Leviticus 6–7

6TH CHAPTER^a

For Sins against the Lord’s People

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, ²“If any of you sin against the Lord by failing to do your duty, if you lie to your neighbor about something you were supposed to take care of or if you lie about something stolen or seized from your neighbor, you are sinning and will be guilty. ³If you find something that someone lost and lie about it under oath, or commit any other sin like this, ⁴you are sinning and will be guilty. Return what you stole or seized, what you were supposed to take care of, the lost item you found, ⁵or whatever it was that you swore falsely about. Pay it back in full plus one-fifth more. Give it back to its owner on the day you bring your guilt offering. ⁶Then bring the Lord your guilt offering, a ram that has no defects or its value in money. Bring it to the priest. ⁷So the priest will make peace with the Lord. Then you will be forgiven for whatever you did that made you guilty.” 

Instructions for Taking Care of the Fire

⁸The Lord spoke to Moses, ⁹“Command Aaron and his sons: These are the instructions for the burnt offering that stays on the altar overnight while the altar fire is kept burning. 

¹⁰“The priest must put on his linen clothes, including his linen undergarments. Then he will remove the ashes left on the altar from the fire that consumed the burnt offering and will put them next to the altar. ¹¹Then he will take off these clothes and put on some others. He will take the ashes to a clean place outside the camp. ¹²The fire must always be burning on the altar. It must never go out. The priest will burn wood on it every morning. He will lay the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offering. ¹³The fire must always be burning on the altar. It must never go out. 

The Grain Offering from the People

¹⁴“These are the instructions for the grain offering. Aaron’s sons must bring it into the Lord’s presence in front of the altar. ¹⁵One of them will remove a handful of flour from the grain offering, together with the olive oil and all the incense. He will burn it on the altar as a reminder. It is a soothing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁶Aaron and his sons will eat the rest of it. They will eat unleavened bread in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. ¹⁷Don’t use yeast in baking the bread. I have given it to them as their share from the offerings by fire made to me. It is very holy like the offering for sin and the guilt offering. ¹⁸Every male descendant of Aaron may eat it. It is a permanent law for generations to come regarding the offering by fire to the Lord. Everyone who touches it will become holy.” 

Special Grain Offerings from the Priests

¹⁹The Lord spoke to Moses, ²⁰“This is the offering that Aaron and his sons must bring to the Lord on the day he is anointed—eight cups of flour. They must do this every day. He must offer half of it in the morning and half in the evening. ²¹Prepare it in a frying pan with olive oil, mixing it well. Offer baked pieces of the grain offering as a soothing aroma to the Lord. ²²Aaron’s son who is anointed to take his place as priest will prepare it. This is a permanent law of the Lord: It must be completely burned. ²³Every grain offering made by a priest must be completely burned. It must not be eaten.” 

Instructions for the Offering for Sin

²⁴The Lord spoke to Moses, ²⁵“Tell Aaron and his sons: These are the instructions for the offering for sin. The offering for sin must be slaughtered in the Lord’s presence in the same place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. It is very holy. ²⁶The priest who makes the offering for sin will eat it in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. ²⁷Anything that touches its meat will be holy. If blood gets on someone’s clothes, he must wash them in a holy place. ²⁸Any piece of pottery in which the offering for sin is cooked must be broken into pieces. Any copper kettle in which the offering for sin is cooked must be scoured and rinsed with water. ²⁹Any male among the priests may eat the offering for sin. It is very holy. ³⁰Any offering for sin must not be eaten if some of the blood was brought into the holy place in the tent of meeting to make peace with the Lord. It must be burned.” 

7TH CHAPTER

Instructions for the Guilt Offering

¹⸤The Lord continued,⸥ “These are the instructions for the guilt offering. It is very holy. ²It must be slaughtered in the same place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. ⸤A priest⸥ will throw the blood against the altar on all sides. ³He will offer all the fat, the fat from the tail, the fat covering the internal organs, ⁴and the two kidneys with the fat on them. He will also remove the lobe of the liver along with the kidneys. ⁵The priest will burn them on the altar. It is a guilt offering by fire to the Lord. ⁶Any male among the priests may eat it. It will be eaten in a holy place. It is very holy. 

⁷“The same instructions apply to the offering for sin and the guilt offering. Both offerings belong to the priest to make peace with the Lord. ⁸The skin of the burnt offering belongs to the priest who sacrifices it. ⁹Every grain offering, whether baked in an oven or prepared in a skillet or a frying pan, belongs to the priest who offers it. ¹⁰Every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, will be shared equally by all of Aaron’s sons. 

Instructions for the Fellowship Offering of Thanksgiving

¹¹“These are the instructions for the fellowship offering that you must bring to the Lord. ¹²If you offer it as a thank offering, you must also bring rings of unleavened bread mixed with olive oil, wafers of unleavened bread brushed with olive oil, and loaves made from flour mixed well with olive oil. ¹³In addition to these rings of bread, you must bring bread with yeast along with your fellowship offering of thanksgiving. ¹⁴From every offering you must bring one loaf to the Lord as a ⸤special⸥ contribution. It will belong to the priest who throws the blood of the fellowship offering. 

¹⁵“The meat from your fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered. Never leave any of it until morning. 

Instructions for Other Fellowship Offerings

¹⁶“If your sacrificial offering is something you vowed or a freewill offering, it must be eaten the day you offer it or the next day. ¹⁷However, on the third day any meat left over from the sacrifice must be burned. ¹⁸You will not be accepted if any meat from the fellowship offering is eaten on the third day. You will not receive credit for it. It is repulsive to God. The person who eats any of it must be punished. 

¹⁹“Meat that touches anything unclean must not be eaten. It must be burned. Anyone who is clean may eat from these sacrifices. ²⁰Those who eat meat from the Lord’s fellowship offering while unclean must be excluded from the people. ²¹Those who touch anything unclean, human or animal, or any other disgusting uncleanness and still eat the Lord’s fellowship offering must be excluded from the people.” 

No Fat or Blood May Be Eaten

²²The Lord spoke to Moses, ²³“Tell the Israelites: Never eat any fat from bulls, sheep, or goats. ²⁴The fat from an animal that dies naturally or is killed by wild animals you may use for any other purpose, but you must never eat it. ²⁵Those who eat the fat from an animal which they sacrificed by fire to the Lord must be excluded from the people. 

²⁶“Never eat the blood of any bird or animal no matter where you live. ²⁷Those who eat any blood must be excluded from the people.” 

Dividing the Fellowship Offering between the People and the Priests

²⁸The Lord spoke to Moses, ²⁹“Tell the Israelites: Anyone who offers the Lord a fellowship offering must bring a part of that sacrifice as a gift to the Lord. ³⁰Bring the sacrifices by fire made to the Lord yourself. Bring the fat with the breast. Take the breast and present it to the Lord. 

³¹“The priest will burn the fat on the altar. However, the breast will belong to Aaron and his sons. ³²You will also give the priest the right thigh as a contribution. ³³When any of Aaron’s sons offer the blood and fat of the fellowship offering, the right thigh will belong to him as his share. ³⁴From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that was presented ⸤to me⸥ and the thigh from the contribution offering. I have given them to the priest Aaron and his sons. This is a permanent law for generations to come. 

³⁵“This is the share for Aaron and his sons from the sacrifices by fire made to the Lord. It was given to them on the day Moses ordained them to serve the Lord as priests. ³⁶The Lord commanded the Israelites to give it to them on the day he anointed them. This is a permanent law for generations to come.” 

Summary of Offerings

³⁷These are the instructions for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the offering for sin, the guilt offering, the ordination offering, and the fellowship offering. ³⁸On Mount Sinai the Lord gave Moses commands about these offerings at the same time that he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to him in the Sinai Desert.