Leviticus 5

Cases Requiring Sin Offerings

5“When someone sins in any of these ways:

If he has seen, heard, or known about something he has witnessed, and did not respond to a public call to testify, he is responsible for his sin. ^v

²Or if someone touches anything unclean ^w—a carcass of an unclean wild animal, ^xor unclean livestock, or an unclean swarming creature ^yz—without being aware of it, he is unclean and guilty. ^a

³Or if he touches human uncleanness ^b—any uncleanness by which one can become defiled ^c—without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he is guilty.

⁴Or if someone swears rashly ^dto do what is good or evil—concerning anything a person may speak rashly in an oath—without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt in such an instance. ^e

⁵If someone incurs guilt in one of these cases, he is to confess ^fhe has committed that sin. ⁶He must bring his restitution ^gfor the sin he has committed to the Lord: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement ^hon his behalf for his sin.

⁷“But if he cannot afford an animal from the flock, then he may bring to the Lord two turtledoves or two young pigeons ⁱas restitution for his sin—one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. ⁸He is to bring them to the priest, who will first present the one for the sin offering. He must twist its head at the back of the neck without severing it. ^j9Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood is to be drained out at the base of the altar; ^kit is a sin offering. ¹⁰He must prepare the second bird as a burnt offering according to the regulation. ^lIn this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

¹¹“But if he cannot afford ^mtwo turtledoves or two young pigeons, ⁿhe may bring two quarts ^oof fine ^pflour ^qras an offering for his sin. He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. ¹²He is to bring it to the priest, who will take a handful from it as its memorial portion ^sand burn it on the altar along with the fire offerings to the Lord; it is a sin offering. ¹³In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf concerning the sin he has committed in any of these cases, and he will be forgiven. The rest will belong to the priest, like the grain offering.” ^t

The Restitution Offering

¹⁴Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁵“If someone offends ^uby sinning unintentionally ^vin regard to any of the Lord’s holy things, ^whe must bring his restitution offering to the Lord: an unblemished ram from the flock (based on your assessment of its value in silver shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel ^x) as a restitution offering. ¹⁶He must make restitution ^yfor his sin regarding any holy ^zthing, adding a fifth of its value to it, ^aand give it to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf with the ram of the restitution offering, and he will be forgiven. ^b

¹⁷“If someone sins and without knowing it violates any of the Lord’s commands concerning anything prohibited, he bears the consequences of his guilt. ¹⁸He must bring an unblemished ram from the flock according to your assessment of its value as a restitution offering to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the error he has committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven. ¹⁹It is a restitution offering; he is indeed guilty before the Lord.”