The Meaning of Leviticus 16:31 Explained

Leviticus 16:31

KJV: It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.

YLT: it is to you a sabbath of rest, and ye have humbled yourselves -- a statute age-during.

Darby: A sabbath of rest shall it be unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls: it is an everlasting statute.

ASV: It is a sabbath of solemn rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; it is a statute for ever.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

It [shall be] a sabbath  of rest  unto you, and ye shall afflict  your souls,  by a statute  for ever. 

What does Leviticus 16:31 Mean?

Context Summary

Leviticus 16:15-34 - The Scapegoat
The loneliness of the high priest, Leviticus 16:17; the sprinkling of blood within the veil upon the mercy seat, Leviticus 16:16; the fragrant incense, emblematic of a well-pleasing offering, Leviticus 16:13; the confession of sin and its bearing-away into a solitary land, Leviticus 16:22; the linen garments of simplicity and humility, Leviticus 16:23; the destruction of the carcasses of the beasts "without the camp," Leviticus 16:27; the ultimate coming forth of the high priest to bless the people, bringing them the assurance of a finished and accepted work, Leviticus 16:24, compare Hebrews 9:28 all these points are carefully elaborated in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
The fate of the scapegoat was very moving! Laden with the sins of the people, it is led forth through the crowd of penitents, innocent yet execrated, dumb yet eloquent of the doom of the sin bearer, escaping death by the knife, to be forsaken even unto death! So Jesus died, with the cry of "Forsaken" on His lips. [source]

Chapter Summary: Leviticus 16

1  how the high priest must enter into the holy place
11  The sin offering for himself
15  The sin offering for the people
20  The scapegoat
29  The yearly feast of the expiations

What do the individual words in Leviticus 16:31 mean?

[is] a sabbath of solemn rest it for you and you shall afflict - your souls [it is] a statute forever
שַׁבַּ֨ת שַׁבָּת֥וֹן הִיא֙ לָכֶ֔ם וְעִנִּיתֶ֖ם אֶת־ נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶ֑ם חֻקַּ֖ת עוֹלָֽם

שַׁבַּ֨ת  [is]  a  sabbath 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: שַׁבָּת  
Sense: Sabbath.
שַׁבָּת֥וֹן  of  solemn  rest 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׁבָּתֹון  
Sense: Sabbath observance, sabbatism.
לָכֶ֔ם  for  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
וְעִנִּיתֶ֖ם  and  you  shall  afflict 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: עָנָה 
Sense: (Qal) to be occupied, be busied with.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶ֑ם  your  souls 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, second person masculine plural
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
חֻקַּ֖ת  [it  is]  a  statute 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: חֻקָּה  
Sense: statute, ordinance, limit, enactment, something prescribed.
עוֹלָֽם  forever 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.