The Sin Offering

4 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the people of Israel this: ‘A person might sin by accident. He might do some things the Lord has commanded not to be done. If so, that person must do these things:

³ “‘It may be the appointed priest who has sinned. If so, he has brought guilt on the people. So he must offer a young bull to the Lord. It must have nothing wrong with it. This will be a sin offering for the sin he has done. ⁴ He will bring the bull to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. He must bring it in front of the Lord. Then he will put his hand on the bull’s head. And he will kill the bull before the Lord. ⁵ Then the appointed priest must bring some of the bull’s blood into the Meeting Tent. ⁶ The priest is to dip his finger into the blood. He must sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the curtain. This curtain is in front of the Most Holy Place. ⁷ The priest must also put some of the blood on the corners of the altar of incense. It stands before the Lord in the Meeting Tent. Then the priest must pour out the rest of the bull’s blood. It must be poured at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering. That altar is at the door of the Meeting Tent. ⁸ He must remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering. He must remove the fat on and around the inner organs. ⁹ He must remove both kidneys and the fat on them. They are near the lower back muscle. He must remove the best part of the liver with the kidneys. ¹⁰ He must do this in the same way the fat is removed from the bull of the fellowship offering. Then the priest must burn the animal parts on the altar of burnt offering. ^11-12 But the priest must carry out the skin of the bull and all its meat. He must take these with the rest of the bull—its head, legs, intestines and other inner organs. He must take it outside the camp to the special clean place where the ashes are poured out. He must burn it on a wood fire on the pile of ashes.

¹³ “‘The whole nation of Israel might sin without knowing it. They might do something the Lord has commanded not to be done. If this happens, they are guilty. ¹⁴ When they learn about the sin they have done, a young bull must be offered. It is a sin offering for the whole nation. They must bring it and give it before the Meeting Tent. ¹⁵ The elders of the group of people must put their hands on the bull’s head. It must be done before the Lord. And the bull must be killed before the Lord. ¹⁶ Then the appointed priest must bring some of the bull’s blood into the Meeting Tent. ¹⁷ The priest will dip his finger in the blood. He must sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the curtain. ¹⁸ Then he must put some of the blood on the corners of the altar. The altar is before the Lord in the Meeting Tent. The priest must pour out the rest of the blood. He must pour it at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering. That altar is at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. ¹⁹ The priest must remove all the fat from the animal. And he must burn it on the altar. ²⁰ He will do the same thing with this bull that he did with the first bull of the sin offering. In this way the priest removes the sins of the people so they will belong to the Lord. And the Lord will forgive them. ²¹ Then the priest must carry the bull outside the camp and burn it. He must do this just as he did with the first bull. This is the sin offering for the whole community.

²² “‘A ruler might sin by accident. He might do something the Lord his God has commanded must not be done. If he does, he is guilty. ²³ When he learns about his sin, he must bring a male goat. It must have nothing wrong with it. That will be his sin offering. ²⁴ The ruler must put his hand on the goat’s head and kill it. This must be done where they kill the whole burnt offering before the Lord. The goat is a sin offering. ²⁵ The priest must take some of the blood of the sin offering on his finger. He must put it on the corners of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering. ²⁶ He must burn all the goat’s fat on the altar. He must burn it in the same way he burns the fat of the fellowship offerings. In this way the priest removes the ruler’s sin so he belongs to the Lord. And the Lord will forgive him.

²⁷ “‘A person in the community might sin by accident. He might do something which the Lord has commanded must not be done. He is guilty of sin. ²⁸ When the person learns about his sin, he must bring a female goat. It must have nothing wrong with it. That will be his sin offering. ²⁹ He must put his hand on the animal’s head. He must kill it at the place of the whole burnt offering. ³⁰ Then the priest must take some of the goat’s blood on his finger. He must put it on the corners of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of the goat’s blood at the bottom of the altar. ³¹ Then the priest must remove all the goat’s fat. He must do it in the same way the fat is removed from the fellowship offerings. He must burn it on the altar. Its smell is pleasing to the Lord. In this way the priest will remove that person’s sin so he will belong to the Lord. And the Lord will forgive him.

³² “‘This person may bring a lamb as his sin offering. If he does, he must bring a female. It must have nothing wrong with it. ³³ The person must put his hand on the animal’s head. He must kill it as a sin offering. He must kill it where they kill the whole burnt offering. ³⁴ The priest must take some of the blood from the sin offering on his finger. He must put it on the corners of the altar of burnt offering. Then he must pour out the rest of the lamb’s blood at the bottom of the altar. ³⁵ The priest must remove all the lamb’s fat. He must do it in the same way that the lamb’s fat is removed from the fellowship offerings. He must burn the pieces on the altar. They go on top of the offerings made by fire for the Lord. In this way the priest will remove that person’s sins so he will belong to the Lord. And the Lord will forgive him.