Leviticus 4-6
Expanded Bible
The Sin Offering
4 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel this: ‘When a person sins ·by accident [unintentionally; inadvertently; C in contrast to a deliberate sin; Num. 15:22–31] ·and does some things the Lord has commanded not to be done [L in any of the Lord’s commandments/regulations], ·that person must do these things [L and does any one of them]:
3 “‘If the ·appointed [L anointed] priest sins so that he brings guilt on the people, then he must offer a young bull to the Lord, ·one that has nothing wrong with it [unblemished], as a ·sin [or purification; C the offering would purify the offerer of the effects of sin] offering for the sin he has done. 4 He will bring the bull to the entrance of the Meeting Tent in front of the Lord, ·put [lay] his hand on its head [1:4], and ·kill [slaughter] it before the Lord. 5 Then the ·appointed [L anointed] priest must bring some of the bull’s blood into the Meeting Tent. 6 The priest is to dip his finger into the blood and ·sprinkle [dash] it seven times before the Lord in front of the curtain of the ·Most Holy Place [sanctuary]. 7 The priest must also put some of the blood on the ·corners [L horns; Ex. 27:2] of the altar of incense that stands before the Lord in the Meeting Tent. The rest of the blood he must pour out at the ·bottom [base; foundation] of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. 8 He must remove all the fat from the bull of the ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering—the fat on and around the inner organs, 9 both kidneys with the fat that is on them near the ·lower back muscle [loins], and the ·best part [appendage] of the liver which he will remove with the kidneys. 10 (He must do this in the same way the fat is removed from the bull of the ·fellowship [peace; well-being] offering [3:3–4].) Then the priest must ·burn [L turn into smoke] the animal parts on the altar of burnt offering. 11 But the priest must carry off the skin of the bull and all its meat, along with the rest of the bull—its head, legs, intestines, and other inner organs. 12 He must take it outside the camp to the special clean [C in a ritual sense] place where the ashes are poured out. He must burn it on a wood fire on the pile of ashes.
13 “‘If the whole ·nation [congregation; assembly] of Israel sins ·accidentally [inadvertently; unintentionally; 4:2] ·without knowing it [L and the matter is hidden from the eyes of the assembly/crowd] and does something the Lord has commanded not to be done, they are guilty. 14 When they learn about the sin they have done, they must offer a young bull as a ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3] and bring it before the Meeting Tent. 15 The elders of the ·group of people [congregation; assembly] must ·put [lay; 1:4] their hands on the bull’s head before the Lord, and it must be ·killed [slaughtered] before the Lord. 16 Then the ·appointed [L anointed] priest must bring some of the bull’s blood into the Meeting Tent. 17 Dipping his finger in the blood, he must ·sprinkle [dash] it seven times before the Lord in front of the curtain. 18 Then he must put some of the blood on the ·corners [horns; Ex. 27:2] of the altar that is before the Lord in the Meeting Tent. The priest must pour out the rest of the blood at the ·bottom [base; foundation] of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 19 He must remove all the fat from the animal and ·burn it [L turn it into smoke] on the altar; 20 he will do the same thing with this bull that he did with the first bull of the ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3]. In this way the priest ·removes the sins of the people so they will belong to the Lord and [L atones for them and they will] be forgiven. 21 Then the priest must carry the bull outside the camp and burn it, just as he did with the first bull. This is the ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3] for the whole ·community [assembly; crowd].
22 “‘If a ·ruler [leader; prince] sins ·by accident [inadvertently; unintentionally; 4:2] and does something the Lord his God has commanded must not be done, he is guilty. 23 When he learns about his sin, he must bring a male goat that ·has nothing wrong [is unblemished] with it as his ·offering [gift]. 24 The ·ruler [leader; prince] must ·put [lay; 1:4] his hand on the goat’s head and ·kill [slaughter] it in the place where they ·kill [slaughter] the whole burnt offering before the Lord; it is a ·sin [purification] offering [4:3]. 25 The priest must take some of the blood of the ·sin [purification] offering [4:3] on his finger and put it on the ·corners [horns; Ex. 27:2] of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of the blood at the ·bottom [base; foundation] of the altar of burnt offering. 26 He must ·burn [L turn into smoke] all the goat’s fat on the altar in the same way he ·burns [L turns into smoke] the fat of the ·fellowship [peace; well-being] offerings [3:3–4]. In this way the priest ·removes the ruler’s sin so he belongs to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him [L makes atonement for him and he is forgiven].
27 “‘If any ·person in the community [ordinary/private/lay person; L of the people of the land] sins ·by accident [inadvertently; unintentionally; 4:2] and does something which the Lord has commanded must not be done, he is guilty. 28 When the person learns about his sin, he must bring a female goat ·that has nothing wrong with it [unblemished] as an ·offering [gift] for his sin. 29 He must ·put [lay] his hand on the animal’s head [1:4] and ·kill [slaughter] it at the place of the whole burnt offering. 30 Then the priest must take some of the goat’s blood on his finger and put it on the ·corners [horns; Ex. 27:2] of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of the goat’s blood at the ·bottom [base; foundation] of the altar. 31 Then the priest must remove all the goat’s fat in the same way the fat is removed from the ·fellowship [peace; well-being] offerings [3:3–4]. He must ·burn it [L turn it into smoke] on the altar as a smell pleasing to the Lord. In this way the priest ·will remove that person’s sin so he will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him [L makes atonement for him and he is forgiven].
32 “‘If this person brings a lamb as his ·offering [gift] for sin, he must bring a female ·that has nothing wrong with it [unblemished]. 33 He must ·put [lay] his hand on the animal’s head [1:4] and ·kill [slaughter] it as a ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3] in the place where the whole burnt offering is ·killed [slaughtered]. 34 The priest must take some of the blood from the sin offering on his finger and put it on the ·corners [horns; Ex. 27:2] of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of the lamb’s blood at the ·bottom [base; foundation] of the altar. 35 Then the priest must remove all the lamb’s fat in the same way that the lamb’s fat is removed from the ·fellowship [peace; well-being] offerings [3:3–4]. He must ·burn the pieces on the altar [L turn them into smoke] on top of the offerings made by fire for the Lord. In this way the priest ·will remove that person’s sins so he will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him [L makes atonement for him and he is forgiven].
Special Types of Accidental Sins
5 “‘If a person ·is ordered to tell in court [L hears a public oath and he has been a witness of] what he has seen or what he knows and he does not ·tell the court [L make it known], he is guilty of sin.
2 “‘Or someone might touch something unclean, such as the dead body of an unclean wild animal or an unclean farm animal or an unclean crawling animal [11:24–28, 32–40]. Even if he does not know that he touched it, he will still be unclean and guilty of sin.
3 “‘Someone might touch human uncleanness—anything that makes someone unclean—and not know it. But when he learns about it, he will be guilty.
4 “‘Or someone might make a promise before the Lord ·without thinking [rashly]. It might be a [rash] promise to do something bad or something good; it might be about anything. Even if he forgets about it, when he remembers, he will be guilty [Deut. 23:22–23; Eccl. 5:4].
5 “‘When anyone is guilty of any of these things, he must ·tell how he sinned [L confess his sin]. 6 He must bring an offering to the Lord as a penalty for sin; it must be a female lamb or goat from the flock. The priest will ·perform the acts to remove that person’s sin so he will belong to the Lord [L make atonement for his sin].
7 “‘But if the person cannot afford a lamb, he must bring two ·doves [turtledoves] or two young pigeons to the Lord as the penalty for his sin. One bird must be for a ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3], and the other must be for a whole burnt offering [1:1–17]. 8 He must bring them to the priest, who will first offer the one for the ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3]. He will ·pull [wring] the bird’s head from its neck, but he will not ·pull it completely off [sever it]. 9 He must ·sprinkle [dash] the blood from the ·sin [purification] offering [4:3] on the side of the altar, and then he must pour the rest of the blood at the ·bottom [base; foundation] of the altar; it is a ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3]. 10 Then the priest must offer the second bird as a whole burnt offering, as the ·law [regulation] says [1:14–17]. In this way the priest ·will remove the person’s sin so he will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him [L makes atonement for him and he is forgiven].
11 “‘If the person cannot afford two ·doves [turtledoves] or two pigeons, he must bring about ·two quarts of [L one-tenth of an ephah of] ·fine [choice] flour as an ·offering for sin [purification offering; 4:3]. He must not put oil or ·incense [frankincense] on the flour, because it is a ·sin [or purification] offering. 12 He must bring the flour to the priest. The priest will take a handful of the flour as a memorial offering and burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made by fire to the Lord; it is a ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3]. 13 In this way the priest ·will remove the person’s sins so he will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him [L makes atonement for him and he will be forgiven]. What is left of the sin offering belongs to the priest, like the ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [2:10].’”
The Penalty Offering
14 The Lord said to Moses, 15 “If a person ·accidentally [inadvertently; unintentionally; 4:2] sins and ·does something against [is unfaithful/disloyal toward] the holy things of the Lord, he must bring from the flock a male sheep ·that has nothing wrong with it [unblemished]. This will be his ·penalty [guilt; reparation] offering to the Lord. Its value in silver must be correct as set by the Holy Place measure. It is a ·penalty [guilt; reparation] offering. 16 That person must pay for the sin he did against the holy thing, adding one-fifth to its value. Then he must give it all to the priest. In this way the priest will ·remove the person’s sin so he will belong to the Lord [make atonement for him], by using the male sheep as the ·penalty [guilt; reparation] offering. And ·the Lord will forgive the person [L he will be forgiven].
17 “If a person sins and does something the Lord has commanded not to be done, even if he does not know it, he is still guilty. He is responsible for his sin. 18 He must bring the priest a male sheep from the flock, one that ·has nothing wrong with it [is unblemished] and that is worth the correct amount. It will be a ·penalty [guilt; reparation] offering. Though the person sinned without knowing it, with this offering the priest will ·remove the sin so the person will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him [make atonement for him and he will be forgiven]. 19 The person is guilty of doing wrong, so he must give the ·penalty [guilt; reparation] offering to the Lord.”
6 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “A person might sin against the Lord ·by doing one of these sins [L and be unfaithful/disloyal]: He might lie about ·what happened to something he was taking care of for someone else [L a deposit], or ·he might lie about a promise he made [L a pledge]. He might steal something or cheat someone. 3 He might find something that had been lost and then lie about it. He might make a promise before the Lord about something and not mean it, or he might do some other sin. 4 If he does any of these things, he is guilty of sin. He must bring back whatever he stole or whatever he took by cheating. He must bring back the ·thing he took care of for someone else [deposit]. He must bring back what he found and lied about 5 or what he made a false promise about. He must pay the full price plus an extra one-fifth of the value of what he took. He must give the money to the true owner on the day he brings his ·penalty [guilt; reparation] offering. 6 He must bring his penalty to the priest—a male sheep from the flock, ·one that does not have anything wrong with it [unblemished] and that is worth the correct amount. It will be a ·penalty [guilt; reparation] offering to the Lord. 7 Then the priest will ·perform the acts to remove that person’s sin so he will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him [make atonement for him and he will be forgiven] for the sins that made him guilty.”
The Whole Burnt Offering
8 The Lord said to Moses, 9 “Give this command to Aaron and ·the priests [L his sons]: ‘These are the ·teachings [laws; instruction] about the whole burnt offering [1:1–17]: The burnt offering must stay on the [L hearth of the] altar all night until morning, and the altar’s fire must be kept burning. 10 The priest must put on his linen robe and linen underclothes next to his body. Then he will remove the ashes from the burnt offering on the altar and put them beside the altar. 11 Then he must take off those clothes and put on others and carry the ashes outside the camp to a special clean [C in a ritual sense] place. 12 But the fire must be kept burning on the altar; it must not be ·allowed to go out [extinguished]. The priest must put more firewood on the altar every morning, place the whole burnt offering on the fire, and ·burn [L turn into smoke] the fat of the ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offerings [3:1]. 13 The fire must be kept burning on the altar ·all the time [perpetually]; it must not ·go out [be extinguished].
The Grain Offering
14 “‘These are the ·teachings [laws; instructions] about the ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [2:1]: The ·priests [L sons of Aaron] must bring it to the Lord in front of the altar. 15 The priest must take a handful of ·fine [choice] flour, with the oil and all of the ·incense [frankincense] on it, and ·burn the grain offering [L turn it into smoke] on the altar as a memorial offering to the Lord. Its smell is pleasing to him. 16 Aaron and ·the priests [L his sons] may eat what is left, but it must be eaten ·without yeast [unleavened] in a holy place. They must eat it in the courtyard of the Meeting Tent. 17 It must not be ·cooked [baked] with ·yeast [leaven]. I have given it as their ·share [portion] of the offerings made to me by fire; it is most holy, like the ·sin [or purification] offering [4:3] and the ·penalty [guilt; reparation] offering [5:14–6:7]. 18 Any male descendant of Aaron may eat it as his ·share of the offerings [perpetual due; decree] made to the Lord by fire, ·and this will continue from now on [L throughout your generations]. Whatever touches these offerings shall become holy.’”
19 The Lord said to Moses, 20 “This is the ·offering [gift] Aaron and ·the priests [L his sons] must bring to the Lord on the day they ·appoint Aaron as high priest [L anoint him]: They must bring ·two quarts [L one-tenth of an ephah] of ·fine [choice] flour for a ·continual [perpetual] ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [2:1], half of it in the morning and half in the evening. 21 The ·fine [choice] flour must be mixed with oil and cooked on a griddle. Bring it when it is well ·mixed [or soaked]. Present the ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [2:1] that is ·broken into pieces [or partly baked; or folded], and it will be a smell that is pleasing to the Lord. 22 One of the priests ·appointed [anointed] to take Aaron’s place as high priest must make the ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [2:1]. It is a ·rule [statute; ordinance; regulation] forever that the ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [2:1] must be completely burned to the Lord. 23 Every grain offering made by a priest must be completely ·burned [L turned into smoke]; it must not be eaten.”
The Sin Offering
24 The Lord said to Moses, 25 “Tell Aaron and ·the priests [L his sons]: ‘These are the ·teachings [laws; instructions] about the ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering: The ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering must be ·killed [slaughtered] in front of the Lord in the same place the whole burnt offering [ch. 1] is ·killed [slaughtered]; it is most holy. 26 The priest who offers the ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering must eat it in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Meeting Tent. 27 Whatever touches the meat of the ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering ·must be [or will become] ·holy [consecrated; set apart], and if the blood is ·sprinkled [spattered] on any clothes, you must wash them in a holy place. 28 The clay pot the meat is ·cooked [boiled] in must be broken, or if a bronze pot is used, it must be scrubbed and rinsed with water. 29 Any male in a priest’s family may eat the offering; it is most holy. 30 But if the blood of the ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering is taken into the Meeting Tent and used to ·remove sin [make atonement] in the Holy Place, that ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering must be burned with fire. It must not be eaten.
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