nasa' נָשָׂא
to lift; to carry; to bear; to forgive
Begin by reading Psalm 32:1-5 and Isaiah 53:4-6, 12. See sin lifted and carried away before continuing.
The Heart of This Word To lift, to carry, to bear. Nasa is an ordinary verb of physical action: hands lifted in prayer, a load hoisted onto a shoulder, a burden carried down a road. Scripture then takes that plain picture and applies it to guilt. To lift guilt off a person is to forgive; to carry guilt as one's own is to be held liable for it. The word itself does not mean "substitution." What makes the atonement passages so striking is that the same verb is used both ways in the same ritual: the people's iniquity is lifted off them because the goat carries it away (Lev 16:21-22).
Linguistic Nuances
⛏️ Explore the Hebrew Treasures in the Library to see how נָשָׂא (nasa, "to lift/carry") connects to the vocabulary of forgiveness and atonement.
**A Word Beside Another**: Hebrew has more than one verb in the vocabulary of pardon, and the distinction matters. Nasa (H5375) is the concrete verb: to lift a weight and carry it off. When it is used of sin, the guilt is the object being lifted (Ps 32:1; Num 14:18). Salach (H5545) is different in kind: in the Hebrew Bible God is always its subject, never a human being, so it names the divine prerogative to pardon rather than the mechanics of removal. Kaphar (H3722) adds a third angle, the covering or wiping clean that makes atonement. Nasa tells you what happens to the weight. Salach tells you whose word alone can speak the pardon. Kaphar tells you how the breach is healed.
**One Verb, Two Directions**: Nasa can describe the guilty party carrying his own liability ("he shall bear his iniquity," Lev 5:1) or another party carrying it for him (Lev 16:22; Isa 53:12). Grammar alone does not decide which; the context does. This is why Isaiah 53 is so weighty. The Servant is not bearing his own guilt. He carries what belonged to others, and Isaiah pairs nasa with sabal (H5445, "to bear a heavy load") to make the transfer unmistakable (Isa 53:4, 11-12).
**Binyanim Primer**: In the **Qal** (simple active), nasa means "to lift, carry, bear." This is the primary form, covering the full range: lifting hands in worship (Ps 134:2), bearing a burden (Gen 4:13), carrying a name (Exod 20:7), and forgiving sin (literally "lifting it off," Ps 32:1). In the **Niphal** (passive), it means "to be lifted, to be exalted." In the **Piel** (intensive), it means "to lift up, to carry earnestly," with a nuance of sustained bearing. In the **Hithpael** (reflexive), it means "to exalt oneself, to lift oneself up."
The same verb that describes lifting hands in worship (Ps 134:2) also describes God lifting our transgression from us (Ps 32:1). What we raise to Him in praise, He lifts from us in pardon. This dual usage creates a profound theological symmetry: worship and forgiveness share the same verb because they share the same economy of grace.
The phrase נְשׂוּי פֶּשַׁע (nesuy pesha, "transgression lifted away," Ps 32:1) is a passive participle: the sin has been acted upon by another. The sinner does not lift his own guilt; it is lifted for him.
Through Scripture's Story
**Pentateuch**: The scapegoat "bears" (nasa) all the iniquities of Israel into the wilderness (Lev 16:21-22). Sin is not merely overlooked; it is physically removed, carried out of sight.
**Psalms**: "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven" (Ps 32:1). This Hebrew word means "to carry out of sight," agreeing with Jeremiah 50:20: "The sins of Judah shall be sought for, and shall not be found."
**Numbers**: "The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression" (Num 14:18). God's forgiveness is nasa: He lifts the weight we cannot carry.
**Isaiah**: The Suffering Servant "hath borne (nasa) our griefs... he bare the sin of many" (Isa 53:4, 12). Isaiah reinforces the verb with sabal, "to carry a heavy load," so the weight is plainly moved from the many to the One. Here the language of the wilderness goat and the language of prophecy converge.
For the Reader
Forgiveness in Hebrew is not abstract pardon but concrete removal. Sin is not ignored; it is lifted off and carried away. The scapegoat ritual (Lev 16) is the physical enactment of what nasa means: guilt transferred to a substitute who bears it away. This is not metaphor; it is the grammar of salvation.
How This Points to Christ
"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Christ is the ultimate nasa. He bore our sins in His body on the tree (1 Pet 2:24), carried them outside the camp (Heb 13:12), and removed them as far as the east is from the west (Ps 103:12). Every scapegoat pointed to Him. Every lifted burden finds its rest in His cross.
For Your Soul
You cannot lift your own guilt. But the Lamb of God lifts it for you, and carries it where it will never be found again. The burden you cannot bear has been borne. What was lifted will never fall back on you. The same hands that were nailed to the cross are the hands that lifted your sin off your shoulders forever (Gen 4:13; Lev 16:21-22; Num 14:18; Ps 32:1-5; Ps 103:12; Isa 53:4; Isa 53:12; Jer 50:20; John 1:29; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 13:12).
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