前两者更加严重。大祭司手按替罪羊承认这些罪的时候，先承认更严重的罪，后承认轻的罪，这和出埃及记34:7造物主应许要赦免的三种罪的顺序一致（“为千万人存留慈爱，赦免 #不义， #叛逆，和 #失误…”）。

为什么这节关于赦免的经文先提到故意的罪，后提到无意的罪？在talmud里解释，但当人真心悔改时，主就把人的不义和叛逆（故意的罪）当成失误（无意的罪）。参见 https://www.sefaria.org/Yoma.36b.8?lang=bi

而以色列人如果在赎罪日不作工，专门把这一天用来为自己所犯的罪刻苦己心，主就连他们的失误（无意的罪）也赦免：

利未记16:29-30 “每逢七月初十日，你们要刻苦己心，无论是本地人，是寄居在你们中间的外人，什么工都不可作，这要作你们永远的定例。因在这日要为你们赎罪，使你们洁净。你们要在耶和华面前得以洁净，脱尽一切的 #失误。”

因为圣经意义的罪比世俗法律上的犯罪在很多方面更广泛，所以在大多数情况，人在每一年都可能犯新的圣经意义上的罪，即使是已经得救的基督徒也不例外。虽然主已经通过十字架为世人所犯的罪“提供了替罪羊”，https://www.gotquestions.org/Azazel-scapegoat.html

但信徒们仍然应该为新犯的罪刻苦己心悔改，重新下决心更好地遵从圣经的教导。那我们一定可以信靠主，祂必洁净我们，脱尽一切的罪。

正如诗篇32:1 大卫王所说：“得赦免其 #叛逆，遮盖其 #失误的，这人是有福的。”