Leviticus 4:1–5:13

Laws for Sin Offerings

4 Thena Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the ⌊Israelites⌋,b saying, ‘If a personc sins by an unintentional wrong from any of Yahweh’s commands that should not be ⌊violated⌋,d and he ⌊violates⌋e ⌊any of them⌋f— 3 if the anointed priest sins, ⌊bringing guilt on the people⌋,g then,h concerning the sin that he has ⌊committed⌋,i he shall bring ⌊a young bull⌋j without defect for Yahweh as a sin offering. 4 He shall bringk the bull to the tent of assembly’s entrance before Yahweh, placel his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter the bull before Yahweh. 5 The anointed priestm shall take ⌊some of⌋n the bull’s blood and shall bring it to the tent of assembly, 6 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and shall spatter ⌊some of⌋o the blood seven times before Yahweh in front of the sanctuary’s curtain. 7 The priestp shall put ⌊some of⌋q the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before Yahweh, which is in the tent of assembly, and all the restr of the bull’s blood he must pour out on the base of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the entrance of the tent of assembly.

8 “ ‘He must removes all the fat from the bull of the sin offering: the fat that covers the inner partst and all of the fat that is on the inner parts,u 9 the twov kidneys and the fat that is on them, which is at the loins, and the liver’s lobe that he must remove in addition to the kidneys— 10 just as it is removed from the ox of the fellowship offerings’ sacrifice—and the priest shall turn them into smoke on the altar of the burnt offering. 11 Butw the bull’s skin and its meat, in addition to its head, ⌊its lower leg bones⌋,x itsy inner parts,z and its offal— 12 he shall carrya all of the bull ⌊outside the camp⌋b to a ceremonially clean place, to the fatty ashes’ dump, and he shall burn it on wood in the fire; it must be burned up on the fatty ashes’ dump.

13 “ ‘Ifc Israel’s whole assembly did wrong unintentionally and the matterd was concealed from the assembly’s eyes, and they actede against ⌊any of⌋f Yahweh’s commands that should not be ⌊violated⌋,g so thath they incur guilt, 14 wheni the sin that they have ⌊committed⌋j against that commandk becomes known, the assemblyl shall present ⌊a young bull⌋m as a sin offering, and they shall bring it before the tent of assembly. 15 And the elders of the community shall place their hands on the bull’s head before Yahweh, and hen shall slaughter the bull before Yahweh. 16 Then the anointed priest shall bring ⌊some of⌋o the bull’s blood to the tent of assembly, 17 and the priest shall dip his finger inp the blood and shall spatter it seven times before Yahweh in front of the curtain. 18 He must putq ⌊some of⌋r the blood on the altar’s horns before Yahweh ⌊in the tent of assembly⌋,s and all the restt of the blood he must pour out on the base of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the tent of assembly’s entrance. 19 He must removeu all its fat from it, and he shall turn it into smoke on the altar. 20 He shall dov to the bull ⌊just as⌋w he did to the sin offering’s bull, so he must do to it. The priestx shall make atonement for them, and ⌊they will be forgiven⌋.y 21 He shall bringz the rest ofa the bull ⌊outside the camp⌋,b and he shall burn it ⌊just as⌋c he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.

22 “ ‘When a leader sins and commitsd an unintentional wrong against ⌊any of⌋e the commands of Yahweh his God that should not be ⌊violated⌋,f so thatg he incurs guilt, 23 or his sin he has ⌊committed⌋h is made known to him, he shall bringi ⌊a male goat⌋j without defect as his offering. 24 He shall placek his hand on the he-goat’s head and slaughter it in the place where he slaughtered the burnt offering before Yahweh; it is a sin offering. 25 The priestl shall take ⌊some of⌋m the sin offering’s blood with his finger, and he shall put it on the horns of the altar of the burnt offering, and he must pour out the rest ofn its blood on the base of the altar of the burnt offering. 26 Heo must turn all of its fat into smoke on the altar like the fat of the fellowship offerings’ sacrifice, and the priest shall make atonement for him ⌊because of⌋p his sin, and ⌊he will be forgiven⌋.q

27 “ ‘Ifr ⌊anyone⌋s of the people of the land sins by an unintentional wrong by ⌊violating⌋t one of Yahweh’s commands that should not be ⌊violated⌋,u so thatv he incurs guilt, 28 or his sin he has ⌊committed⌋w is made known to him, he shall bringx as his offering ⌊a female goat without defect⌋y as his offering for his sin that he ⌊committed⌋.z 29 He shall placea his hand on the sin offering’s head and slaughter the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering. 30 The priestb shall take ⌊some of⌋c its blood with his finger, and he shall put it on the horns of the altar of the burnt offering, and he must pour out all the rest ofd its blood on the altar’s base. 31 Hee must remove all of its fat ⌊just as⌋f the fat was removed fromg the fellowship offerings’ sacrifice, and the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar as an appeasing fragrance for Yahweh. The priesth shall make atonement for him, and ⌊he will be forgiven⌋.i

32 “ ‘Butj if he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he must bring a female without defect. 33 He shall placek his hand on the sin offering’s head, and he shall slaughter it as a sin offering in the place where he slaughtered the burnt offering. 34 The priestl shall take ⌊some of⌋m the sin offering’s blood with his finger, and he shall put it on the horns of the altar of the burnt offering, and he must pour out all the restn of its blood on the altar’s base. 35 He must removeo all of its fat ⌊just as⌋p the lamb’s fat from the fellowship offerings’ sacrifice was removed, and the priest shall turn them into smoke on the altar upon Yahweh’s offerings made by fire; and the priest shall make atonement for him because ofq his sin that he ⌊committed⌋,r and ⌊he will be forgiven⌋.’ ”s

More Laws Regarding Sin Offerings

5 “ ‘When a persona sins in thatb he hears the utterance of a curse and he is a witness or he sees or he knows, if he does not make it known, thenc he shall bear his guilt. 2 Or if a persond touches anything unclean, ⌊whether⌋e an unclean wildf animal’s dead body or an unclean domestic animal’s dead body or an unclean swarmer’s dead body, butg ⌊he is unaware of it⌋,h he is unclean and he is guilty. 3 Or when he touches human uncleanness, ⌊namely⌋i any uncleanness of his by which he might become unclean, butj ⌊he is unaware of it⌋,k and he himself finds out, thenl he will be guilty. 4 Or when a personm swears, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips, to do evil or to do good ⌊with regard to⌋n anything that the person in a sworn oath speaks thoughtlessly, buto ⌊he is unaware of it⌋,p and he finds out, he will be guilty ⌊in any of⌋q these. 5 When he becomes guilty ⌊in any of⌋r these, he shall confesss what he has sinned ⌊regarding⌋t it, 6 and he shall bring his guilt offering tou Yahweh for his sin that he has ⌊committed⌋:v a female from the flock,w a ewe-lamb or ⌊a she-goat⌋,x as a sin offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him fory his sin.

7 “ ‘Ifz ⌊he cannot afford a sheep⌋,a he shall bring as his guilt offering for what he sinned two turtledoves or two ⌊young doves⌋b for Yahweh, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering. 8 He shall bringc them to the priest, and he shall present that which is for the sin offering first, and the priestd shall wring its head off ⌊at the back of its neck⌋,e butf he must not sever it, 9 and he shall spatter ⌊some of⌋g the sin offering’s blood on the altar’s side, and the leftover blood must be drained out on the altar’s base; it is a sin offering. 10 The secondh bird he must prepare as a burnt offering according to the regulation, and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin that he has ⌊committed⌋,i and he shall be forgiven.

11 “ ‘Butj if ⌊he cannot afford⌋k two turtledoves or two ⌊young doves⌋,l then,m because he has sinned, he shall bring as his offering a tenth of ann ephah of finely milled flour as a sin offering. He must not puto oil on it, nor should he put frankincense on it, because it is a sin offering. 12 He shall bringp it to the priest, and the priest ⌊shall take a handful of it⌋q for its token portion, and he shall turn it to smoke on the altar ⌊in addition to⌋r the offerings made by fire to Yahweh; it is a sin offering. 13 Thuss the priest shall make atonement for him because of the sin that he has ⌊committed⌋t ⌊in any of these⌋,u and he shall be forgiven. It shall bev for the priest, like the grain offering.’ ”

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a	Or “And”
b	Literally “sons/children of Israel”
c	Or “a soul”
d	Literally “done”
e	Literally “does”
f	Literally “from one from them”; see NET
g	Literally “to the guilt of the people”
h	Or “and”
i	Literally “sinned”
j	Literally “a bull, a son of cattle”
k	Or “And he shall bring”
l	Or “And place”
m	Or “And the anointed priest”
n	Literally “from”
o	Literally “from”
p	Or “And the priest”
q	Literally “from”
r	Implied by the context
s	Or “And he must remove”
t	Or “entrails”
u	Or “entrails”
v	Or “and the two”
w	Or “And”
x	Literally “and in addition to its lower leg bones”
y	Or “and its”
z	Or “entrails”
a	Or “and he shall carry out”
b	Literally “to from an outside place of the camp”
c	Or “And if”
d	Or “thing”
e	Or “did”
f	Literally “one from all of”
g	Literally “done”
h	Or “and”
i	Or “and”
j	Literally “sinned”
k	The 3fs pronominal suffix may refer to “one of Yahweh’s commands”—“one” is also fs
l	Or “and the assembly”
m	Literally “a bull, a son of cattle”
n	Or “someone”; see NET—the 3ms refers to either one of the elders or the priest
o	Literally “from”
p	Or “from”
q	Or “And he must put”
r	Literally “from”
s	Literally “which is in the tent of assembly”—the reference is to the altar
t	Indicated by the context
u	Or “And he must remove”
v	Or “And he shall do”
w	Literally “as that”
x	Or “And the priest”
y	Literally “it shall be forgiven to them”
z	Or “And he shall bring out”
a	Indicated by the context
b	Literally “to from an outside place of the camp”
c	Literally “as that”
d	Or “does”
e	Literally “one from all of”
f	Literally “done”
g	Or “and”
h	Literally “sinned”
i	Or “and he shall bring” or “then he shall bring”
j	Literally “a he-goat of goats a male”
k	Or “And he shall place”
l	Or “And the priest”
m	Literally “from”
n	Indicated by context
o	Or “And he”; the antecedent is the priest (cp. vv. 10, 31)
p	Literally “from”
q	Literally “it shall be forgiven to him”
r	Or “And if”
s	Literally “a soul one”
t	Literally “doing”
u	Literally “done”
v	Or “and”
w	Literally “sinned”
x	Or “and he shall bring” or “then he shall bring”
y	Literally “a she-goat of goats without defect a female”
z	Literally “sinned”
a	Or “And he shall place”
b	Or “And the priest”
c	Literally “from”
d	Indicated by context
e	Or “And he”
f	Literally “as that”
g	Or “from on” or “from upon”
h	Or “And the priest”
i	Literally “it shall be forgiven to him”
j	Or “And”
k	Or “And he shall place”
l	Or “And the priest”
m	Literally “from”
n	Indicated by context
o	Or “And he must remove”
p	Literally “as that”
q	Or “for”
r	Literally “sinned”
s	Literally “it will be forgiven to him”
a	Or “a soul”
b	Or “and”
c	Or “and”
d	Or “a soul”
e	Literally “or”
f	Implied by the following phrase specifying domestic animals
g	Or “and”
h	Literally “it is concealed from him”
i	Literally “for” or “to” (see HALOT 510)
j	Or “and”
k	Literally “it is concealed from him”
l	Or “and”
m	Or “a soul”
n	Literally “for” or “to” (see HALOT 510)
o	Or “and”
p	Literally “it is concealed from him”
q	Literally “for one of”
r	Literally “for one of”
s	Or “and he shall confess”
t	Literally “upon” or “against”
u	Or “for”
v	Literally “sinned”
w	The Hebrew term refers collectively to both sheep and goats (small livestock animals)
x	Literally “a she-goat of goats”
y	Hebrew “from”
z	Or “And if”
a	Literally “his hand does not touch enough of small livestock”
b	Literally “sons of dove” or “children of dove”
c	Or “And he shall bring”
d	Required by the previous action (see NET)
e	Literally “from opposite its neck”
f	Or “and”
g	Literally “from”
h	Or “And the second”
i	Literally “sinned”
j	Or “And”
k	Literally “his hand cannot produce for”
l	Literally “sons of dove” or “children of dove”
m	Or “and”
n	Hebrew “the”
o	Or “And he must not put”
p	Or “And he shall bring”
q	Literally “shall scoop up from it the fullness of his handful”
r	Literally “on” or “upon”
s	Or “And”
t	Literally “sinned”
u	Literally “from one from these”
v	Or “And it shall be”

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