Leviticus 4:27-5:13

Christian Standard Bible

²⁷ “Now if any of the common people^[a] sins unintentionally by violating one of the Lord’s commands, does what is prohibited, and incurs guilt, ²⁸ or if someone informs him about the sin he has committed, then he is to bring an unblemished female goat as his offering for the sin that he has committed. ²⁹ He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering. ³⁰ Then the priest is to take some of its blood with his finger and apply it to the horns of the altar of burnt offering. He is to pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. ³¹ He is to remove all its fat just as the fat is removed from the fellowship sacrifice. The priest is to burn it on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf, and he will be forgiven.

³² “Or if the offering that he brings as a sin offering is a lamb,^(A) he is to bring an unblemished female. ³³ He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it as a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. ³⁴ Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and apply it to the horns of the altar of burnt offering. He is to pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. ³⁵ He is to remove all its fat just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the fellowship sacrifice. The priest will burn it on the altar along with the food offerings to the Lord. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

Cases Requiring Sin Offerings

5 “When someone sins in any of these ways:

If he has seen, heard, or known about something he has witnessed, and did not respond to a public call to testify, he will bear his iniquity.^(B)

² Or if someone touches anything unclean^(C)—a carcass of an unclean wild animal,^(D) or unclean livestock, or an unclean swarming creature^(E)—without being aware of it, he is unclean and incurs guilt.^(F)

³ Or if he touches human uncleanness^(G)—any uncleanness by which one can become defiled^(H)—without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt.

⁴ Or if someone swears rashly^(I) to do what is good or evil—concerning anything a person may speak rashly in an oath—without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt in such an instance.

⁵ If someone incurs guilt in one of these cases, he is to confess^(J) he has committed that sin. ⁶ He must bring his penalty for guilt^(K) for the sin he has committed to the Lord: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement^(L) on his behalf for his sin.

⁷ “But if he cannot afford an animal from the flock, then he may bring to the Lord two turtledoves or two young pigeons^(M) as penalty for guilt for his sin—one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. ⁸ He is to bring them to the priest, who will first present the one for the sin offering. He is to twist its head at the back of the neck without severing it.^{(N) 9} Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood is to be drained out at the base of the altar;^(O) it is a sin offering. ¹⁰ He will prepare the second bird as a burnt offering according to the regulation.^(P) In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

¹¹ “But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons,^(Q) he may bring two quarts^[b] of fine flour^[c](R) as an offering for his sin. He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. ¹² He is to bring it to the priest, who will take a handful from it as its memorial portion^(S) and burn it on the altar along with the food offerings to the Lord; it is a sin offering. ¹³ In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf concerning the sin he has committed in any of these cases, and he will be forgiven. The rest will belong to the priest, like the grain offering.”^(T)