Leviticus 1
New American Standard Bible
The Law of Burnt Offerings
1 Now (A)the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When anyone of you brings an (B)offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of livestock from (C)the herd or the flock. 3 If his offering is a (D)burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male (E)without defect; he shall offer it (F)at the doorway of the tent of meeting, so that he may be accepted before the Lord. 4 And (G)he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so that it may be accepted for him to make (H)atonement on his behalf. 5 Then (I)he shall [a]slaughter the [b]bull before the Lord; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer up (J)the blood and (K)sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 6 (L)He shall then skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. 7 And (M)the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, with the head and the (N)suet, on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. 9 Its (O)entrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water. And (P)the priest shall offer all of it up in smoke on the altar as a burnt offering, an offering by fire as (Q)a soothing aroma to the Lord.
10 ‘But if his offering is from the flock, either from the sheep or from the goats, as a burnt offering, he shall offer a (R)male without defect. 11 And (S)he shall slaughter it on the side of the altar northward before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 12 He shall then cut it into its pieces with its head and its (T)suet, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. 13 The entrails, however, and the legs he shall wash with water. And (U)the priest shall offer all of it, and offer it up in smoke on the altar; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord.
14 ‘But if his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering from the (V)turtledoves or from young doves. 15 The priest shall bring it to the altar, and pinch off its head, and offer it up in smoke on the altar; and its blood is to be drained out (W)on the side of the altar. 16 He shall also remove its craw with its feathers and throw it beside the altar eastward, to the place of the (X)fatty ashes. 17 Then he shall tear it by its wings, but (Y)shall not sever it. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, on the wood which is on the fire; (Z)it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 1:5 I.e., following a prescribed ritual, and so through ch 22
- Leviticus 1:5 Lit son of the herd
Leviticus 1
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
I. Ritual of Sacrifices
A. Instructions for the Israelites
Chapter 1
Burnt Offerings. 1 The Lord called Moses, and spoke to him from the tent of meeting:(A) 2 Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any one of you[a] brings an offering of livestock to the Lord, you shall bring your offering from the herd or from the flock.(B)
3 [b](C)If a person’s offering is a burnt offering[c] from the herd, the offering must be a male without blemish.(D) The individual shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to find favor with the Lord, 4 and shall lay a hand[d] on the head(E) of the burnt offering, so that it may be acceptable(F) to make atonement(G) for the one who offers it. 5 The bull shall then be slaughtered[e] before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall offer its blood by splashing it on all the sides of the altar which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.(H) 6 Then the burnt offering shall be flayed and cut into pieces. 7 After Aaron’s sons, the priests, have put burning embers on the altar and laid wood on them, 8 they shall lay the pieces of meat, together with the head and the suet, on top of the wood and the embers on the altar; 9 but the inner organs and the shanks shall be washed with water. The priest shall then burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a sweet-smelling oblation to the Lord.(I)
10 If a person’s burnt offering is from the flock, that is, a sheep or a goat, the offering must be a male without blemish. 11 It shall be slaughtered on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall splash its blood on all the sides of the altar. 12 When it has been cut into pieces, the priest shall lay these, together with the head and suet, on top of the wood and the embers on the altar; 13 but the inner organs and the shanks shall be washed with water. The priest shall then offer all of it, burning it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, a sweet-smelling oblation to the Lord.
14 If a person offers a bird as a burnt offering to the Lord, the offering brought must be a turtledove or a pigeon.(J) 15 Having brought it to the altar, the priest shall wring its head off and burn it on the altar. The blood shall be drained out against the side of the altar.(K) 16 He shall remove its crissum[f] by means of its feathers and throw it on the ash heap at the east side of the altar. 17 Then, having torn the bird open by its wings without separating the halves, the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood and the embers. It is a burnt offering, a sweet-smelling oblation to the Lord.
Footnotes
- 1:2 Any one of you: women as well as men bring sacrifices (see 12:6–8; 15:28–30) and are explicitly obligated in other ritual matters (e.g., 13:29, 38; Nm 5:6; 6:2; Lk 2:24). Thus, though the Hebrew formulates sacrificial and other law with male reference, the translation reflects the inclusion of women in ritual requirements. From the herd or from the flock: the only animals which could be used as sacrificial victims were domestic animals either of the bovine class (bulls, cows and calves) or the ovine class (sheep and lambs, goats and kids). Excluded, therefore, were not only all wild animals, but also such “unclean” domestic animals as the camel and the donkey (cf. 11:1–47; 27:26–27).
- 1:3–5 Entrance of the tent of meeting…before the Lord: probably the forecourt from the entrance of the court to the entrance of the tent (cf. Ex 27). Thus the altar in front of the tent was entirely accessible to the laity.
- 1:3 The burnt offering is used for regular daily (6:1–6) offerings, public festivals (Nm 28–29), purification rituals (Lv 12:6–8; 14:19–20; 15:15, 30), and individuals’ vows and voluntary offerings (22:18–20).
- 1:4 Lay a hand: the imposition of a single hand for the sacrifices in chaps. 1–5 may be a means of designating the animal as belonging to the offerer. See note on 16:21. Atonement: see note on 16:6.
- 1:5 Shall then be slaughtered: lit., “he shall slaughter the bull.” Slaughtering is not something the offerer must do (as opposed to, for example, hand placement [v. 4] or the presentation of sacrificial portions as an elevated offering [7:29–34]). Thus the verb is construed impersonally here.
- 1:16 Crissum: the area around the anus of the bird, lying beneath the bird’s tail.
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