Laws for Sin Offerings

4 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, ^(A)If anyone sins unintentionally^[a] in any of the Lord's commandments ^(B)about things not to be done, and does any one of them, ³ if it is the anointed priest who ^(C)sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for the sin that he has committed ^(D)a bull from the herd without blemish to the Lord for a sin offering. ⁴ He shall bring the bull to the ^(E)entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord and lay his hand on the head of the bull and kill the bull before the Lord. ⁵ And the anointed priest ^(F)shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting, ⁶ and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and ^(G)sprinkle part of the blood seven times before the Lord in front of the veil of the sanctuary. ⁷ And the priest ^(H)shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before the Lord that is in the tent of meeting, and ^(I)all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁸ And all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall remove from it, ^(J)the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails ^9 (K)and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys ¹⁰ (just as these are taken from the ox of the sacrifice of the peace offerings); and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. ¹¹ But ^(L)the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung— ¹² all the rest of the bull—he shall carry ^(M)outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall ^(N)burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.

^13 (O)“If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally^[b] and ^(P)the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any one of the things that by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt,^{[c] 14 (Q)}when the sin which they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull from the herd for a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting. ¹⁵ And the elders of the congregation ^(R)shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and the bull shall be killed before the Lord. ¹⁶ Then ^(S)the anointed priest shall bring some of the blood of the bull into the tent of meeting, ¹⁷ and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the veil. ¹⁸ And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is in the tent of meeting before the Lord, and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ¹⁹ And all its fat he shall take from it and burn on the altar. ²⁰ Thus shall he do with the bull. As he did ^(T)with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this. ^(U)And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven. ²¹ And he shall carry the bull ^(V)outside the camp and burn it up as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.

²² “When a leader sins, ^(W)doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by the commandments of the Lord his God ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, ²³ or ^(X)the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without blemish, ²⁴ and ^(Y)shall lay his hand on the head of the goat and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord; it is a sin offering. ^25 (Z)Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. ²⁶ And all its fat he shall burn on the altar, like ^(AA)the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. So ^(AB)the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin, and he shall be forgiven.

²⁷ “If ^(AC)anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, ^28 (AD)or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. ^29 (AE)And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering. ³⁰ And the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. ³¹ And ^(AF)all its fat he shall remove, ^(AG)as the fat is removed from the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a ^(AH)pleasing aroma to the Lord. ^(AI)And the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.

³² “If he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring ^(AJ)a female without blemish ^33 (AK)and lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. ³⁴ Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. ³⁵ And all its fat he shall remove ^(AL)as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on top of the Lord's food offerings. ^(AM)And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.

5 “If anyone sins in that he hears a public ^(AN)adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall ^(AO)bear his iniquity; ² or ^(AP)if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean wild animal or a carcass of unclean livestock or a carcass of unclean swarming things, and it is hidden from him and he has become unclean, and he realizes his guilt; ³ or if he touches ^(AQ)human uncleanness, of whatever sort the uncleanness may be with which one becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and realizes his guilt; ⁴ or if anyone utters with his lips a ^(AR)rash oath to do evil or to do good, any sort of rash oath that people ^(AS)swear, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and he realizes his guilt in any of these; ⁵ when he realizes his guilt in any of these and ^(AT)confesses the sin he has committed, ⁶ he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation^[d] for the sin that he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.

⁷ “But ^(AU)if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation for the sin that he has committed two ^(AV)turtledoves or two pigeons,^[e] one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. ⁸ He shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first the one for the sin offering. He shall ^(AW)wring its head from its neck ^(AX)but shall not sever it completely, ⁹ and he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while ^(AY)the rest of the blood shall be drained out ^(AZ)at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering. ¹⁰ Then he shall offer the second for a burnt offering according to the rule. ^(BA)And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.

¹¹ “But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for the sin that he has committed a ^(BB)tenth of an ephah^[f] of fine flour for a sin offering. He ^(BC)shall put no oil on it and shall put no frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. ¹² And he shall bring it to ^(BD)the priest, and the priest shall take a handful of it as its memorial portion and ^(BE)burn this on the altar, on the Lord's food offerings; it is a sin offering. ¹³ Thus ^(BF)the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in any one of these things, and he shall be forgiven. And the remainder^[g] shall be for the priest, as in the grain offering.”

Lamedh

Some Will Depart from the Faith

4 Now ^(A)the Spirit expressly says that ^(B)in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to ^(C)deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, ² through the insincerity of ^(D)liars whose consciences are seared, ^3 (E)who forbid marriage and ^(F)require abstinence from foods ^(G)that God created ^(H)to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴ For ^(I)everything created by God is good, and ^(J)nothing is to be rejected if it is ^(K)received with thanksgiving, ⁵ for it is made holy ^(L)by the word of God and prayer.

A Good Servant of Christ Jesus

^6 (M)If you put these things before the brothers,^[a] you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have ^(N)followed. ⁷ Have nothing to do with irreverent, ^(O)silly myths. Rather ^(P)train yourself for godliness; ⁸ for while ^(Q)bodily training is of some value, godliness ^(R)is of value in every way, as ^(S)it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. ⁹ The saying is ^(T)trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. ¹⁰ For to this end we toil and strive,^[b] because we have our hope set on the living God, ^(U)who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

¹¹ Command and teach ^(V)these things. ^12 (W)Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers ^(X)an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. ¹³ Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. ^14 (Y)Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you ^(Z)by prophecy when the council of elders ^(AA)laid their hands on you. ¹⁵ Practice these things, immerse yourself in them,^[c] so that ^(AB)all may see your progress. ^16 (AC)Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save ^(AD)both yourself and ^(AE)your hearers.

Instructions for the Church

5 ^(AF)Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, ^(AG)younger men as brothers, ² older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

³ Honor widows ^(AH)who are truly widows. ⁴ But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn ^(AI)to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for ^(AJ)this is pleasing in the sight of God. ⁵ She ^(AK)who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and ^(AL)continues in supplications and prayers night and day, ⁶ but ^(AM)she who is self-indulgent is ^(AN)dead even while she lives. ^7 (AO)Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. ⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for ^(AP)members of his household, he has ^(AQ)denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been ^(AR)the wife of one husband,^{[d] 10} and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has ^(AS)shown hospitality, ^(AT)has washed the feet of the saints, has ^(AU)cared for the afflicted, and has ^(AV)devoted herself to every good work. ¹¹ But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when ^(AW)their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry ¹² and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. ¹³ Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also ^(AX)gossips and ^(AY)busybodies, saying what they should not. ¹⁴ So I would have ^(AZ)younger widows marry, bear children, ^(BA)manage their households, and ^(BB)give the adversary no occasion for slander. ^15 (BC)For some have already strayed after Satan. ¹⁶ If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it may care for those ^(BD)who are truly widows.

¹⁷ Let the elders ^(BE)who rule well be considered worthy of ^(BF)double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, ^(BG)“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, ^(BH)“The laborer deserves his wages.” ¹⁹ Do not admit a charge against an elder except ^(BI)on the evidence of two or three witnesses. ²⁰ As for those who persist in sin, ^(BJ)rebuke them in the presence of all, ^(BK)so that the rest may stand in fear. ²¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels ^(BL)I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, ^(BM)doing nothing from partiality. ^22 (BN)Do not be hasty in the ^(BO)laying on of hands, nor ^(BP)take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. ²³ No longer drink only water, but ^(BQ)use a little wine ^(BR)for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. ²⁴ The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. ²⁵ So also good works are conspicuous, and ^(BS)even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

6 ^(BT)Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants^[e] regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, ^(BU)so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. ² Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are ^(BV)brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.

False Teachers and True Contentment

^(BW)Teach and urge these things. ³ If anyone ^(BX)teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with ^(BY)the sound^[f] words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching ^(BZ)that accords with godliness, ^4 (CA)he is puffed up with conceit and ^(CB)understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for ^(CC)controversy and for ^(CD)quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, ⁵ and constant friction among people ^(CE)who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, ^(CF)imagining that godliness is a means of gain. ⁶ But ^(CG)godliness ^(CH)with contentment is great gain, ⁷ for ^(CI)we brought nothing into the world, and^[g] we cannot take anything out of the world. ⁸ But ^(CJ)if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. ⁹ But ^(CK)those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, ^(CL)into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that ^(CM)plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of ^(CN)all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Fight the Good Fight of Faith

¹¹ But as for you, ^(CO)O man of God, ^(CP)flee these things. ^(CQ)Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. ^12 (CR)Fight the good fight of the faith. ^(CS)Take hold of the eternal life ^(CT)to which you were called and about which you made ^(CU)the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ^13 (CV)I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, ^(CW)who in his testimony before^[h] Pontius Pilate made ^(CX)the good confession, ¹⁴ to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until ^(CY)the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which he will display ^(CZ)at the proper time—he who is ^(DA)the blessed and only Sovereign, ^(DB)the King of kings and Lord of lords, ^16 (DC)who alone has immortality, ^(DD)who dwells in ^(DE)unapproachable light, ^(DF)whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

¹⁷ As for the rich in ^(DG)this present age, charge them ^(DH)not to be haughty, nor ^(DI)to set their hopes on ^(DJ)the uncertainty of riches, but on God, ^(DK)who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. ¹⁸ They are to do good, ^(DL)to be rich in good works, to be generous and ^(DM)ready to share, ¹⁹ thus ^(DN)storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may ^(DO)take hold of ^(DP)that which is truly life.

²⁰ O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. ^(DQ)Avoid the ^(DR)irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” ²¹ for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.

^(DS)Grace be with you.^[i]