And he shall take of the blood. — Having left the Holy place and returned to the court, where the priest stood with the bowl of the blood of the bullock, stirring it, to prevent it coagulating (see Leviticus 16:11), the high priest took it, and went back to the Holy of Holies, to the same place where he stood on his first entry.
Sprinkle it with his finger. — During the second Temple the high priest sprinkled the blood once upwards and seven times downwards, in such a manner that the eight sprinklings formed a continuous line on the ground. As he sprinkled he was obliged to count one, two, three, &c, lest he should make a mistake.