The Law of Sin Offerings

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If a person sins (A)unintentionally in any of the [a]things which the Lord has (B)commanded not to be done, and commits any of them, (C)if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then he is to offer to the Lord a [b]bull without defect as a sin offering for his sin which he has [c]committed. He shall bring the bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting before the Lord, and (D)he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and slaughter the bull before the Lord. Then the (E)anointed priest is to take some of the blood of the bull and bring it to the tent of meeting, and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the Lord, in front of (F)the veil of the sanctuary. The priest shall also put some of the blood on the horns of (G)the altar of fragrant incense which is before the Lord in the tent of meeting; and all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And (H)he shall remove from it all the fat of the bull of the sin offering: the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the [d]lobe of the liver, which he shall remove (I)with the kidneys 10 (just as it is removed from the ox of the sacrifice of peace offerings); and the priest is to offer them up in smoke on the altar of burnt offering. 11 But (J)the hide of the bull and all its flesh, along with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its refuse, 12 [e]that is, all the rest of the bull, he is to bring out to (K)a clean place outside the camp where the fatty ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the fatty ashes are poured out it shall be burned.

13 (L)Now if the entire congregation of Israel does wrong unintentionally and the matter [f]escapes the notice of the assembly, and they commit any of the [g]things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and they become guilty; 14 (M)when the sin [h]which they have [i]committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer (N)a [j]bull of the herd as a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting. 15 Then (O)the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and the bull shall be slaughtered (P)before the Lord. 16 Then the anointed priest is to bring some of the blood of the bull to the tent of meeting; 17 and (Q)the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil. 18 He shall then put some of the blood on the horns of (R)the altar which is before the Lord [k]in the tent of meeting; and all the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 19 And (S)he shall remove all its fat from it and offer it up in smoke on the altar. 20 He shall also do with the bull just as he did with (T)the bull of the sin offering; he shall do the same with it. So (U)the priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven. 21 Then he is to bring the bull out to a place outside the camp and burn it just as he burned the first bull; it is (V)the sin offering for the assembly.

22 ‘When (W)a leader (X)sins and unintentionally does any of [l]the things which the Lord his God has commanded not to be done, and he becomes guilty, 23 [m](Y)if his sin [n]which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a [o](Z)goat, (AA)a male without defect. 24 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the male goat and slaughter it in the place where they slaughter the burnt offering before the Lord; it is a sin offering. 25 Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on (AB)the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26 And he shall offer (AC)all its fat up in smoke on the altar as in the case of the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. So (AD)the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his sin, and he will be forgiven.

27 ‘Now if [p]anyone of the [q]common people sins (AE)unintentionally by doing any of the [r]things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty, 28 [s](AF)if his sin which he has [t]committed is made known to him, then he shall bring as his offering a [u](AG)goat, a (AH)female without defect, for his sin which he has [v]committed. 29 And (AI)he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and (AJ)slaughter the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering. 30 The priest shall then take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of (AK)the altar of burnt offering; and (AL)all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar. 31 (AM)Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as (AN)a soothing aroma to the Lord. So the priest shall make atonement for him, [w]and he will be forgiven.

32 ‘But if he brings (AO)a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring a female without defect. 33 And (AP)he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it as a sin offering (AQ)in the place where they slaughter the burnt offering. 34 And the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of (AR)the altar of burnt offering, and (AS)all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar. 35 Then he shall remove (AT)all its fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, and the priest shall offer [x]it up in smoke on the altar, on the offerings by fire to the Lord. So (AU)the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his sin which he has [y]committed, and he will be forgiven.

The Law of Guilt Offerings

‘Now if a person sins after he hears a [z]public (AV)order to testify when he is a witness, whether he has seen or otherwise known, if he does not tell it, then he will bear his punishment. Or if a person touches (AW)any unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean animal, or the carcass of unclean cattle, or a carcass of unclean swarming things, though it is hidden from him and he is unclean, then he will be guilty. Or if he touches human uncleanness, of whatever sort his uncleanness may be with which he becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, and then he comes to know it, he will be guilty. Or if a person (AX)swears thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, in whatever matter people speak thoughtlessly with an oath, and it is hidden from him, and then he comes to know it, he will be guilty of one of these things. So it shall be when he becomes guilty of one of these things, that he shall (AY)confess that in which he has sinned. He shall also bring his guilt offering to the Lord for his sin which he has [aa]committed, (AZ)a female from the flock, a lamb or a [ab]goat as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin.

‘But if [ac]he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring to the Lord his guilt offering for that in which he has sinned, two turtledoves or two young doves, (BA)one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. He shall bring them to the priest, who shall first offer that which is for the sin offering, and shall pinch off its head at the front of its neck, but he (BB)shall not sever it. He shall also sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering (BC)on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood shall be drained out (BD)at the base of the altar: it is a sin offering. 10 The second he shall then prepare as a burnt offering (BE)according to the ordinance. (BF)So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin which he has [ad]committed, and it will be forgiven him.

11 ‘But (BG)if his [ae]means are insufficient for two turtledoves or two young doves, then for his offering for that which he has sinned, he shall bring the tenth of an [af]ephah of fine flour as a sin offering; (BH)he shall not put oil on it or place incense on it, for it is a sin offering. 12 He shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it as its memorial portion and offer it up in smoke on the altar, [ag]with the offerings of the Lord by fire: it is a sin offering. 13 So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin which he has [ah]committed from (BI)one of these, and it will be forgiven him; then (BJ)the rest shall become the priest’s, like the grain offering.’”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 4:2 Lit commands of the Lord which are not to be done
  2. Leviticus 4:3 Lit bull of the herd
  3. Leviticus 4:3 Lit sinned
  4. Leviticus 4:9 Or appendage on
  5. Leviticus 4:12 Lit and
  6. Leviticus 4:13 Lit is hidden from the eyes of
  7. Leviticus 4:13 Lit commands of the Lord which are not to be done
  8. Leviticus 4:14 Lit concerning which
  9. Leviticus 4:14 Lit sinned
  10. Leviticus 4:14 Lit son of the herd
  11. Leviticus 4:18 Lit which is in
  12. Leviticus 4:22 Lit all commands of the Lord which are not to be done
  13. Leviticus 4:23 Lit or
  14. Leviticus 4:23 Lit in which he has sinned
  15. Leviticus 4:23 Lit buck of the goats
  16. Leviticus 4:27 Lit one soul
  17. Leviticus 4:27 Lit people of the land
  18. Leviticus 4:27 Lit commands of the Lord which are not to be done
  19. Leviticus 4:28 Lit or
  20. Leviticus 4:28 Lit sinned
  21. Leviticus 4:28 Or female goat
  22. Leviticus 4:28 Lit sinned
  23. Leviticus 4:31 Or so that he may be
  24. Leviticus 4:35 Lit them
  25. Leviticus 4:35 Lit sinned
  26. Leviticus 5:1 Lit voice of a curse
  27. Leviticus 5:6 Lit sinned
  28. Leviticus 5:6 Lit female goat
  29. Leviticus 5:7 Lit his hand does not reach enough for
  30. Leviticus 5:10 Lit sinned
  31. Leviticus 5:11 Lit hand does not reach
  32. Leviticus 5:11 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
  33. Leviticus 5:12 Lit upon
  34. Leviticus 5:13 Lit sinned

Procedures for the Sin Offering

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. This is how you are to deal with those who sin unintentionally by doing anything that violates one of the Lord’s commands.

“If the high priest[a] sins, bringing guilt upon the entire community, he must give a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He must present to the Lord a young bull with no defects. He must bring the bull to the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle,[b] lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter it before the Lord. The high priest will then take some of the bull’s blood into the Tabernacle, dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the inner curtain of the sanctuary. The priest will then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for fragrant incense that stands in the Lord’s presence inside the Tabernacle. He will pour out the rest of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Then the priest must remove all the fat of the bull to be offered as a sin offering. This includes all the fat around the internal organs, the two kidneys and the fat around them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver. He must remove these along with the kidneys, 10 just as he does with cattle offered as a peace offering, and burn them on the altar of burnt offerings. 11 But he must take whatever is left of the bull—its hide, meat, head, legs, internal organs, and dung— 12 and carry it away to a place outside the camp that is ceremonially clean, the place where the ashes are dumped. There, on the ash heap, he will burn it on a wood fire.

13 “If the entire Israelite community sins by violating one of the Lord’s commands, but the people don’t realize it, they are still guilty. 14 When they become aware of their sin, the people must bring a young bull as an offering for their sin and present it before the Tabernacle. 15 The elders of the community must then lay their hands on the bull’s head and slaughter it before the Lord. 16 The high priest will then take some of the bull’s blood into the Tabernacle, 17 dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the inner curtain. 18 He will then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for fragrant incense that stands in the Lord’s presence inside the Tabernacle. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 19 Then the priest must remove all the animal’s fat and burn it on the altar, 20 just as he does with the bull offered as a sin offering for the high priest. Through this process, the priest will purify the people, making them right with the Lord,[c] and they will be forgiven. 21 Then the priest must take what is left of the bull and carry it outside the camp and burn it there, just as is done with the sin offering for the high priest. This offering is for the sin of the entire congregation of Israel.

22 “If one of Israel’s leaders sins by violating one of the commands of the Lord his God but doesn’t realize it, he is still guilty. 23 When he becomes aware of his sin, he must bring as his offering a male goat with no defects. 24 He must lay his hand on the goat’s head and slaughter it at the place where burnt offerings are slaughtered before the Lord. This is an offering for his sin. 25 Then the priest will dip his finger in the blood of the sin offering and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 26 Then he must burn all the goat’s fat on the altar, just as he does with the peace offering. Through this process, the priest will purify the leader from his sin, making him right with the Lord, and he will be forgiven.

27 “If any of the common people sin by violating one of the Lord’s commands, but they don’t realize it, they are still guilty. 28 When they become aware of their sin, they must bring as an offering for their sin a female goat with no defects. 29 They must lay a hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place where burnt offerings are slaughtered. 30 Then the priest will dip his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 31 Then he must remove all the goat’s fat, just as he does with the fat of the peace offering. He will burn the fat on the altar, and it will be a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Through this process, the priest will purify the people, making them right with the Lord, and they will be forgiven.

32 “If the people bring a sheep as their sin offering, it must be a female with no defects. 33 They must lay a hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place where burnt offerings are slaughtered. 34 Then the priest will dip his finger in the blood of the sin offering and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 35 Then he must remove all the sheep’s fat, just as he does with the fat of a sheep presented as a peace offering. He will burn the fat on the altar on top of the special gifts presented to the Lord. Through this process, the priest will purify the people from their sin, making them right with the Lord, and they will be forgiven.

Sins Requiring a Sin Offering

“If you are called to testify about something you have seen or that you know about, it is sinful to refuse to testify, and you will be punished for your sin.

“Or suppose you unknowingly touch something that is ceremonially unclean, such as the carcass of an unclean animal. When you realize what you have done, you must admit your defilement and your guilt. This is true whether it is a wild animal, a domestic animal, or an animal that scurries along the ground.

“Or suppose you unknowingly touch something that makes a person unclean. When you realize what you have done, you must admit your guilt.

“Or suppose you make a foolish vow of any kind, whether its purpose is for good or for bad. When you realize its foolishness, you must admit your guilt.

“When you become aware of your guilt in any of these ways, you must confess your sin. Then you must bring to the Lord as the penalty for your sin a female from the flock, either a sheep or a goat. This is a sin offering with which the priest will purify you from your sin, making you right with the Lord.[d]

“But if you cannot afford to bring a sheep, you may bring to the Lord two turtledoves or two young pigeons as the penalty for your sin. One of the birds will be for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. You must bring them to the priest, who will present the first bird as the sin offering. He will wring its neck but without severing its head from the body. Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering against the sides of the altar, and the rest of the blood will be drained out at the base of the altar. This is an offering for sin. 10 The priest will then prepare the second bird as a burnt offering, following all the procedures that have been prescribed. Through this process the priest will purify you from your sin, making you right with the Lord, and you will be forgiven.

11 “If you cannot afford to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, you may bring two quarts[e] of choice flour for your sin offering. Since it is an offering for sin, you must not moisten it with olive oil or put any frankincense on it. 12 Take the flour to the priest, who will scoop out a handful as a representative portion. He will burn it on the altar on top of the special gifts presented to the Lord. It is an offering for sin. 13 Through this process, the priest will purify those who are guilty of any of these sins, making them right with the Lord, and they will be forgiven. The rest of the flour will belong to the priest, just as with the grain offering.”

Footnotes

  1. 4:3 Hebrew the anointed priest; also in 4:5, 16.
  2. 4:4 Hebrew Tent of Meeting; also in 4:5, 7, 14, 16, 18.
  3. 4:20 Or will make atonement for the people; similarly in 4:26, 31, 35.
  4. 5:6 Or will make atonement for you for your sin; similarly in 5:10, 13, 16, 18.
  5. 5:11 Hebrew 1⁄10 of an ephah [2.2 liters].