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Leviticus 5:14-6:7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Offerings with Restitution

14 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 15 “When any of you commit a trespass and sin unintentionally against any of the holy things of the Lord, you shall bring, as your guilt offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the flock, convertible into silver by the sanctuary shekel; it is a guilt offering.(A) 16 And you shall make restitution for the holy thing in which you were remiss and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. The priest shall make atonement on your behalf with the ram of the guilt offering, and you shall be forgiven.(B)

17 “If any of you sin without knowing it, doing any of the things that by the Lord’s commandments ought not to be done, you have incurred guilt and are subject to punishment.(C) 18 You shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, or the equivalent, as a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the error that you committed unintentionally, and you shall be forgiven.(D) 19 It is a guilt offering; you have incurred guilt before the Lord.”

6 [a]The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “When any of you sin and commit a trespass against the Lord by deceiving a neighbor in a matter of a deposit or a pledge or by robbery or if you have defrauded a neighbor(E) 3 or have found something lost and lied about it—if you swear falsely regarding any of the various things that one may do and sin(F)— 4 when you have sinned and recognize your guilt and would restore what you took by robbery or by fraud or the deposit that was committed to you or the lost thing that you found 5 or anything else about which you have sworn falsely, you shall repay the principal amount and add one-fifth to it. You shall pay it to its owner when you recognize your guilt.(G) 6 And you shall bring to the priest, as your guilt offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering.(H) 7 The priest shall make atonement on your behalf before the Lord, and you shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and incur guilt thereby.”(I)

Footnotes

  1. 6.1 5.20 in Heb
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Leviticus 5:14-6:7
New English Translation

Guilt-Offering Regulations: Known Trespass

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses:[a] 15 “When a person commits a trespass[b] and sins by straying unintentionally[c] from the regulations about the Lord’s holy things,[d] then he must bring his penalty for guilt[e] to the Lord, a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel,[f] for a guilt offering.[g] 16 And whatever holy thing he violated[h] he must restore and must add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest will make atonement[i] on his behalf with the guilt-offering ram and he will be forgiven.[j]

Unknown trespass

17 “If a person sins and violates any of the Lord’s commandments that must not be violated[k] (although he did not know it at the time,[l] but later realizes he is guilty), then he will bear his punishment for iniquity[m] 18 and must bring a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels,[n] for a guilt offering to the priest. So the priest will make atonement[o] on his behalf for his error that he committed[p] (although he himself had not known it) and he will be forgiven.[q] 19 It is a guilt offering; he was surely guilty before the Lord.”

Trespass by Deception and False Oath

6 (5:20)[r] Then the Lord spoke to Moses:[s] 2 “When a person sins and commits a trespass[t] against the Lord by deceiving his fellow citizen[u] in regard to something held in trust, or a pledge, or something stolen, or by extorting something from his fellow citizen,[v] 3 or has found something lost and denies it and swears falsely[w] concerning any one of the things that someone might do to sin[x]— 4 when it happens that he sins and he is found guilty[y] then he must return whatever he had stolen, or whatever he had extorted, or the thing that he had held in trust,[z] or the lost thing that he had found, 5 or anything about which he swears falsely.[aa] He must restore it in full[ab] and add one-fifth to it; he must give it to its owner when he is found guilty.[ac] 6 Then he must bring his guilt offering to the Lord, a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels,[ad] for a guilt offering to the priest. 7 So the priest will make atonement[ae] on his behalf before the Lord and he will be forgiven[af] for whatever he has done to become guilty.”[ag]

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 5:14 sn The quotation introduced here extends from Lev 5:14 through 5:19, encompassing the first main section of guilt offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 1:1; 4:1; and 6:1 [5:20 HT].
  2. Leviticus 5:15 tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root, מַעַל, maʿal); cf. NIV “commits a violation.” The word refers to some kind of overstepping of the boundary between that which is common (i.e., available for common use by common people) and that which is holy (i.e., to be used only for holy purposes because it has been consecrated to the Lord, see further below). See the note on Lev 10:10.
  3. Leviticus 5:15 tn See Lev 4:2 above for a note on “straying.”
  4. Leviticus 5:15 sn Heb “from the holy things of the Lord.” The Hebrew expression here has the same structure as Lev 4:2, “from any of the commandments of the Lord.” The latter introduces the sin offering regulations and the former the guilt offering regulations. The sin offering deals with violations of “any of the commandments,” whereas the guilt offering focuses specifically on violations of regulations regarding “holy things” (i.e., things that have been consecrated to the Lord; see the full discussion in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:320-27).
  5. Leviticus 5:15 tn Here the word for “guilt” (אָשָׁם, ʾasham) refers to the “penalty” for incurring guilt, the so-called consequential use of אָשָׁם (ʾasham; see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:303).
  6. Leviticus 5:15 tn Heb “in your valuation, silver of shekels, in the shekel of the sanctuary.” The translation offered here suggests that, instead of a ram, the guilt offering could be presented in the form of money (see, e.g., NRSV; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:326-27). Others still maintain the view that it refers to the value of the ram that was offered (see, e.g., NIV “of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel”; also NAB, NLT; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 72-73, 81). sn The sanctuary shekel was about 10 grams (= ca. two-fifths of an ounce; J. E. Shepherd, NIDOTTE 4:237-38).
  7. Leviticus 5:15 tn The word for “guilt offering” (sometimes translated “reparation offering”) is the same as “guilt” earlier in the verse (rendered there “[penalty for] guilt”). One can tell which is intended only by the context.sn The primary purpose of the guilt offering was to “atone” (see the note on Lev 1:4 above) for “trespassing” on the Lord’s “holy things” (see later in this verse) or the property of others in the community (Lev 6:1-7 [5:20-26 HT]; 19:20-22; Num 5:5-10). It was closely associated with reconsecration of the Lord’s sacred things or his sacred people (see, e.g., Lev 14:12-18; Num 6:11b-12). Moreover, there was usually an associated reparation made for the trespass, including restitution of that which was violated plus one-fifth of its value as a fine (Lev 5:16; 6:5 [5:24 HT]). See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:557-66.
  8. Leviticus 5:16 tn Heb “and which he sinned from the holy thing.”
  9. Leviticus 5:16 sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.
  10. Leviticus 5:16 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
  11. Leviticus 5:17 tn Heb “and does one from all of the commandments of the Lord that must not be done.”
  12. Leviticus 5:17 tn The words “at the time” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
  13. Leviticus 5:17 tn Heb “and he did not know, and he shall be guilty and he shall bear his iniquity” (for the rendering “bear his punishment [for iniquity]”) see the note on Lev 5:1.) This portion of v. 17 is especially difficult. The translation offered here suggests (as in many other English versions) that the offender did not originally know that he had violated the Lord’s commandments, but then came to know it and dealt with it accordingly (cf. the corresponding sin offering section in Lev 5:1-4). Another possibility is that it refers to a situation where a person suspects that he violated something although he does not recollect it. Thus, he brings a guilt offering for his suspected violation (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:331-34, 361-63). See also R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:561-62.
  14. Leviticus 5:18 tn The statement here is condensed. See the full expression in 5:15 and the note there.
  15. Leviticus 5:18 sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.
  16. Leviticus 5:18 tn Heb “on his straying which he strayed.” See the note on Lev 4:2.
  17. Leviticus 5:18 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV and NASB both similar).
  18. Leviticus 6:1 sn Beginning with 6:1, the verse numbers through 6:30 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 6:1 ET = 5:20 HT, 6:2 ET = 5:21 HT, 6:8 ET = 6:1 HT, etc., through 6:30 ET = 6:23 HT. Beginning with 7:1 the verse numbers in the English text and Hebrew text are again the same.
  19. Leviticus 6:1 sn This paragraph is Lev 6:1-7 in the English Bible but Lev 5:20-26 in the Hebrew text. The quotation introduced by v. 1 extends from Lev 6:2 (5:21 HT) through 6:7 (5:26 HT), encompassing the third main section of guilt offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 1:1; 4:1; and 5:14 above.
  20. Leviticus 6:2 tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root מַעַל, maʿal). See the note on 5:15.
  21. Leviticus 6:2 tn Or “neighbor” (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NASB “companion”; TEV “a fellow-Israelite.”
  22. Leviticus 6:2 tn Heb “has extorted his neighbor”; ASV “oppressed”; NRSV “defrauded.”
  23. Leviticus 6:3 tn Heb “and swears on falsehood”; cf. CEV “deny something while under oath.”
  24. Leviticus 6:3 tn Heb “on one from all which the man shall do to sin in them.”
  25. Leviticus 6:4 tn Heb “and it shall happen, when he sins and becomes guilty,” which is both resumptive of the previous (vv. 2-3) and the conclusion to the protasis (cf. “then” introducing the next clause as the apodosis). In this case, “becomes guilty” (cf. NASB, NIV) probably refers to his legal status as one who has been convicted of a crime in court; thus the translation “he is found guilty.” See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:559-61.
  26. Leviticus 6:4 tn Heb “that had been held in trust with him.”
  27. Leviticus 6:5 tn Heb “or from all which he swears on it to falsehood.”
  28. Leviticus 6:5 tn Heb “in its head.” This refers “the full amount” in terms of the “principal,” the original item or amount obtained illegally (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:338; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 84).
  29. Leviticus 6:5 tn Heb “to whom it is to him he shall give it in the day of his being guilty.” The present translation is based on the view that he has been found guilty through the legal process (see the note on v. 4 above; cf., e.g., TEV and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 33-34). Others translate the latter part as “in the day he offers his guilt [reparation] offering” (e.g., NIV and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 73, 84), or “in the day he realizes his guilt” (e.g., NRSV and J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:319, 338).
  30. Leviticus 6:6 tn The words “into silver shekels” are supplied here. See the full expression in Lev 5:15, and compare 5:18. Cf. NRSV “or its equivalent”; NLT “or the animal’s equivalent value in silver.”
  31. Leviticus 6:7 sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.
  32. Leviticus 6:7 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
  33. Leviticus 6:7 tn Heb “on one from all which he does to become guilty in it”; NAB “whatever guilt he may have incurred.”
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