Old/New Testament
Offerings for Accidental Sins
4 The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 2 “Tell the Israelites this: A person might sin without meaning to and do something that the Lord commanded should not be done. For example:
3 “If the anointed priest[a] makes a mistake that leaves the people guilty for their sin, he must offer a young bull to the Lord as a sin offering. The bull must have nothing wrong with it. 4 The anointed priest must bring the bull to the entrance of the Meeting Tent in front of the Lord. He must put his hand on the bull’s head and kill the bull in front of the Lord. 5 Then the anointed priest must get some of the blood from the bull and take it into the Meeting Tent. 6 He must put his finger in the blood and sprinkle the blood seven times before the Lord in front of the curtain of the Most Holy Place. 7 The priest must put some of the blood on the corners of the incense altar. (This altar is in the Meeting Tent, in front of the Lord.) He must pour out the rest of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. (This altar is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.) 8 Then the priest must take all the fat from the bull of the sin offering. He must take the fat that is on and around the inner parts. 9 He must take the two kidneys and the fat covering them near the lower back muscle. He must also take the fat part of the liver. He must remove it with the kidneys. 10 The priest must lift up these things and burn them on the altar for burnt offerings, just as he does for the fellowship offering.[b] 11-12 But the priest must carry out the bull’s skin, inner parts and body waste, and all the meat, including the head and legs. He must carry those parts outside the camp to the special place where the ashes are poured out. He must put those parts on the wood and burn them there on the ash pile.
13 “The whole nation of Israel might sin without knowing it. They might break one of the commands of the Lord and become guilty of doing something he said must not be done. 14 When they learn about that sin, the community of Israel must offer a young bull as a sin offering for the whole nation. They must bring the bull to the Meeting Tent. 15 The elders of the people must put their hands on the bull’s head in front of the Lord. Then they must kill the bull in front of the Lord. 16 The anointed priest must get some of the bull’s blood and take it into the Meeting Tent. 17 He must put his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times in front of the curtain before the Lord. 18 He must put some of the blood on the corners of the altar. (This altar is inside the Meeting Tent, in front of the Lord.) He must then pour out all the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. (This altar is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.) 19 Then he must take all the fat from the animal and bring it to the altar. 20 He must offer these parts, just as he offered the bull of the sin offering. In this way the priest will make the people pure, and God will forgive them. 21 The priest must carry this bull outside the camp and burn it, just as he burned the other bull. This is the sin offering for the whole community.
22 “A ruler might sin without meaning to and break one of the commands of the Lord. He might do something that his God said must not be done. 23 If he learns about his sin, he must bring a male goat that has nothing wrong with it as his offering. 24 The ruler must put his hand on the goat’s head and kill the goat at the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord. The goat is a sin offering. 25 The priest will take some of the blood of the sin offering on his finger and put it on the corners of the altar of burnt offering. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 26 The priest will burn all the goat’s fat on the altar, just as he does for the fellowship offerings. In this way the priest will make the ruler pure, and God will forgive him.
27 “Finally, one of you common people might sin without meaning to. You might break one of the commands of the Lord and become guilty of doing something he said must not be done. 28 If you learn about that sin, you must bring a female goat that has nothing wrong with it as your sin offering. 29 You must put your hand on the animal’s head and kill it at the place for the burnt offering. 30 Then the priest will take some of the goat’s blood on his finger and put it on the corners of the altar of burnt offering. He will pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 31 The priest will then remove all of its fat, just as he does for the fellowship offerings. Then he will bring it to the altar as a sweet smell to the Lord. The priest will do this to make you pure, and God will forgive you.
32 “If you bring a lamb as your sin offering, then you must bring a female lamb that has nothing wrong with it. 33 You must put your hand on the animal’s head and kill it as a sin offering in the place where people kill the burnt offering. 34 The priest will take some of the blood from the sin offering on his finger and put it on the corners of the altar of burnt offering. He will pour out the rest of the lamb’s blood at the base of the altar. 35 He will then remove all the lamb’s fat, just as he does for the fellowship offerings. Then he will bring it to the altar as a gift to the Lord. The priest will do this to make you pure, and God will forgive you.
Different Accidental Sins
5 “You might be called as a witness and take an oath to tell the truth. If you saw something or knew something but did not tell it, you are guilty of doing wrong and must bear the responsibility for your guilt.
2 “You might touch something unclean. It might be the dead body of any kind of animal. You might not know that you touched these things, but you will still become unclean and must pay a fine.
3 “You might touch any of the many things that can make a person unclean. You might touch something unclean, but not know about it. When you learn that you have touched something unclean, you must pay a fine.
4 “You might make a quick promise to do something—it makes no difference if it is bad or good. People make many kinds of quick promises. You might make such a promise and forget it.[c] When you remember[d] your promise, you must pay a fine because you did not keep it. 5 If you are guilty of any of these things, you must confess whatever you did wrong. 6 Then you must bring your guilt offering to the Lord for the sin you did. You must bring a female lamb or a female goat as a sin offering. The priest will do this to make you pure from your sin.
7 “If you cannot afford a lamb, you must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the Lord. These will be the guilt offering for your sin. One bird must be for a sin offering, and the other must be for a burnt offering. 8 Take them to the priest. First, the priest will offer one bird for the sin offering. The priest will pull the bird’s head from its neck but he will not pull it off completely. 9 The priest will sprinkle the blood from the sin offering on the side of the altar. Then he will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. 10 Then he will offer the second bird according to the rules for a burnt offering. The priest will do this to make you pure from the sin you did, and God will forgive you.
11 “If you cannot afford two doves or two pigeons, you must bring 8 cups[e] of fine flour as your sin offering. You must not put oil or frankincense on the flour because it is a sin offering. 12 You must bring the flour to the priest. The priest will take a handful of the flour as the memorial offering and bring it to the altar as a gift to the Lord. It is a sin offering. 13 The priest will do this to make you pure, and God will forgive you. The part that is left will belong to the priest, just as the regular grain offering.”
14 The Lord gave this command to Moses for the people: 15 “You might promise to give something to the Lord. You might sin against me without meaning to by not giving what you promised. If you do that, you must bring a ram that has nothing wrong with it (or the same amount in silver using the official measure) as a guilt offering. 16 You must give what you promised and add one-fifth of that amount as a fine. Give it to the priest and he will use the ram to make you pure, and God will forgive you.
17 “If you sin and break any of the commands that the Lord said must not be done, you are guilty. Even if you did not know about it, you are still responsible for your sin. 18 You must bring a ram that has nothing wrong with it (or the same amount in silver) to the priest. The priest will offer the ram, and God will forgive you for the sin you did without knowing it. 19 You are guilty, and you must pay the guilt offering to the Lord.”
29 “Right after the trouble of those days, this will happen:
‘The sun will become dark,
and the moon will not give light.
The stars will fall from the sky,
and everything in the sky will be changed.’[a]
30 “Then there will be something in the sky that shows the Son of Man is coming. All the people of the world will cry. Everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in the sky. He will come with power and great glory. 31 He will use a loud trumpet to send his angels all around the earth. They will gather his chosen people from every part of the earth.
32 “The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When its branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is very near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time[b] is very near, already present. 34 I assure you that all these things will happen while some of the people of this time are still living. 35 The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but my words will last forever.
Only God Knows When the Time Will Be(A)
36 “No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know when it will be. Only the Father knows.
37 “When the Son of Man comes, it will be the same as what happened during Noah’s time. 38 In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving their children to be married right up to the day Noah entered the boat. 39 They knew nothing about what was happening until the flood came and destroyed them all.
“It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 40 Two men will be working together in the field. One will be taken and the other will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding grain with a mill. One will be taken and the other will be left.
42 “So always be ready. You don’t know the day your Lord will come. 43 What would a homeowner do if he knew when a thief was coming? You know he would be ready and not let the thief break in. 44 So you also must be ready. The Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him.
Good Servants and Bad Servants(B)
45 “Who is the wise and trusted servant? The master trusts one servant to give the other servants their food at the right time. Who is the one the master trusts to do that work? 46 When the master comes and finds that servant doing the work he gave him, it will be a day of blessing for that servant. 47 I can tell you without a doubt, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns.
48 “But what will happen if that servant is evil and thinks his master will not come back soon? 49 He will begin to beat the other servants. He will eat and drink with others who are drunk. 50 Then the master will come when the servant is not ready, at a time when the servant is not expecting him. 51 Then the master will punish that servant. He will send him away to be with the hypocrites, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International