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Leviticus 5-7
Contemporary English Version

The Lord said:

5 If you refuse to testify in court about something you saw or know has happened, you have sinned and can be punished.

2 You are guilty and unfit to worship me, if you accidentally touch the dead body of any kind of unclean animal.

3 You are guilty if you find out that you have accidentally touched anything unclean that comes from a human body.

4 You are guilty the moment you realize that you have made a hasty promise to do something good or bad.

5 As soon as you discover that you have committed any of these sins, you must confess what you have done. 6 Then you must bring a female sheep or goat to me as the price for your sin. A priest will sacrifice the animal, and you will be forgiven.

7 If you are poor and cannot afford to bring an animal, you may bring two doves or two pigeons. One of these will be a sacrifice to ask my forgiveness, and the other will be a sacrifice to please me.

8 Give both birds to the priest, who will offer one as a sacrifice to ask my forgiveness. He will wring its neck without tearing off its head, 9 splatter some of its blood on one side of the bronze altar, and drain out the rest at the foot of the altar. 10 Then he will follow the proper rules for offering the other bird as a sacrifice to please me.

You will be forgiven when the priest offers these sacrifices as the price for your sin.

11 If you are so poor that you cannot afford doves or pigeons, you may bring one kilogram of your finest flour. This is a sacrifice to ask my forgiveness, so don't sprinkle olive oil or sweet-smelling incense on it. 12 Give the flour to a priest, who will scoop up a handful and send it up in smoke together with the other offerings. This is a reminder that all of the flour belongs to me. 13 By offering this sacrifice, the priest pays the price for any of these sins you may have committed. The priest gets to keep the rest of the flour, just as he does with grain sacrifices.

Sacrifices To Make Things Right

(Leviticus 7.1-10)

14-15 The Lord told Moses what the people must do to make things right when they find out they have cheated the Lord without meaning to:

If this happens, you must either sacrifice a ram that has nothing wrong with it or else pay the price of a ram with the official money used by the priests. 16 In addition, you must pay what you owe plus a fine of 20 percent. Then the priest will offer the ram as a sacrifice to make things right, and you will be forgiven.

17-19 If you break any of my commands without meaning to, you are still guilty, and you can be punished. When you realize what you have done, you must either bring to the priest a ram that has nothing wrong with it or else pay him for one. The priest will then offer it as a sacrifice to make things right, and you will be forgiven.

Other Sins That Need Sacrifices or Payments

(Numbers 5.5-10)

6 1-3 (A) The Lord told Moses what the people must do when they commit other sins against the Lord:

You have sinned if you rob or cheat someone, if you keep back money or valuables left in your care, or if you find something and claim not to have it.

4 When this happens, you must return what doesn't belong to you 5 and pay the owner a fine of 20 percent. 6-7 In addition, you must either bring to the priest a ram that has nothing wrong with it or else pay him for one. The priest will then offer it as a sacrifice to make things right, and you will be forgiven for what you did wrong.

Daily Sacrifices

(Exodus 29.38-43; Numbers 28.1-8)

8-9 The Lord told Moses to tell Aaron and his sons how to offer the daily sacrifices that are sent up in smoke to please the Lord:[a]

You must put the animal for the sacrifice on the altar in the evening and let it stay there all night. But make sure the fire keeps burning. 10 The next morning you will dress in your priestly clothes, including your linen underwear. Then clean away the ashes left by the sacrifices and pile them beside the altar. 11 Change into your everyday clothes, take the ashes outside the camp, and pile them in the special place.[b]

12 The fire must never go out, so put wood on it each morning. After this, you are to lay an animal on the altar next to the fat that you sacrifice to ask my blessing.[c] Then send it all up in smoke to me.

13 The altar fire must always be kept burning—it must never go out.

Sacrifices To Give Thanks to the Lord

The Lord said:

14 When someone offers a sacrifice to give thanks to me,[d] the priests from Aaron's family must bring it to the front of the bronze altar, 15 where one of them will scoop up a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the incense on it. Then, to show that the whole offering belongs to me, he will lay all of this on the altar and send it up in smoke with a smell that pleases me. 16-17 The rest of it is to be baked without yeast and eaten by the priests in the sacred courtyard of the sacred tent. This bread is very holy, just like the sacrifices for sin or the sacrifices for making things right, and I have given this part to the priests from what is offered to me on the altar.

18 Only the men in Aaron's family are allowed to eat this bread, and they must go through a ceremony to be made holy before touching it.[e] This law will never change.

When Priests Are Ordained

19 The Lord spoke to Moses 20 and told him what sacrifices the priests must offer on the morning and evening of the day they are ordained:

It is the same as the regular morning and evening sacrifices—half a kilogram of flour 21 mixed with olive oil and cooked in a shallow pan. The bread must then be crumbled into small pieces[f] and sent up in smoke with a smell that pleases me. 22-23 Each of Aaron's descendants who is ordained as a priest must perform this ceremony and make sure that the bread is completely burned on the altar. None of it may be eaten!

Sacrifices for Sin

(Leviticus 4.1,2)

24 The Lord told Moses 25 how the priests from Aaron's family were to offer the sacrifice for sin:

This sacrifice is very sacred, and the animal must be killed in my presence at the north side of the bronze altar. 26 The priest who offers this sacrifice must eat it in the sacred courtyard of the sacred tent, 27 and anyone or anything that touches the meat will be holy.[g] If any of the animal's blood is splattered on the clothes of the priest, they must be washed in a holy place. 28 If the meat was cooked in a clay pot, the pot must be destroyed,[h] but if it was cooked in a bronze pot, the pot must be scrubbed and rinsed with water.

29 This sacrifice is very holy, and only the priests may have any part of it. 30 None of the meat may be eaten from the sacrifices for sin that require blood to be brought into the sacred tent.[i] These sacrifices must be completely burned.

Sacrifices To Make Things Right

(Leviticus 5.14-19)

The Lord said:

7 The sacrifice to make things right is very sacred. 2 The animal must be killed in the same place where the sacrifice to please me[j] is killed, and the animal's blood must be splattered against the four sides of the bronze altar. 3 Offer all of the animal's fat, including the fat on its tail and on its insides, 4 as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat. 5 One of the priests will lay these pieces on the altar and send them up in smoke to me. 6 This sacrifice for making things right is very holy. Only the priests may eat it, and they must eat it in a holy place.[k]

7 The ceremony for this sacrifice and the one for sin are the same, and the meat may be eaten only by the priest who performs this ceremony of forgiveness.

8 In fact, the priest who offers a sacrifice to please me[l] may keep the skin of the animal, 9 just as he may eat the bread from a sacrifice to give thanks to me.[m] 10 All other grain sacrifices—with or without olive oil in them—are to be divided equally among the priests of Aaron's family.

Sacrifices To Ask the Lord's Blessing

The Lord said:

11 Here are the instructions for offering a sacrifice to ask my blessing:[n] 12 If you offer it to give thanks, you must offer some bread together with it. Use the finest flour to make three kinds of bread without yeast—two in the form of loaves mixed with olive oil and one in the form of thin wafers brushed with oil. 13 You must also make some bread with yeast. 14 Give me one loaf or wafer from each of these four kinds of bread, after which they will belong to the priest who splattered the blood against the bronze altar.

15 When you offer an animal to ask a blessing from me or to thank me, the meat belongs to you, but it must be eaten the same day. 16 It is different with the sacrifices you offer when you make me a promise or voluntarily give me something. The meat from those sacrifices may be kept and eaten the next day, 17-18 but any that is left over must be destroyed. If you eat any of it after the second day, your sacrifice will be useless and unacceptable, and you will be both disgusting and guilty.

19 Don't eat any of the meat that has touched something unclean. Instead, burn it. The rest of the meat may be eaten by anyone who is clean and acceptable to me. 20-21 But don't eat any of this meat if you have become unclean by touching something unclean from a human or an animal or from any other creature. If you do, you will no longer belong to the community of Israel.

22 The Lord told Moses 23 to say to the people:

Don't eat the fat of cattle, sheep, or goats. 24 If one of your animals dies or is killed by some wild animal, you may do anything with its fat except eat it. 25 If you eat the fat of an animal that can be used as a sacrifice to me, you will no longer belong to the community of Israel. 26 (B) And no matter where you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal, 27 or you will no longer belong to the community of Israel.

28 The Lord also told Moses 29-30 to say to the people of Israel:

If you want to offer a sacrifice to ask my blessing, you must bring the part to be burned and lay it on the bronze altar. But you must first lift up[o] the choice ribs with their fat to show that the offering is dedicated to me. 31 A priest from Aaron's family will then send the fat up in smoke, but the ribs belong to the priests. 32-33 The upper joint of the right hind leg is for the priest who offers the blood and the fat of the animal. 34 I have decided that the people of Israel must always give the choice ribs and the upper joint of the right hind leg to Aaron's descendants 35 who have been ordained as priests to serve me. 36 This law will never change. I am the Lord!

37 These are the ceremonies for sacrifices to please the Lord, to give him thanks, and to ask for his blessing or his forgiveness, as well as the ceremonies for those sacrifices that demand a payment and for the sacrifices that are offered when priests are ordained. 38 While Moses and the people of Israel were in the desert at Mount Sinai, the Lord commanded them to start offering these sacrifices.

Footnotes

  1. 6.8,9 to please the Lord: See the note at 1.1-3.
  2. 6.11 ashes … in the special place: See the note at 1.16.
  3. 6.12 sacrifice to ask my blessing: See the note at 3.1.
  4. 6.14 a sacrifice to give thanks to me: See the note at 2.1.
  5. 6.18 and they … touching it: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  6. 6.21 crumbled … pieces: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  7. 6.27 that touches … holy: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  8. 6.28 clay pot … destroyed: Juice from the meat cannot be completely cleaned from a clay pot.
  9. 6.30 that require blood … tent: See 4.1-21.
  10. 7.2 sacrifice to please me: See the note at 1.1-3.
  11. 7.6 holy place: The courtyard of the sacred tent (see 6.16,17).
  12. 7.8 sacrifice to please me: See the note at 1.1-3.
  13. 7.9 sacrifice to give thanks to me: See the note at 2.1.
  14. 7.11 sacrifice to ask my blessing: See the note at 3.1.
  15. 7.29,30 lift up: Or “wave.”
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Leviticus 5-7
New International Version

5 “‘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)

2 “‘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; 3 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; 4 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— 5 when anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess(I) in what way they have sinned. 6 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.

7 “‘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. 8 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) 9 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)

6 [f]The Lord said to Moses: 2 “If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord(AS) by deceiving a neighbor(AT) about something entrusted to them or left in their care(AU) or about something stolen, or if they cheat(AV) their neighbor, 3 or if they find lost property and lie about it,(AW) or if they swear falsely(AX) about any such sin that people may commit— 4 when they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt, they must return(AY) what they have stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they found, 5 or whatever it was they swore falsely about. They must make restitution(AZ) in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering.(BA) 6 And as a penalty they must bring to the priest, that is, to the Lord, their guilt offering,(BB) a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value.(BC) 7 In this way the priest will make atonement(BD) for them before the Lord, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.”

The Burnt Offering

8 The Lord said to Moses: 9 “Give Aaron and his sons this command: ‘These are the regulations for the burnt offering(BE): The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar.(BF) 10 The priest shall then put on his linen clothes,(BG) with linen undergarments next to his body,(BH) and shall remove the ashes(BI) of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar. 11 Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean.(BJ) 12 The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood(BK) and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat(BL) of the fellowship offerings(BM) on it. 13 The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.

The Grain Offering

14 “‘These are the regulations for the grain offering:(BN) Aaron’s sons are to bring it before the Lord, in front of the altar. 15 The priest is to take a handful of the finest flour and some olive oil, together with all the incense(BO) on the grain offering,(BP) and burn the memorial[g] portion(BQ) on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 16 Aaron and his sons(BR) shall eat the rest(BS) of it, but it is to be eaten without yeast(BT) in the sanctuary area;(BU) they are to eat it in the courtyard(BV) of the tent of meeting.(BW) 17 It must not be baked with yeast; I have given it as their share(BX) of the food offerings presented to me.(BY) Like the sin offering[h] and the guilt offering, it is most holy.(BZ) 18 Any male descendant of Aaron may eat it.(CA) For all generations to come(CB) it is his perpetual share(CC) of the food offerings presented to the Lord. Whatever touches them will become holy.[i](CD)’”

19 The Lord also said to Moses, 20 “This is the offering Aaron and his sons are to bring to the Lord on the day he[j] is anointed:(CE) a tenth of an ephah[k](CF) of the finest flour(CG) as a regular grain offering,(CH) half of it in the morning and half in the evening. 21 It must be prepared with oil on a griddle;(CI) bring it well-mixed and present the grain offering broken[l] in pieces as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 22 The son who is to succeed him as anointed priest(CJ) shall prepare it. It is the Lord’s perpetual share and is to be burned completely.(CK) 23 Every grain offering of a priest shall be burned completely; it must not be eaten.”

The Sin Offering

24 The Lord said to Moses, 25 “Say to Aaron and his sons: ‘These are the regulations for the sin offering:(CL) The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord(CM) in the place(CN) the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy. 26 The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in the sanctuary area,(CO) in the courtyard(CP) of the tent of meeting.(CQ) 27 Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy,(CR) and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in the sanctuary area. 28 The clay pot(CS) the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scoured and rinsed with water. 29 Any male in a priest’s family may eat it;(CT) it is most holy.(CU) 30 But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement(CV) in the Holy Place(CW) must not be eaten; it must be burned up.(CX)

The Guilt Offering

7 “‘These are the regulations for the guilt offering,(CY) which is most holy: 2 The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be splashed against the sides of the altar. 3 All its fat(CZ) shall be offered: the fat tail and the fat that covers the internal organs, 4 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys.(DA) 5 The priest shall burn them on the altar(DB) as a food offering presented to the Lord. It is a guilt offering. 6 Any male in a priest’s family may eat it,(DC) but it must be eaten in the sanctuary area; it is most holy.(DD)

7 “‘The same law applies to both the sin offering[m](DE) and the guilt offering:(DF) They belong to the priest(DG) who makes atonement with them.(DH) 8 The priest who offers a burnt offering for anyone may keep its hide(DI) for himself. 9 Every grain offering baked in an oven(DJ) or cooked in a pan(DK) or on a griddle(DL) belongs to the priest who offers it, 10 and every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.

The Fellowship Offering

11 “‘These are the regulations for the fellowship offering anyone may present to the Lord:

12 “‘If they offer it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering(DM) they are to offer thick loaves(DN) made without yeast(DO) and with olive oil mixed in, thin loaves(DP) made without yeast and brushed with oil,(DQ) and thick loaves of the finest flour well-kneaded and with oil mixed in. 13 Along with their fellowship offering of thanksgiving(DR) they are to present an offering with thick loaves of bread made with yeast.(DS) 14 They are to bring one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the Lord; it belongs to the priest who splashes the blood of the fellowship offering against the altar. 15 The meat of their fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; they must leave none of it till morning.(DT)

16 “‘If, however, their offering is the result of a vow(DU) or is a freewill offering,(DV) the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day they offer it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day.(DW) 17 Any meat of the sacrifice left over till the third day must be burned up.(DX) 18 If any meat of the fellowship offering(DY) is eaten on the third day, the one who offered it will not be accepted.(DZ) It will not be reckoned(EA) to their credit, for it has become impure; the person who eats any of it will be held responsible.(EB)

19 “‘Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean must not be eaten; it must be burned up. As for other meat, anyone ceremonially clean may eat it. 20 But if anyone who is unclean(EC) eats any meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord, they must be cut off from their people.(ED) 21 Anyone who touches something unclean(EE)—whether human uncleanness or an unclean animal or any unclean creature that moves along the ground[n]—and then eats any of the meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord must be cut off from their people.’”

Eating Fat and Blood Forbidden

22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats.(EF) 24 The fat of an animal found dead or torn by wild animals(EG) may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it. 25 Anyone who eats the fat of an animal from which a food offering may be[o] presented to the Lord must be cut off from their people. 26 And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood(EH) of any bird or animal. 27 Anyone who eats blood(EI) must be cut off from their people.’”

The Priests’ Share

28 The Lord said to Moses, 29 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who brings a fellowship offering to the Lord is to bring part of it as their sacrifice to the Lord. 30 With their own hands they are to present the food offering to the Lord; they are to bring the fat, together with the breast, and wave the breast before the Lord as a wave offering.(EJ) 31 The priest shall burn the fat on the altar,(EK) but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons.(EL) 32 You are to give the right thigh of your fellowship offerings to the priest as a contribution.(EM) 33 The son of Aaron who offers the blood and the fat of the fellowship offering shall have the right thigh as his share. 34 From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh(EN) that is presented and have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons(EO) as their perpetual share from the Israelites.’”

35 This is the portion of the food offerings presented to the Lord that were allotted to Aaron and his sons on the day they were presented to serve the Lord as priests. 36 On the day they were anointed,(EP) the Lord commanded that the Israelites give this to them as their perpetual share for the generations to come.

37 These, then, are the regulations for the burnt offering,(EQ) the grain offering,(ER) the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering(ES) and the fellowship offering, 38 which the Lord gave Moses(ET) at Mount Sinai(EU) in the Desert of Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the Lord.(EV)

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
  6. Leviticus 6:1 In Hebrew texts 6:1-7 is numbered 5:20-26, and 6:8-30 is numbered 6:1-23.
  7. Leviticus 6:15 Or representative
  8. Leviticus 6:17 Or purification offering; also in verses 25 and 30
  9. Leviticus 6:18 Or Whoever touches them must be holy; similarly in verse 27
  10. Leviticus 6:20 Or each
  11. Leviticus 6:20 That is, probably about 3 1/2 pounds or about 1.6 kilograms
  12. Leviticus 6:21 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  13. Leviticus 7:7 Or purification offering; also in verse 37
  14. Leviticus 7:21 A few Hebrew manuscripts, Samaritan Pentateuch, Syriac and Targum (see 5:2); most Hebrew manuscripts any unclean, detestable thing
  15. Leviticus 7:25 Or offering is
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