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Leviticus 4:1-5:13
English Standard Version

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.”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 4:2 Or by mistake; so throughout Leviticus
  2. Leviticus 4:13 Or makes a mistake
  3. Leviticus 4:13 Or suffer for their guilt, or are guilty; also verses 22, 27, and chapter 5
  4. Leviticus 5:6 Hebrew his guilt penalty; so throughout Leviticus
  5. Leviticus 5:7 Septuagint two young pigeons; also verse 11
  6. Leviticus 5:11 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
  7. Leviticus 5:13 Septuagint; Hebrew it
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Leviticus 4:1-5:13
International Standard Version

Personal Sin Offerings

4 The Lord told Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelis and tell them that if a person inadvertently sins with respect to any of the Lord’s commands that should not be violated, but nevertheless he disobeys one of them, 3 or if the anointed priest sins, thereby bringing guilt on the people, let him bring a young bull[a] without defect as a sin offering to the Lord for his sin that he had committed.

4 “He is to bring the bull to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, into the Lord’s presence, where he is to lay his hand on the head of the bull and slaughter it in the Lord’s presence. 5 The anointed priest is to take[b] blood from the bull to the Tent of Meeting. 6 The priest is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times in the Lord’s presence in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.

7 “The priest is then to put some blood on the horn of the altar that is near the Tent of Meeting as an incense of pleasing aroma in the Lord’s presence. He is to pour the rest of the bull’s blood[c] for a burnt offering at the base of the altar that is at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 8 Then he is to remove all the fat from the bull for a sin offering—that is, the fat that covers the internal organs,[d] all of the fat that is inside the internal organs, 9 the two kidneys with the fat on them by the loins, and the fatty mass[e] surrounding the liver and kidneys— 10 just as it is taken from the bull for a peace offering. Then the priest is to burn it on the altar for burnt offerings.

11 “Now as for the bull’s hide, its flesh, its head, its legs, its internal organs, and its dung, 12 along with the rest of the bull, he is to bring it outside the camp to a clean place, where fat ashes are to be poured over it and then it is to be thoroughly burned over wood with fire. It is to be burned where the fat ashes are poured out.”

National Sin Offerings

13 “If the whole congregation of Israel goes astray, and if the sin is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and if they go astray from one of the Lord’s commands that should not be violated, then they will stand guilty. 14 When the sin that they have committed becomes known, the entire congregation is to bring a young bull as a sin offering to the Tent of Meeting, 15 where the elders of the community are to lay their hands on the head of the bull in the Lord’s presence and slaughter it.[f] 16 The anointed priest is to take blood from the bull and bring it to the Tent of Meeting. 17 Then the priest is to dip his finger in the blood, sprinkle some of the blood seven times in front of the curtain in the Lord’s presence, 18 then put blood on the horn of the altar near the Tent of Meeting in the Lord’s presence. He is to pour the rest of the blood as a burnt offering at the base of the altar that is at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 19 Then he is to remove all the fat from the bull for a sin offering and burn it on the altar. 20 He is to do to this bull what he did to the bull for the sin offering. He is to do it this way so that the priest will make atonement for them and they will be forgiven. 21 Then he is to bring the rest of the bull outside the camp and burn it just as he had burned the first bull. This is the sin offering for the congregation.”

Sin Offerings for Rulers

22 “When a ruler inadvertently sins, disobeying any one of the commands of the Lord his God that should not be violated, he will be guilty. 23 When the sin that he had committed is disclosed to him, he is to bring his offering: a male goat without defect. 24 He is then to lay his hand on the head of the goat and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered—in the Lord’s presence—as a sin offering. 25 Then the priest is to take blood from the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horn of the altar that is used for burnt offerings, and then pour the rest of the blood at the base of the altar that is used for burnt offerings. 26 He is to burn all the fat on the altar as is done for the fat for the sacrifice of a peace offering. This is how the priest will make atonement for him concerning his sin. It will be forgiven him.”

Sin Offerings for the People

27 “If any[g] of the common people of the land inadvertently sins by disobeying one of the Lord’s commands that should not be violated, he will be guilty. 28 When the sin that he committed is disclosed to him, he is to bring his offering for his sin that he had committed: a female goat without defect. 29 He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it[h] at the place for burnt offering. 30 Then the priest is to take blood with his finger, put it on the horn of the altar that is used for burnt offerings, and then pour the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 31 He is to remove all the fat, just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice for the peace offering. Then the priest is to burn it on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. This is how the priest will make atonement for him. It will be forgiven him.

32 “If he brings a lamb for his offering, he is to bring a female without defect. 33 He is to lay his hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it for a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. 34 Then the priest is to take blood with his finger and put it on the horn of the altar for burnt offering. Then he is to pour the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 35 Then the presenter is to remove all its fat, just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering. The priest is to burn it on the altar over the offerings made by fire to the Lord. This is how the priest will make atonement for him concerning the sin that he had committed. It will be forgiven him.”

Laws of Public Testimony

5 “If someone sins because he has failed to testify after receiving notice[i] to testify as a witness regarding what he has observed or learned, he is to be held responsible.”[j]

Offerings for Uncleanness

2 “When a person has touched a ceremonially unclean thing inadvertently,[k] such as the carcass of an unclean animal, or some unclean creeping thing, he will be unclean and guilty nevertheless. 3 When he inadvertently touches the uncleanness of a human being, whatever his uncleanness that made him unclean may be, when he himself comes to know about it, he will be guilty. 4 When a person has sworn inadvertently by what he has said, whether for evil or good, whatever it was that the person spoke, when he comes to understand what he said, he will incur guilt by one of these things. 5 When a person is guilty of one of these things, then he is to confess[l] whatever sin it was 6 and bring compensation to the Lord for the guilt that he committed: a female from the flock—whether a lamb or goat—for a sin offering. Then the priest is to make atonement for him.”

Inexpensive Offering Alternatives

7 “If he can’t afford a goat, then he is to bring to the Lord for his sin offering two turtledoves or two young doves:[m] one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 8 He is to bring them to the priest, who will offer a sin offering first. He is to wring off its head without separating it. 9 Then he is to sprinkle some of the blood from the sin offering on the sidewall of the altar. Now as to the remainder of the blood, he is to pour it out at the base of the altar for a sin offering. 10 With respect to the second offering, he is to prepare it as a burnt offering, according to the approved procedure.[n] The priest is to make atonement for him on account of his sin that he had committed. Then it will be forgiven him.

11 “If he can’t afford[o] two turtledoves or two young doves, then he is to bring as his offering a tenth of an ephah[p] of fine flour as a sin offering for what he has committed. He is to put no olive oil or frankincense on it, since it’s a sin offering. 12 He is to bring it to the priest. The priest is to take a handful as a memorial and burn it on the altar as an offering made by fire to the Lord. It’s a sin offering. 13 The priest will make atonement for him, on account of the sin that he had committed in any of these things and it will be forgiven him. As far as the priest is concerned, it will be a meal offering.”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 4:3 Lit. a bull, a son of a bull
  2. Leviticus 4:5 The Heb. lacks the word takes . . . some, and so with vss. 5, 16, 30, 34
  3. Leviticus 4:7 Lit. all of the blood
  4. Leviticus 4:8 Or inward parts
  5. Leviticus 4:9 Or appendage
  6. Leviticus 4:15 Lit. the bull in the Lord’s presence
  7. Leviticus 4:27 Lit. soul
  8. Leviticus 4:29 Lit. the sin offering
  9. Leviticus 5:1 Lit. after having heard
  10. Leviticus 5:1 Lit. guilty
  11. Leviticus 5:2 Lit. thing and it was hidden from him; and so throughout the chapter
  12. Leviticus 5:5 Or acknowledge
  13. Leviticus 5:7 Lit. or offspring of a dove
  14. Leviticus 5:10 Lit. judgment
  15. Leviticus 5:11 Lit. if his hands cannot reach
  16. Leviticus 5:11 I.e., an ephah was equal to from 2 /3 to 3 /4 of a bushel
Listen to Leviticus 4:1-5:13
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Leviticus 4:1-5:13
New International Version

The Sin Offering

4 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘When anyone sins unintentionally(A) and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands(B)—

3 “‘If the anointed priest(C) sins,(D) bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the Lord a young bull(E) without defect(F) as a sin offering[a](G) for the sin he has committed.(H) 4 He is to present the bull at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the Lord.(I) He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it there before the Lord. 5 Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood(J) and carry it into the tent of meeting. 6 He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle(K) some of it seven times before the Lord,(L) in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.(M) 7 The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns(N) of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the Lord in the tent of meeting. The rest of the bull’s blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar(O) of burnt offering(P) at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 He shall remove all the fat(Q) from the bull of the sin offering—all the fat that is connected to the internal organs, 9 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys(R)— 10 just as the fat is removed from the ox[b](S) sacrificed as a fellowship offering.(T) Then the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering.(U) 11 But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, as well as the head and legs, the internal organs and the intestines(V)— 12 that is, all the rest of the bull—he must take outside the camp(W) to a place ceremonially clean,(X) where the ashes(Y) are thrown, and burn it(Z) there in a wood fire on the ash heap.(AA)

13 “‘If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally(AB) and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, when they realize their guilt 14 and the sin they committed becomes known, the assembly must bring a young bull(AC) as a sin offering(AD) and present it before the tent of meeting. 15 The elders(AE) of the community are to lay their hands(AF) on the bull’s head(AG) before the Lord, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord.(AH) 16 Then the anointed priest is to take some of the bull’s blood(AI) into the tent of meeting. 17 He shall dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle(AJ) it before the Lord(AK) seven times in front of the curtain. 18 He is to put some of the blood(AL) on the horns of the altar that is before the Lord(AM) in the tent of meeting. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar(AN) of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 19 He shall remove all the fat(AO) from it and burn it on the altar,(AP) 20 and do with this bull just as he did with the bull for the sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement(AQ) for the community, and they will be forgiven.(AR) 21 Then he shall take the bull outside the camp(AS) and burn it as he burned the first bull. This is the sin offering for the community.(AT)

22 “‘When a leader(AU) sins unintentionally(AV) and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of the Lord his God, when he realizes his guilt 23 and the sin he has committed becomes known, he must bring as his offering a male goat(AW) without defect. 24 He is to lay his hand on the goat’s head and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the Lord.(AX) It is a sin offering.(AY) 25 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(AZ) of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.(BA) 26 He shall burn all the fat on the altar as he burned the fat of the fellowship offering. In this way the priest will make atonement(BB) for the leader’s sin, and he will be forgiven.(BC)

27 “‘If any member of the community sins unintentionally(BD) and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, when they realize their guilt 28 and the sin they have committed becomes known, they must bring as their offering(BE) for the sin they committed a female goat(BF) without defect. 29 They are to lay their hand on the head(BG) of the sin offering(BH) and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering.(BI) 30 Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering(BJ) and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 31 They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar(BK) as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.(BL) In this way the priest will make atonement(BM) for them, and they will be forgiven.(BN)

32 “‘If someone brings a lamb(BO) as their sin offering, they are to bring a female without defect.(BP) 33 They are to lay their hand on its head and slaughter it(BQ) for a sin offering(BR) at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered.(BS) 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 the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.(BT) 35 They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the lamb of the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar(BU) on top of the food offerings presented to the Lord. In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.

5 “‘If anyone sins because they do not speak up when they hear a public charge to testify(BV) regarding something they have seen or learned about, they will be held responsible.(BW)

2 “‘If anyone becomes aware that they are guilty—if they unwittingly touch anything ceremonially unclean (whether the carcass of an unclean animal, wild or domestic, or of any unclean creature that moves along the ground)(BX) and they are unaware that they have become unclean,(BY) but then they come to realize their guilt; 3 or if they touch human uncleanness(BZ) (anything that would make them unclean)(CA) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt; 4 or if anyone thoughtlessly takes an oath(CB) to do anything, whether good or evil(CC) (in any matter one might carelessly swear about) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt— 5 when anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess(CD) in what way they have sinned. 6 As a penalty for the sin they have committed, they must bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat(CE) from the flock as a sin offering[c];(CF) and the priest shall make atonement(CG) for them for their sin.

7 “‘Anyone who cannot afford(CH) a lamb(CI) is to bring two doves or two young pigeons(CJ) to the Lord as a penalty for their sin—one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 8 They are to bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one for the sin offering. He is to wring its head from its neck,(CK) not dividing it completely,(CL) 9 and is to splash(CM) some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar;(CN) the rest of the blood must be drained out at the base of the altar.(CO) It is a sin offering. 10 The priest shall then offer the other as a burnt offering in the prescribed way(CP) and make atonement(CQ) for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.(CR)

11 “‘If, however, they cannot afford(CS) two doves or two young pigeons,(CT) they are to bring as an offering for their sin a tenth of an ephah[d](CU) of the finest flour(CV) for a sin offering. They must not put olive oil or incense on it, because it is a sin offering. 12 They are to bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful of it as a memorial[e] portion(CW) and burn it on the altar(CX) on top of the food offerings presented to the Lord. It is a sin offering. 13 In this way the priest will make atonement(CY) for them for any of these sins they have committed, and they will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest,(CZ) as in the case of the grain offering.(DA)’”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 4:3 Or purification offering; here and throughout this chapter
  2. Leviticus 4:10 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.
  3. Leviticus 5:6 Or purification offering; here and throughout this chapter
  4. Leviticus 5:11 That is, probably about 3 1/2 pounds or about 1.6 kilograms
  5. Leviticus 5:12 Or representative
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Leviticus 3
Leviticus 6
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