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Sins Which Require an Offering for Sin

⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “Now, if you are a witness under oath and won’t tell what you saw or what you know, you are sinning and will be punished.

“If you touch anything unclean [a]—the unclean dead body of a wild or tame animal or the body of an unclean, swarming creature—and then ignore what you did, you are unclean and will be guilty.

“If you become unclean by touching human uncleanness of any kind and then ignore it (although you know what you did), you will be guilty.

“If you hastily take a vow about what you will or will not do (as some people do) and then ignore it (although you know what you said), you will be guilty.

“So if you are guilty of any of these sins, you must confess it. Bring your guilt offering to the Lord for the sin you committed. It must be a female sheep or goat as an offering for sin. Then the priest will make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong.

If You Cannot Afford a Sheep

“Now, if you cannot afford a sheep, you must bring to the Lord two mourning doves or two pigeons as a guilt offering for the sin you committed. One will be an offering for sin, the other a burnt offering. Bring them to the priest, and he will sacrifice the offering for sin first. He will break the bird’s neck without pulling its head off. He will sprinkle some of the blood from the offering for sin on the side of the altar, and the rest of the blood will be drained at the bottom of the altar. It is an offering for sin. 10 Then, following the proper procedures, he will sacrifice the second bird as a burnt offering. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong.

If You Cannot Afford Two Mourning Doves

11 “But if you cannot afford two mourning doves or two pigeons, then bring eight cups of flour as an offering for the sin you committed. Never put olive oil on it or add incense to it, because it is an offering for sin. 12 Bring it to the priest. The priest will take a handful of it. He will burn it as a reminder on top of the offering by fire to the Lord on the altar. It is an offering for sin. 13 So the priest will make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong, and you will be forgiven. The offering will belong to the priest like the grain offering.”

For Unintentional Wrongdoing against the Lord’s Property

14 The Lord spoke to Moses, 15 “If any of you fail to do your duty by unintentionally doing something wrong with any of the Lord’s holy things, bring a guilt offering to the Lord. It must be a ram that has no defects or its value in silver weighed according to the official standards of the holy place. 16 Pay for whatever holy things you used plus one-fifth more. Give it to the priest. So the priest will use the ram sacrificed for the guilt offering to make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong, and you will be forgiven.

For Unintentionally Disobeying the Lord’s Commands

17 “If any of you do wrong—even one thing forbidden by any of the Lord’s commands, but you didn’t know it—when you realize your guilt, you must be punished. 18 You must bring the priest a ram that has no defects from the flock or its value in money for a guilt offering. The priest will make peace with the Lord for the wrong you did unintentionally (although you didn’t know what you did), and you will be forgiven. 19 It is a guilt offering because you are certainly guilty as far as the Lord is concerned.”

Footnotes

  1. 5:2 Unclean   ” refers to anything that is not presentable to God.

“‘If anyone sins because they do not speak up when they hear a public charge to testify(A) regarding something they have seen or learned about, they will be held responsible.(B)

“‘If anyone becomes aware that they are guilty—if they unwittingly touch anything ceremonially unclean (whether the carcass of an unclean animal, wild or domestic, or of any unclean creature that moves along the ground)(C) and they are unaware that they have become unclean,(D) but then they come to realize their guilt; or if they touch human uncleanness(E) (anything that would make them unclean)(F) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt; or if anyone thoughtlessly takes an oath(G) to do anything, whether good or evil(H) (in any matter one might carelessly swear about) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt— when anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess(I) in what way they have sinned. As a penalty for the sin they have committed, they must bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat(J) from the flock as a sin offering[a];(K) and the priest shall make atonement(L) for them for their sin.

“‘Anyone who cannot afford(M) a lamb(N) is to bring two doves or two young pigeons(O) to the Lord as a penalty for their sin—one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. They are to bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one for the sin offering. He is to wring its head from its neck,(P) not dividing it completely,(Q) and is to splash(R) some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar;(S) the rest of the blood must be drained out at the base of the altar.(T) It is a sin offering. 10 The priest shall then offer the other as a burnt offering in the prescribed way(U) and make atonement(V) for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.(W)

11 “‘If, however, they cannot afford(X) two doves or two young pigeons,(Y) they are to bring as an offering for their sin a tenth of an ephah[b](Z) of the finest flour(AA) for a sin offering. They must not put olive oil or incense on it, because it is a sin offering. 12 They are to bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful of it as a memorial[c] portion(AB) and burn it on the altar(AC) on top of the food offerings presented to the Lord. It is a sin offering. 13 In this way the priest will make atonement(AD) for them for any of these sins they have committed, and they will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest,(AE) as in the case of the grain offering.(AF)’”

The Guilt Offering

14 The Lord said to Moses: 15 “When anyone is unfaithful to the Lord by sinning unintentionally(AG) in regard to any of the Lord’s holy things, they are to bring to the Lord as a penalty(AH) a ram(AI) from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel.[d](AJ) It is a guilt offering.(AK) 16 They must make restitution(AL) for what they have failed to do in regard to the holy things, pay an additional penalty of a fifth of its value(AM) and give it all to the priest. The priest will make atonement for them with the ram as a guilt offering, and they will be forgiven.

17 “If anyone sins and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, even though they do not know it,(AN) they are guilty and will be held responsible.(AO) 18 They are to bring to the priest as a guilt offering(AP) a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the wrong they have committed unintentionally, and they will be forgiven.(AQ) 19 It is a guilt offering; they have been guilty of[e] wrongdoing against the Lord.”(AR)

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 5:6 Or purification offering; here and throughout this chapter
  2. Leviticus 5:11 That is, probably about 3 1/2 pounds or about 1.6 kilograms
  3. Leviticus 5:12 Or representative
  4. Leviticus 5:15 That is, about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams
  5. Leviticus 5:19 Or offering; atonement has been made for their