Leviticus 3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 3
Peace Offerings.[a] 1 “If the offering is a peace offering, if someone offers a young cow, whether it be male or female, it is to be without defect. He shall offer it to the Lord. 2 He shall lay his hand on the head of the offering and slay it at the entrance to the meeting tent. The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall sprinkle its blood around the altar. 3 From the peace offering he shall offer up the following as a burnt offering to the Lord: the fat above and surrounding the entrails, 4 the two kidneys and their fat, the fat around the loins, and the lobe of the liver that he will detach along with the kidneys. 5 The sons of Aaron shall burn it on the altar, on the burnt offering[b] that is on the burning wood. It is a burnt offering, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord.
6 “If one’s peace offering to the Lord is from the flock, whether it be male or female, it is to be without defect. 7 If he presents a lamb as an offering, he shall offer it before the Lord. 8 He shall lay his hand on the head of the victim and slay it in front of the meeting tent. The sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around the altar. 9 From the peace offering he shall offer up the following as a burnt offering to the Lord: the fat, the entire fat of the tail, cutting it away from the end of the backbone, the fat around the entrails and all that is above them, 10 the two kidneys with their fat and the fat around the loins, and the lobe of the liver that he will detach along with the kidneys. 11 Then the priest shall burn them on the altar as food offered up to the Lord by fire.
12 “If his offering is a goat, he shall offer it before the Lord. 13 He shall lay his hand on its head and slay it in front of the meeting tent. The sons of Aaron will sprinkle its blood around the altar. 14 From it he will offer up the following as a burnt offering to the Lord: the fat covering and above its entrails, 15 its two kidneys with their fat, the fat around the loins, and the lobe of the liver that he will detach along with the kidneys. 16 Then the priest shall burn them on the altar as food offered to the Lord by fire. All fat belongs to the Lord.
17 “It will be a perpetual statute throughout all your generations in all of your dwellings: you must not eat fat or blood.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 3:1 The fat and the blood, which were connected with the mystery of life, were reserved for the Lord, the absolute master of life itself; the better morsels were reserved for the priests, and the remainder was taken by the offerer to be eaten by his family. By means of this sacred meal, the believer entered into a communion with the divinity; the sacrifice was therefore called a peace offering. It could be offered either in thanksgiving or in petition. This kind of sacrifice was celebrated on every sacred solemnity.
- Leviticus 3:5 On the burnt offering: the daily presentation of peace offerings was ritually prescribed to be placed on top of the burnt offerings signifying fellowship with God and the priest.
Leviticus 3
New American Standard Bible
The Law of Peace Offerings
3 ‘Now if his offering is a (A)sacrifice of peace offerings, if he is going to offer from the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it (B)without defect before the Lord. 2 And (C)he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and (D)slaughter it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood around on the altar. 3 From the sacrifice of the peace offerings he shall then present an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the [a]lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. 5 Then (E)Aaron’s sons shall offer it up in smoke on the altar (F)on the burnt offering, which is on the wood that is on the fire; (G)it is an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 6 But if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord is from the flock, he shall offer it, male or female, (H)without defect. 7 If he is going to offer (I)a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it (J)before the Lord, 8 and (K)he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and (L)slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall (M)sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 9 From the (N)sacrifice of peace offerings he shall then bring as an offering by fire to the Lord, its fat, the entire fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails, 10 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the [b]lobe of the liver, which he shall remove (O)with the kidneys. 11 Then the priest shall offer it up in smoke (P)on the altar as (Q)food, an offering by fire to the Lord.
12 ‘Now if his offering is (R)a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord, 13 and he shall lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 14 From it he shall present his offering as an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 15 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the [c]lobe of the liver, which he shall remove (S)with the kidneys. 16 The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire as a soothing aroma; (T)all fat is the Lord’s. 17 It is a (U)permanent statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places: you shall not eat any fat (V)or any blood.’”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 3:4 Or appendage on
- Leviticus 3:10 Or appendage on
- Leviticus 3:15 Or appendage on
Leviticus 3
New King James Version
The Peace Offering
3 ‘When his offering is a (A)sacrifice of a peace offering, if he offers it of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it (B)without [a]blemish before the Lord. 2 And (C)he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of meeting; and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall (D)sprinkle the blood all around on the altar. 3 Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire to the Lord. (E)The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 4 the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; 5 and Aaron’s sons (F)shall burn it on the altar upon the (G)burnt sacrifice, which is on the wood that is on the fire, as an (H)offering made by fire, a (I)sweet aroma to the Lord.
6 ‘If his offering as a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord is of the flock, whether male or female, (J)he shall offer it without blemish. 7 If he offers a (K)lamb as his offering, then he shall (L)offer it (M)before the Lord. 8 And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of meeting; and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar.
9 ‘Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as an offering made by fire to the Lord, its fat and the whole fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone. And the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 10 the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; 11 and the priest shall burn them on the altar as (N)food, an offering made by fire to the Lord.
12 ‘And if his (O)offering is a goat, then (P)he shall offer it before the Lord. 13 He shall lay his hand on its head and kill it before the tabernacle of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. 14 Then he shall offer from it his offering, as an offering made by fire to the Lord. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 15 the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; 16 and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma; (Q)all the fat is the Lord’s.
17 ‘This shall be a (R)perpetual[b] statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor (S)blood.’ ”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 3:1 imperfection or defect
- Leviticus 3:17 everlasting or never-ending
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
