5 “ ‘Suppose a person has been called as a witness to something he has seen or learned about. Then if he does not tell what he knows, he has sinned. And he will be held accountable for it.

2“ ‘Or suppose a person touches something that is not “clean.” It could be the dead bodies of wild animals or of livestock. Or it could be the dead bodies of creatures that move along the ground. Even though he is not aware that he touched them, he has become “unclean.” And he is guilty.

3“ ‘Or suppose he touches something “unclean” that comes from a human being. It could be anything that would make him “unclean.” Suppose he is not aware that he touched it. When he finds out about it, he will be guilty.

4“ ‘Or suppose a person takes an oath and makes a promise to do something without thinking it through. It does not matter what he promised. It does not matter whether he took the oath without thinking about it carefully. And suppose he is not aware that he did not think it through. When he finds out about it, he will be guilty.

5“ ‘When someone is guilty in any of those ways, he must admit he has sinned. 6He must bring a sin offering to pay for the sin he has committed. He must bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat from the flock. The priest will sacrifice the animal. That will pay for the person’s sin.

7“ ‘Suppose he can’t afford a lamb. Then he must get two doves or two young pigeons. He must bring them to the Lord to pay for his sin. One of them is for a sin offering. The other is for a burnt offering.

8“ ‘He must bring them to the priest. The priest will offer the one for the sin offering first. He must twist its head. But he must not twist it off completely.

9“ ‘Then he must sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar. He must empty out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. It is a sin offering.

10“ ‘Then the priest will offer the other bird as a burnt offering. He must do it in the way the law requires. That will pay for the sin the person has committed. And he will be forgiven.

11“ ‘But suppose he can’t afford two doves or two young pigeons. Then he must bring eight cups of fine flour as an offering for his sin. It is a sin offering. He must not put olive oil or incense on it. That is because it is a sin offering.

12“ ‘He must bring it to the priest. The priest must take a handful of it. He must burn that part on the altar. It will be a reminder that all good things come from the Lord. The priest must burn it on top of the offerings that are made to the Lord with fire. It is a sin offering.

13“ ‘In that way the priest will pay for any of the sins the person has committed. And he will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest. It is the same as in the case of the grain offering.’ ”

Rules for Guilt Offerings

14The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 15“Suppose a person sins by breaking the law. And he does it without meaning to. He sins against me or my priests by refusing to give them one of the holy things that are set apart for them.

“Then he must bring me a ram from the flock. It must not have any flaws. It must be worth the required amount of silver. It must be weighed out in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent. It is a guilt offering. It will pay for his sin.

16“He must also pay for the holy thing he refused to give. He must add a fifth of its value to it. He must give all of it to the priest. The priest will pay for the person’s sin with the ram. It is a guilt offering. And he will be forgiven.

17“Suppose a person sins by doing something I command him not to do. Even though he does not know it, he is guilty. He will be held accountable for it.

18“He must bring to the priest a ram from the flock as a guilt offering. It must not have any flaws. And it must be worth the required amount of money.

“The priest will sacrifice the animal. That will pay for what the person has done wrong without meaning to. And he will be forgiven. 19It is a guilt offering. He has been guilty of doing wrong against me.”