Leviticus 4:22–23

For the Leader

4:22 “ ‘Whenever44 a leader, by straying unintentionally,45 sins and violates one of the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be violated,46 and he pleads guilty, 4:23 or his sin that he committed47 is made known to him,48 he must bring a flawless male goat as his offering.49

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44	tn This section begins with the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’asher) which usually means “who” or “which,” but here means “whenever.”
45	tn See the Lev 4:2 note on “straying.”
46	tn Heb “and does one from all the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be done”; cf. NRSV “ought not to be done”; NIV “does what is forbidden in any of the commands.”
47	tn Heb “or his sin which he sinned in it is made known to him”; NAB “if he learns of the sin he committed.”
48	tn Lev 4:22b–23a is difficult. The present translation suggests that there are two possible legal situations envisioned, separated by the Hebrew אוֹ (’o, “or”) at the beginning of v. 23. Lev 4:22b refers to any case in which the leader readily admits his guilt (i.e., “pleads guilty”), whereas v. 23a refers to cases where the leader is convicted of his guilt by legal action (“his sin … is made known to him”). See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:95–96; Lev 4:27–28; and esp. the notes on Lev 5:1 below.
49	tn Heb “a he-goat of goats, a male without defect”; cf. NLT “with no physical defects.”