^29:10“You are to present the bull at the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons are to put¹⁸ their hands on the head¹⁹ of the bull. ^29:11You are to kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting ^29:12and take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar²⁰ with your finger; all the rest of²¹ the blood you are to pour out at the base of the altar. ^29:13You are to take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the lobe²² that is above the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and burn them²³ on the altar. ^29:14But the meat of the bull, its skin, and its dung you are to burn up²⁴ outside the camp.²⁵ It is the purification offering.²⁶

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Footnotes

18 The verb is singular, agreeing with the first of the compound subject—Aaron.
19 The details of these offerings have to be determined from a careful study of Leviticus. There is a good deal of debate over the meaning of laying hands on the animals. At the very least it identifies the animal formally as their sacrifice. But it may very well indicate that the animal is a substitute for them as well, given the nature and the effect of the sacrifices.
20 This act seems to have signified the efficacious nature of the blood, since the horns represented power. This is part of the ritual of the sin offering for laity, because before the priests become priests they are treated as laity. The offering is better described as a purification offering rather than a sin offering, because it was offered, according to Leviticus, for both sins and impurities. Moreover, it was offered primarily to purify the sanctuary so that the once-defiled or sinful person could enter (see J. Milgrom, Leviticus []).
21 The phrase “rest of” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
22 S. R. Driver suggests that this is the appendix or an appendix, both here and in v. 22 (Exodus, ). “The surplus, the appendage of liver, found with cow, sheep, or goat, but not with humans: Lobus caudatus” ( יֹתֶרֶת).
23 Heb “turn [them] into sweet smoke” since the word is used for burning incense. The giving of the visceral organs and the fat has received various explanations. The fat represented the best, and the best was to go to God. If the animal is a substitute, then the visceral organs represent the will of the worshiper in an act of surrender to God.
24 Heb “burn with fire.”
25 This is to be done because there is no priesthood yet. Once they are installed, then the sin/purification offering is to be eaten by the officiating priests as a sign that the offering was received. But priests could not consume their own sin offering.
26 There were two kinds of “purification offering,” those made with confession for sin and those made without. The title needs to cover both of them, and if it is called in the traditional way “the sin offering,” that will convey that when people offered it for skin diseases, menstruation, or having babies, they had sinned. That was not the case. Moreover, it is usual to translate the names of the sacrifices by what they do more than what they cover—so peace offering, reparation offering, and purification offering.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and shall take part of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and the rest of the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar. And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. Slaughter it in the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. Then take all the fat on the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. But burn the bull’s flesh and its hide and its intestines outside the camp. It is a sin offering.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“You are to bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the bull’s head. Slaughter the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Take some of the bull’s blood and apply it to the horns of the altar with your finger; then pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. Take all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. But burn the bull’s flesh, its hide, and its waste outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

NLTNew Living Translation

“Bring the young bull to the entrance of the Tabernacle, where Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on its head. Then slaughter the bull in the Lord’s presence at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Put some of its blood on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest at the base of the altar. Take all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat around them, and burn it all on the altar. Then take the rest of the bull, including its hide, meat, and dung, and burn it outside the camp as a sin offering.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“And you will bring the bull before the tent of assembly, and Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on the head of the bull. And you will slaughter the bull before Yahweh at the entrance of the tent of assembly. And you will take some of the blood of the bull and with your finger put it on the horns of the altar, and you will pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. And you will take and turn into smoke on the altar all the fat covering the inner parts and the lobe on the liver and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them. And the flesh of the bull and its skin and its offal you will burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

KJV 1900King James Version

And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. And thou shalt kill the bullock before the Lord, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.

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