Nasa: The Word That Carries Sin Away
Discover incredible Hebrew connections in inspire your walk with Christ
Some Hebrew words gather a whole biblical story within a single root. One of them is nasa (נָשָׂא), meaning “to lift,” “carry,” or “bear.” It can describe lifting one’s eyes, carrying a burden, bearing guilt, and, remarkably, forgiving sin. The connection is not a secret meaning hidden behind English translation. It is a repeated biblical pattern: forgiveness is always presented as acknowledging that sin matters. Someone must bear what sin has done.
In Exod 34:6-7, the LORD reveals His own character to Moses. He is compassionate, gracious, patient, faithful, and “forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.” The Hebrew reads nose avon va-fesha ve-chatta’ah (נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן וָפֶשַׁע וְחַטָּאָה), “bearing or forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.” The first word, nose (נֹשֵׂא), comes from the root nasa (נָשָׂא), “to carry.”
Literally, God is the One who carries away avon (עָוֹן), “iniquity,” pesha (פֶּשַׁע), “rebellion or transgression,” and chatta’ah (חַטָּאָה), “sin.” This does not mean that He approves evil or removes human responsibility. The following words affirm that He is also just. Yet His mercy means that He Himself deals with the crushing burden that sin creates.
Lev 16 gives this picture a dramatic form on the Day of Atonement. After Israel’s sins are confessed over the goat, “the goat shall bear (ve-nasa) upon itself all their iniquities to a remote area” (Lev 16:22). Again, the verb is nasa. Israel’s guilt is symbolically placed on another and carried away from the camp into the wilderness.
Isaiah also uses the same language in a way that we must not miss. The servant “has borne (nasa) our griefs” (Isa 53:4). Later, Isaiah says, “he bore (nasa) the sin of many” (Isa 53:12). In both verses, nasa communicates costly bearing. The servant does not simply sympathize with suffering from a safe distance. He takes it on himself.
Conclusion
The pattern is clear: sin creates a weight, and love refuses to leave it unaddressed. From Exodus to Isaiah, God reveals Himself as the One who bears what we cannot. This is not permission to sin but the promise that grace is stronger than guilt. Lift your eyes. The burden has been carried. Walk free, because the One who carries has already made a way.
Comments (13)
I praise the LORD and my Lord Jesus for my salvation. Jesus has taken away (nasa) my sins, and I am free to live for Him.
Amen!
I love the way your presentations are communicated so anyone can understand.
So enjoying learning to pronounce the words,so enjoyable.You are so thoughtful.
Thankyou Dr Eli.
So happy to hear! God bless you, Kim!
Thank God. Words of grace.
Hi Dr Eli, like very much that you have put the pronunciation of the Hebrew words and phrases in you blogs. If I'm not careful I'll be speaking Hebrew before long:-))). Still got time I'm only an 83 yo Aussie. However regularly, especially single words, the first letter sounds are cut of which makes it hard to get the actual pronunciation
Exactly! You are 83 years young and got more in you to serve the Lord! God bless you, Greg!
Hello, Dr. Eli.
Always amazed at your work, and really LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the added benefit we get from reading about, and now hearing, the Hebrew language! Thank you for this added bonus. It teaches us to be hearers of the Word—literally!
I am so happy you found it so helpful! Thank you so much for your encouragement and support! God bless you!
This conversation is possible because friends and family choose to support this ministry (Thank you so much!). If my teaching has helped you read the Bible more deeply in its Hebrew and Jewish world, and if you are in a position to do so, please consider joining my support team or giving again if you did in the past. Your monthly gift, no matter the size, helps me continue teaching, writing, and engaging with pastors, priests, Bible teachers, and serious students of Scripture worldwide. To support my work, click HERE.
The cost for, and burden of, our sin is far more than I ever realised, even having been taught about it for many years.
Dr Eli, your work to help us see, by sharing the original language, nuance and perspective of Scripture, is inestimable.
Thank you so very much 💝
May God continue to bless you, your family, and your ministry, so that His precious heart and character can be seen more clearly.
Shalom 🌺
I love this revelation; that Jesus bore our sins (the sins of humanity) once for all. Now, assuming I understand this correctly; God's creation (man) is fully justified by the sacrifice God provided through His Son. We are released from the curse of sin and death if we acknowledge "His" sacrifice, even as "He" is the One who provided the blood of His Son, for the mercy seat. Jesus the Son of Man/Son of God, justifies not only mankind, but God and His plan for mankind. Now, He sits at the right hand of the Father as our intercessor (high priest) ; representing us to our Father and our Father to us as the immutable image of the invisible God. I doubt we can understand the depth of this sacrifice nor the heavenly justice involved in that sacrifice. I appreciate your insights, they open my understanding of His logos (plan).
Thank you, Roger. You have expressed the heart of the gospel beautifully. Christ’s sacrifice is once for all, fully sufficient, and God’s gracious answer to humanity’s sin and death (Heb 9:26–28; 10:10–14).
I would add one small clarification: the sacrifice is sufficient for all humanity, yet Scripture calls each person to receive its benefits through faith, repentance, and union with the risen Messiah (Rom 3:22–26; John 1:12). God’s purpose is indeed vindicated in Christ. At the cross, His justice does not simply overlook sin, and His mercy does not abandon the sinner.
The risen Jesus now represents us before the Father as our merciful High Priest, while revealing the Father perfectly to us (Heb 7:25; Col 1:15). We may never exhaust the depth of this mystery, but we can stand in grateful awe before it.
your missing the richness of the Hebrew meaning of the word zakar mixed with His divinity...
Michael, to explain further. I am sure that would be good to consider.
As both God and man RE: the God-man, His Divine Person reaches pre creation through post cross until the time of the gentiles is fulfilled as per Romans 11. It is because of this implicating into Himself, His sufferings, that all peoples have life etc. and a chance for salvation pending baptism and working it out in reverence and trembling as Philippians says. Saying I believe does not mean much as per James...we die daily in love for the Love Who first loved us. Salvation comes from the Jews, a statement that bothers me only because I dont see Jews as Jews so much as brothers & sisters in life unjustly persecuted so much. There are both good and bad in all races and peoples and God is sorting that out in Christ through His Word Incarnate now resurrected. The zakar is demonstrated even by Judaism every Passover..Sabbath.
Your concern for Jewish people’s dignity and suffering matters deeply. Yet recognizing them as brothers and sisters need not mean overlooking their Jewish identity. When Jesus says salvation is “from the Jews,” He identifies its covenantal and historical source: Israel’s Scriptures, promises, and the Jewish Messiah (John 4:22). He is not claiming that Jews are morally superior to other peoples.
You also rightly emphasize that faith should become a lived response of love and obedience. James challenges faith that bears no fruit (Jas 2:17). However, Paul’s call to “work out” salvation is immediately grounded in God’s work within us (Phil 2:12–13). We do not earn His love through spiritual effort. We respond because He first loved us. That same grace invites us to honor both our shared humanity and Israel’s continuing identity.
Wow! I'm more than blessed. Now I can repeat the words myself! Nasa 💙
Thank God and out IT team!
Re Exodus 34:6-7: Of course! Harks back to God's covenant with Abraham, where God takes responsibility for the fulfillment as well as the failure. Really hadn't thought deeply about it, so thank you!
Blessings and much peace, Angela!
Thank you Dr Eli for yet another beautiful article. It feels as if the heaviness lift from one shoulders when you truly repent. God is still faithful, even when we fail many times. Yeshua is standing at the door, ready to invite us in. Blessings!
God bless you!
This conversation is possible because friends and family choose to support this ministry (Thank you so much!). If my teaching has helped you read the Bible more deeply in its Hebrew and Jewish world, and if you are in a position to do so, please consider joining my support team or giving again if you did in the past. Your monthly gift, no matter the size, helps me continue teaching, writing, and engaging with pastors, priests, Bible teachers, and serious students of Scripture worldwide. To support my work, click HERE.