Leviticus 4:1-5:13
English Standard Version
Laws for Sin Offerings
4 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, (A)If anyone sins unintentionally[a] in any of the Lord's commandments (B)about things not to be done, and does any one of them, 3 if it is the anointed priest who (C)sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for the sin that he has committed (D)a bull from the herd without blemish to the Lord for a sin offering. 4 He shall bring the bull to the (E)entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord and lay his hand on the head of the bull and kill the bull before the Lord. 5 And the anointed priest (F)shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting, 6 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and (G)sprinkle part of the blood seven times before the Lord in front of the veil of the sanctuary. 7 And the priest (H)shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before the Lord that is in the tent of meeting, and (I)all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall remove from it, (J)the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails 9 (K)and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys 10 (just as these are taken from the ox of the sacrifice of the peace offerings); and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. 11 But (L)the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung— 12 all the rest of the bull—he shall carry (M)outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall (N)burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.
13 (O)“If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally[b] and (P)the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any one of the things that by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt,[c] 14 (Q)when the sin which they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull from the herd for a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting. 15 And the elders of the congregation (R)shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and the bull shall be killed before the Lord. 16 Then (S)the anointed priest shall bring some of the blood of the bull into the tent of meeting, 17 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the veil. 18 And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is in the tent of meeting before the Lord, and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 19 And all its fat he shall take from it and burn on the altar. 20 Thus shall he do with the bull. As he did (T)with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this. (U)And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven. 21 And he shall carry the bull (V)outside the camp and burn it up as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.
22 “When a leader sins, (W)doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by the commandments of the Lord his God ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, 23 or (X)the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without blemish, 24 and (Y)shall lay his hand on the head of the goat and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord; it is a sin offering. 25 (Z)Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26 And all its fat he shall burn on the altar, like (AA)the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. So (AB)the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin, and he shall be forgiven.
27 “If (AC)anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, 28 (AD)or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. 29 (AE)And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering. 30 And the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 31 And (AF)all its fat he shall remove, (AG)as the fat is removed from the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a (AH)pleasing aroma to the Lord. (AI)And the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.
32 “If he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring (AJ)a female without blemish 33 (AK)and lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. 34 Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 35 And all its fat he shall remove (AL)as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on top of the Lord's food offerings. (AM)And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.
5 “If anyone sins in that he hears a public (AN)adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall (AO)bear his iniquity; 2 or (AP)if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean wild animal or a carcass of unclean livestock or a carcass of unclean swarming things, and it is hidden from him and he has become unclean, and he realizes his guilt; 3 or if he touches (AQ)human uncleanness, of whatever sort the uncleanness may be with which one becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and realizes his guilt; 4 or if anyone utters with his lips a (AR)rash oath to do evil or to do good, any sort of rash oath that people (AS)swear, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and he realizes his guilt in any of these; 5 when he realizes his guilt in any of these and (AT)confesses the sin he has committed, 6 he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation[d] for the sin that he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.
7 “But (AU)if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation for the sin that he has committed two (AV)turtledoves or two pigeons,[e] one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 8 He shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first the one for the sin offering. He shall (AW)wring its head from its neck (AX)but shall not sever it completely, 9 and he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while (AY)the rest of the blood shall be drained out (AZ)at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering. 10 Then he shall offer the second for a burnt offering according to the rule. (BA)And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.
11 “But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for the sin that he has committed a (BB)tenth of an ephah[f] of fine flour for a sin offering. He (BC)shall put no oil on it and shall put no frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. 12 And he shall bring it to (BD)the priest, and the priest shall take a handful of it as its memorial portion and (BE)burn this on the altar, on the Lord's food offerings; it is a sin offering. 13 Thus (BF)the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in any one of these things, and he shall be forgiven. And the remainder[g] shall be for the priest, as in the grain offering.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 4:2 Or by mistake; so throughout Leviticus
- Leviticus 4:13 Or makes a mistake
- Leviticus 4:13 Or suffer for their guilt, or are guilty; also verses 22, 27, and chapter 5
- Leviticus 5:6 Hebrew his guilt penalty; so throughout Leviticus
- Leviticus 5:7 Septuagint two young pigeons; also verse 11
- Leviticus 5:11 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
- Leviticus 5:13 Septuagint; Hebrew it
Leviticus 4:1-5:13
Common English Bible
The purification offering
4 The Lord said to Moses, 2 Say to the Israelites: Do the following whenever someone sins unintentionally against any of the Lord’s commands, doing something that shouldn’t be done:
3 If it is the anointed priest who has sinned, making the people guilty of sin, he must present to the Lord a flawless bull from the herd as a purification offering[a] for the sin he has committed. 4 He will bring the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the meeting tent and press his hand on the bull’s head. Then he will slaughter the bull before the Lord. 5 The anointed priest will take some of the bull’s blood and take it into the meeting tent. 6 The priest will dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the Lord, toward the sanctuary’s inner curtain. 7 Then the priest will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of perfumed incense, which is in the meeting tent before the Lord. But he will pour out all the rest of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar of entirely burned offerings, which is at the meeting tent’s entrance. 8 Then he will remove all the fat from the bull for the purification offering: the fat that covers and surrounds the insides; 9 the two kidneys and the fat around them at the loins; and the lobe on the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys, 10 just as this is removed from the ox for the communal sacrifice of well-being. Then the priest will completely burn these on the altar of entirely burned offerings. 11 But the bull’s hide and all of its flesh, along with its head, lower legs, entrails, and dung— 12 all that remains of the bull—will be taken to a clean location outside the camp, to the ash heap. It should be burned there at the ash heap on a wood fire.
13 If it is the entire Israelite community that has done something wrong unintentionally and the deed escapes the assembly’s notice—but they’ve done something that shouldn’t be done in violation of the Lord’s commands, becoming guilty of sin— 14 once the sin that they committed becomes known, the assembly must present a bull from the herd as a purification offering. They will bring it before the meeting tent. 15 The community elders will press their hands on the bull’s head before the Lord and then slaughter it before the Lord. 16 The anointed priest will take some of the bull’s blood into the meeting tent. 17 The priest will dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord toward the inner curtain. 18 Then he will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the Lord in the meeting tent. But he will pour all the rest of the blood out at the base of the altar of entirely burned offerings that is at the meeting tent’s entrance. 19 Then he will remove all the fat from it and completely burn it on the altar. 20 He will do the same with this bull as he did with the other bull for the purification offering; that is exactly what he must do. In this way, the priest will make reconciliation for them, and they will be forgiven. 21 Then the priest will take the bull outside the camp and burn it, just as the first bull was burned. It is the purification offering for the assembly.
22 If a leader sins by unintentionally breaking any of the commands of the Lord his God, doing something that shouldn’t be done, and becomes guilty of sin— 23 once the sin that he committed is made known to him—he must bring as his offering a flawless male goat. 24 He will press his hand on the goat’s head. It will be slaughtered[b] at the place where an entirely burned offering would be slaughtered before the Lord. It is a purification offering. 25 The priest will take some of the blood from the purification offering and, using his finger, will put it on the horns of the altar of entirely burned offerings. But he will pour the rest of the blood out at the base of the altar of entirely burned offerings. 26 He will completely burn all of its fat on the altar just as the fat of the communal sacrifice of well-being is burned. In this way the priest will make reconciliation for the leader to remove his sin, and he will be forgiven.
27 If any ordinary person[c] sins unintentionally by breaking one of the Lord’s commands, doing something that shouldn’t be done, and becomes guilty of sin— 28 once the sin they committed is made known to them—they must bring as their offering a flawless female goat because of the sin that was committed. 29 They will press their hand on the head of the purification offering. It will be slaughtered[d] at the place for the entirely burned offerings. 30 The priest will take some of its blood and, using his finger, will put it on the horns of the altar of entirely burned offerings. But he will pour all the rest of the blood out at the base of the altar. 31 He will remove all of its fat, just as the fat from a communal sacrifice of well-being is removed. Then the priest will completely burn it on the altar as a soothing smell to the Lord. In this way, the priest will make reconciliation for them, and they will be forgiven.
32 If you offer a sheep as a purification offering, it must be a flawless female. 33 You must press your hand on the head of the purification offering. It will be slaughtered[e] as a purification offering in the place where the entirely burned offering is slaughtered. 34 Then the priest will take some of the blood from the purification offering and, using his finger, will put it on the horns of the altar of entirely burned offerings. But he will pour all the rest of the blood out at the base of the altar. 35 He will remove all of its fat, just as the fat of a sheep would be removed from the communal sacrifice of well-being. Then the priest will completely burn it on the altar along with the Lord’s food gifts. In this way, the priest will make reconciliation for you for the sin you committed, and you will be forgiven.
Unintentional sin
5 If you sin:
by not providing information after hearing a public solemn pledge even though you are a witness, knowing something, or having seen something so that you become liable to punishment;
2 or by touching some unclean thing—the dead body of an unclean wild animal, unclean livestock, or unclean swarming creature—but the fact goes unknown so that you become unclean and guilty of sin;
3 or by touching human uncleanness—any uncleanness that makes one unclean—and the fact goes unknown, but you later learn of it and become guilty of sin;
4 or by carelessly swearing to do something, whether bad or good—whatever one might swear carelessly—and the fact goes unknown, but you later learn of it and become guilty of sin concerning one of these things—
5 at that point, when you have become guilty of sin in one of these ways, you must confess how you have sinned 6 and bring to the Lord as compensation for the sin that was committed a female from the flock, either a sheep or goat, as a purification offering. The priest will then make reconciliation for you, to remove your sin.
Alternative offerings
7 If you can’t afford an animal from the flock, you can bring to the Lord as compensation for your sin two doves or two pigeons, one as a purification offering and the other as an entirely burned offering. 8 You will bring them to the priest, who will first present the one for the purification offering. He will pinch off its head at the back of its neck without splitting it. 9 Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the purification offering on the side of the altar. The rest of the blood will be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a purification offering. 10 Then, with the second bird, the priest will perform an entirely burned offering according to the regulation. In this way, the priest will make reconciliation for you because of the sin you committed, and you will be forgiven.
11 If you cannot afford two doves or two pigeons, you can bring as the offering for your sin a tenth of an ephah[f] of choice flour as a purification offering. You must not put any oil on it, nor any frankincense, because it is a purification offering. 12 You will bring it to the priest, and the priest will take a handful from it—the token portion—and will burn it completely on the altar along with the food gifts for the Lord. It is a purification offering. 13 In this way, the priest will make reconciliation for you for whichever one of the sins you committed, and you will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest like the grain offering.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 4:3 Or sin offering (Heb hatta’t, which recurs frequently in Leviticus)
- Leviticus 4:24 Or He will slaughter it … where he would slaughter
- Leviticus 4:27 Or one of the people of the land
- Leviticus 4:29 Or They will slaughter it.
- Leviticus 4:33 Or You will slaughter it.
- Leviticus 5:11 Two quarts; one ephah is approximately twenty quarts dry.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible