The gold lid of the ark, where the blood of the Day of Atonement was sprinkled, and the Greek word for it that Paul uses of Christ: “mercy seat” in Hebrews 9:5, “atoning sacrifice” or “propitiation” in Romans 3:25.
The kapporet was the cover of the ark of the covenant, between the two cherubim, where God promised to meet Moses and where the high priest sprinkled blood once a year. The Greek Old Testament called it the hilastērion, the place of atonement, and Hebrews 9:5 uses the word for that lid. Romans 3:25 uses the same word of Christ, whom God “presented as” a hilastērion. English translations divide: the YLT, Darby and LSV keep the image of the mercy seat or covering; the KJV and ASV say “propitiation”; the WEB and BSB “atoning sacrifice”.
The lid of the ark
כַּפֹּרֶת kapporet is used 27 times, Exodus 18, Leviticus 7, Numbers 1, 1 Chronicles 1, and the BSB calls it “mercy seat” whenever it gives it a word of its own. It was the gold cover of the ark, between the cherubim, and on the Day of Atonement the high priest sprinkled blood on it. The Greek Old Testament calls it the hilastērion.
The same Greek noun is the mercy seat in Hebrews 9:5 and, in Romans 3:25, what God presented Christ as. Its relatives are “atoning sacrifice” in 1 John and the tax collector’s prayer, “have mercy on me”.
Three verses, ten translations
| Translation | Romans 3:25 | Hebrews 9:5 | 1 John 2:2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| YLT | a mercy seat | the mercy-seat | a propitiation |
| DBY | a mercy-seat | the mercy-seat | the propitiation |
| LSV | a propitiatory covering | the propitiatory covering | propitiation for our sins |
| KJV | a propitiation | the mercyseat | the propitiation |
| ASV | a propitiation | the mercy-seat | the propitiation |
| WEB | an atoning sacrifice | the mercy seat | the atoning sacrifice |
| BSB | an atoning sacrifice | the mercy seat | the atoning sacrifice |
| OEB | a means of reconciliation | the cover on which atonement was made | the atoning sacrifice |
| FBV | the gift that brings peace | the place of reconciliation | our sins are forgiven |
| T4T | would atone for | the chest’s lid | sacrificed [his own life |
Romans 3:25 and Hebrews 9:5 are the same word. Only the YLT, the DBY and the LSV keep it one thing in English, so that Christ is the mercy seat; the rest make him a propitiation or an atoning sacrifice. Counted by Strong’s number: H3727, G2435, G2434 and G2433.