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Leviticus 4
New English Translation

Sin-Offering Regulations

4 Then the Lord spoke to Moses:[a] 2 “Tell the Israelites, ‘When a person sins by straying unintentionally[b] from any of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, and violates any[c] one of them[d]—

For the Priest

3 “‘If the high priest[e] sins so that the people are guilty,[f] on account of the sin he has committed he must present a flawless young bull to the Lord[g] for a sin offering.[h] 4 He must bring the bull to the entrance of the Meeting Tent before the Lord, lay his hand on the head of the bull, and slaughter the bull before the Lord. 5 Then that high priest must take some of the blood[i] of the bull and bring it to the Meeting Tent. 6 The priest must dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle[j] some of it[k] seven times before the Lord toward[l] the front of the special curtain[m] of the sanctuary. 7 The priest must put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the Lord in the Meeting Tent, and all the rest of the bull’s blood he must pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.

8 “‘Then he must take up all the fat from the sin offering bull:[n] the fat covering the entrails[o] and all the fat surrounding the entrails,[p] 9 the two kidneys with the fat on their sinews, and the protruding lobe on the liver (which he is to remove along with the kidneys)[q] 10 —just as it is taken from the ox of the peace-offering sacrifice[r]—and the priest must offer them up in smoke on the altar of burnt offering. 11 But the hide of the bull, all its flesh along with its head and its legs, its entrails, and its dung— 12 all the rest of the bull[s]—he must bring outside the camp[t] to a ceremonially clean place,[u] to the fatty-ash pile,[v] and he must burn[w] it on a wood fire; it must be burned on the fatty-ash pile.

For the Whole Congregation

13 “‘If the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally[x] and the matter is not noticed by[y] the assembly, and they violate one of the Lord’s commandments, which must not be violated,[z] so they become guilty, 14 the assembly must present a young bull for a sin offering when the sin they have committed[aa] becomes known. They must bring it before the Meeting Tent, 15 the elders of the congregation must lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and someone must slaughter[ab] the bull before the Lord. 16 Then the high priest[ac] must bring some of the blood of the bull to the Meeting Tent, 17 and that priest must dip his finger in the blood[ad] and sprinkle[ae] some of the blood seven times[af] before the Lord toward the front of the curtain.[ag] 18 He must put some of the blood on the horns of the altar[ah] which is before the Lord in the Meeting Tent, and all the rest of the blood he must pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.

19 “‘Then the priest[ai] must take all its fat[aj] and offer the fat[ak] up in smoke on the altar. 20 He must do with the rest of the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; this is what he must do with it.[al] So the priest will make atonement[am] on their behalf and they will be forgiven.[an] 21 He[ao] must bring the rest of the bull outside the camp[ap] and burn it just as he burned the first bull—it is the sin offering of the assembly.

For the Leader

22 “‘Whenever[aq] a leader, by straying unintentionally,[ar] sins and violates one of the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be violated,[as] and he pleads guilty, 23 or his sin that he committed[at] is made known to him,[au] he must bring a flawless male goat as his offering.[av] 24 He must lay his hand on the head of the male goat and slaughter[aw] it in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the Lord—it is a sin offering. 25 Then the priest must take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he must pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26 Then the priest[ax] must offer all of its fat up in smoke on the altar like the fat of the peace-offering sacrifice. So the priest will make atonement[ay] on his behalf for[az] his sin and he will be forgiven.[ba]

For the Common Person

27 “‘If an ordinary individual[bb] sins by straying unintentionally[bc] when he violates one of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated,[bd] and he pleads guilty, 28 or his sin that he committed[be] is made known to him,[bf] he must bring a flawless female goat[bg] as his offering for the sin[bh] that he committed. 29 He must lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter[bi] the sin offering in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. 30 Then the priest must take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he must pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 31 Then he must remove all of its fat (just as fat was removed from the peace-offering sacrifice) and the priest must offer it up in smoke on the altar for a soothing aroma to the Lord. So the priest will make atonement[bj] on his behalf and he will be forgiven.[bk]

32 “‘But if he brings a sheep as his offering, for a sin offering, he must bring a flawless female. 33 He must lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it for a sin offering in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. 34 Then the priest must take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he must pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 35 Then the one who brought the offering[bl] must remove all its fat (just as the fat of the sheep is removed from the peace-offering sacrifice) and the priest must offer them up in smoke on the altar on top of the other gifts for the Lord. So the priest will make atonement[bm] on his behalf for his sin which he has committed and he will be forgiven.[bn]

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 4:1 sn The quotation introduced here extends from Lev 4:2 through 5:13, and encompasses all the sin offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 1:1 above, and 5:14 and 6:1 [5:20 HT] below.
  2. Leviticus 4:2 tn Heb “And a person, when he sins in straying.” The English translation of “by straying” (בִּשְׁגָגָה [bishgagah] literally, “in going astray; in making an error”) varies greatly, but almost all suggest that this term refers to sins that were committed by mistake or done not knowing that the particular act was sinful (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:228-29). See, e.g., LXX “involuntarily”; Tg. Onq. “by neglect”; KJV “through ignorance”; ASV, RSV, NJPS “unwittingly”; NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “unintentionally”; NAB, NEB “inadvertently”; NCV “by accident.” However, we know from Num 15:27-31 that committing a sin “by straying” is the opposite of committing a sin “defiantly” (i.e., בְּיַד רָמָה [beyad ramah] “with a raised hand,” v. 30). In the latter case the person, as it were, raises his fist in presumptuous defiance against the Lord. Thus, he “blasphemes” the Lord and has “despised” his word, for which he should be “cut off from among his people” (Num 15:30-31). One could not bring an offering for such a sin. The expression here in Lev 4:2 combines “by straying” with the preposition “from” which fits naturally with “straying” (i.e., “straying from” the Lord’s commandments). For sins committed “by straying” from the commandments (Lev 4 throughout) or other types of transgressions (Lev 5:1-6) there was indeed forgiveness available through the sin offering. See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:94-95.
  3. Leviticus 4:2 tn This is an emphatic use of the preposition מִן (min; see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 56-57, §325).
  4. Leviticus 4:2 tn The “when” clause (כִּי, ki) breaks off here before its resolution, thus creating an open-ended introduction to the following subsections, which are introduced by “if” (אִם [ʾim] vv. 3, 13, 27, 32). Also, the last part of the verse reads literally, “which must not be done and does from one from them.”
  5. Leviticus 4:3 tn Heb “the anointed priest” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the high priest (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).
  6. Leviticus 4:3 tn Heb “to the guilt of the people”; NRSV “thus bringing guilt on the people.”
  7. Leviticus 4:3 tn Heb “and he shall offer on his sin which he sinned, a bull, a son of the herd, flawless.”
  8. Leviticus 4:3 sn The word for “sin offering” (sometimes translated “purification offering”) is the same as the word for “sin” earlier in the verse. One can tell which rendering is intended only by the context. The primary purpose of the “sin offering” (חַטָּאת, khattaʾt) was to “purge” (כִּפֶּר, kipper, “to make atonement,” see 4:20, 26, 31, 35, and the notes on Lev 1:4 and esp. Lev 16:20, 33) the sanctuary or its furniture in order to cleanse it from any impurities and/or (re)consecrate it for holy purposes (see, e.g., Lev 8:15; 16:19). By making this atonement the impurities of the person or community were cleansed and the people became clean. See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:93-103.
  9. Leviticus 4:5 tn Heb “from the blood of the bull” (and similarly throughout this chapter).
  10. Leviticus 4:6 tn The Hebrew verb וְהִזָּה (vehizzah, Hiphil of נָזָה, nazah) does indeed mean “sprinkle” or “splatter.” Contrast the different Hebrew verb meaning “splash” in Lev 1:5 (זָרָק, zaraq).
  11. Leviticus 4:6 tn Heb “of the blood.” The relative pronoun (“it”) has been used in the translation here for stylistic reasons.
  12. Leviticus 4:6 tn The particle here translated “toward” usually serves as a direct object indicator or a preposition meaning “with.” With the verb of motion it probably means “toward,” “in the direction of” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:234; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 60); cf. NAB, CEV.
  13. Leviticus 4:6 tn The Hebrew term פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet) is usually translated “veil” (e.g., ASV, NAB, NASB) or “curtain” (e.g., NIV, NRSV). It seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place and so could be understood as a veil-canopy (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:687-89).
  14. Leviticus 4:8 tn Heb “all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall take up from it.”
  15. Leviticus 4:8 tc The MT has here the preposition עַל (ʿal, “on, upon” [i.e., “which covers on the entrails,” as awkward in Hebrew as it is in English]), but Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Targums read אֶת (ʾet), which is what would be expected (i.e., “which covers the entrails”; cf. Lev 3:3, 9, 14). It may have been mistakenly inserted here under the influence of “on (עַל) the entrails” at the end of the verse.
  16. Leviticus 4:8 tn Heb “and all the fat on the entrails.” The fat layer that covers the entrails as a whole (i.e., “that covers the entrails”) is different from the fat that surrounds and adheres to the various organs (“on the entrails,” i.e., surrounding them; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:205-7).
  17. Leviticus 4:9 tn Heb “and the protruding lobe on the liver on the kidneys he shall remove it.”
  18. Leviticus 4:10 tn Heb “taken up from”; KJV, ASV “taken off from”; NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “removed.” See the notes on Lev 3:3-4 above (cf. also 3:9-10, 14-15).
  19. Leviticus 4:12 tn All of v. 11 is a so-called casus pendens (also known as an extraposition or a nominative absolute), which means that it anticipates the next verse, being the full description of “all (the rest of) the bull” (lit. “all the bull”) at the beginning of v. 12 (actually after the first verb of the verse; see the next note below).
  20. Leviticus 4:12 tn Heb “And he (the offerer) shall bring out all the bull to from outside to the camp to a clean place.”
  21. Leviticus 4:12 tn Heb “a clean place,” but referring to a place that is ceremonially clean. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  22. Leviticus 4:12 tn Heb “the pouring out [place] of fatty-ash.”
  23. Leviticus 4:12 tn Heb “burn with fire.” This expression is somewhat redundant in English, so the translation collocates “fire” with “wood,” thus “a wood fire.”
  24. Leviticus 4:13 tn Heb “strays”; KJV “sin through ignorance.” The verb “strays” here is the verbal form of the noun in the expression “by straying” (see the note on Lev 4:2 above).
  25. Leviticus 4:13 tn Heb “is concealed from the eyes of”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “escapes the notice of.”
  26. Leviticus 4:13 tn Heb “and they do one from all the commandments of the Lord which must not be done” (cf. v. 2).
  27. Leviticus 4:14 tn Heb “and the sin which they committed on it becomes known”; KJV “which they have sinned against it.” The Hebrew עָלֶיהָ (ʿaleha, “on it”) probably refers back to “one of the commandments” in v. 13 (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:243).
  28. Leviticus 4:15 tn Heb “and he shall slaughter.” The singular verb seems to refer to an individual who represents the whole congregation, perhaps one of the elders referred to at the beginning of the verse, or the officiating priest (cf. v. 21). The LXX and Syriac make the verb plural, referring to “the elders of the congregation.”
  29. Leviticus 4:16 tn Heb “the anointed priest” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the high priest (cf. TEV).
  30. Leviticus 4:17 tn The words “in the blood” are not repeated in the Hebrew text at this point, but must be supplied in the English translation for clarity.
  31. Leviticus 4:17 tn The Hebrew verb וְהִזָּה (vehizzah, Hiphil of נָזָה, nazah) does indeed mean “sprinkle” or “splatter.” Contrast the different Hebrew verb translated “splash” in Lev 1:5 (זָרָק, zaraq).
  32. Leviticus 4:17 tc The MT reads literally, “and the priest shall dip his finger from the blood and sprinkle seven times.” This is awkward. Compare v. 6, which has literally, “and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle from the blood seven times.” The MT appears to be a case of scribal haplography (i.e., assuming v. 6 to be the correct form, in v. 17 the scribe skipped from “his finger” to “from the blood,” thus missing “in the blood”) and metathesis (i.e., this also resulted in a text where “from the blood” stands before “sprinkle” rather than after it; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 47).
  33. Leviticus 4:17 tn See the note on v. 6 above.
  34. Leviticus 4:18 sn See v. 7, where this altar is identified as the altar of fragrant incense.
  35. Leviticus 4:19 tn Heb “Then he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Based on the parallel statement in 4:10 and 4:31, it is the priest who performs this action rather than the person who brought the offering.
  36. Leviticus 4:19 tn Heb “take up all its fat from it”; NASB “shall remove all its fat from it.”sn See the full discussion of the fat regulations in Lev 4:8-9 above.
  37. Leviticus 4:19 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fat) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Only the fat is meant here, since the “rest” of the bull is mentioned in v. 21.
  38. Leviticus 4:20 sn Cf. Lev 4:11-12 above for the disposition of “the [rest of] the bull.”
  39. Leviticus 4:20 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
  40. Leviticus 4:20 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to them” or “it shall be forgiven to them.”
  41. Leviticus 4:21 sn See the note on the word “slaughter” in v. 15.
  42. Leviticus 4:21 tn Heb “And he shall bring out the bull to from outside to the camp.”
  43. Leviticus 4:22 tn This section begins with the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) which usually means “who” or “which,” but here means “whenever.”
  44. Leviticus 4:22 tn See the Lev 4:2 note on “straying.”
  45. Leviticus 4:22 tn Heb “and does one from all the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be done”; cf. NRSV “ought not to be done”; NIV “does what is forbidden in any of the commands.”
  46. Leviticus 4:23 tn Heb “or his sin which he sinned in it is made known to him”; NAB “if he learns of the sin he committed.”
  47. Leviticus 4:23 tn Lev 4:22b-23a is difficult. The present translation suggests that there are two possible legal situations envisioned, separated by the Hebrew אוֹ (ʾo, “or”) at the beginning of v. 23. Lev 4:22b refers to any case in which the leader readily admits his guilt (i.e., “pleads guilty”), whereas v. 23a refers to cases where the leader is convicted of his guilt by legal action (“his sin…is made known to him”). See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:95-96; Lev 4:27-28; and esp. the notes on Lev 5:1 below.
  48. Leviticus 4:23 tn Heb “a he-goat of goats, a male without defect”; cf. NLT “with no physical defects.”
  49. Leviticus 4:24 tn The LXX has a plural form here and also for the same verb later in the verse. See the note on Lev 1:5a.
  50. Leviticus 4:26 tn Heb “Then he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Based on the parallel statements in 4:10 and 4:31, it is the priest who performs this action rather than the person who brought the offering.
  51. Leviticus 4:26 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
  52. Leviticus 4:26 tn Heb “from.” In this phrase the preposition מִן (min) may be referring to the reason or cause (“on account of, because of”; GKC 383 §119.z). As J. E. Hartley (Leviticus [WBC], 47) points out, “from” may refer to the removal of the sin, but is an awkward expression. Hartley also suggests that the phrasing might be “an elliptical expression for יְכַפֵּר עַל לְטַהֵר אֶת־מִן, (yekhapper ʿal… letaher ʾet… min) ‘he will make expiation for…to cleanse…from…,’ as in 16:30.”
  53. Leviticus 4:26 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
  54. Leviticus 4:27 tn Heb “an individual from the people of the land”; cf. NASB “anyone of the common people” (KJV, ASV both similar); NAB “a private person.”
  55. Leviticus 4:27 tn Heb “If one person sins by straying, from the people of the land.” See Lev 4:2 for a note on “straying.”
  56. Leviticus 4:27 tn Heb “by doing it, one from the commandments of the Lord which must not be done.”
  57. Leviticus 4:28 tn Heb “or his sin which he sinned is made known to him”; cf. NCV “when that person learns about his sin.”
  58. Leviticus 4:28 tn Lev 4:27b-28a is essentially the same as 4:22b-23a (see the notes there).
  59. Leviticus 4:28 tn Heb “a she-goat of goats, a female without defect”; NAB “an unblemished she-goat.”
  60. Leviticus 4:28 tn Heb “on his sin.”
  61. Leviticus 4:29 tc The LXX has a plural form here (see v. 24 above and the note on Lev 1:5a).
  62. Leviticus 4:31 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
  63. Leviticus 4:31 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
  64. Leviticus 4:35 tn Heb “Then he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here “he” refers to the offerer rather than the priest (contrast the clauses before and after).
  65. Leviticus 4:35 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
  66. Leviticus 4:35 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
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Leviticus 4
Living Bible

4 Then the Lord gave these further instructions to Moses:

2 “Tell the people of Israel that these are the laws concerning anyone who unintentionally breaks any of my commandments. 3 If a priest sins unintentionally and so brings guilt upon the people, he must offer a young bull without defect as a sin offering to the Lord. 4 He shall bring it to the door of the Tabernacle, and shall lay his hand upon its head and kill it there before Jehovah. 5 Then the priest shall take the animal’s blood into the Tabernacle, 6 and shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the veil that bars the way to the Holy of Holies. 7 Then the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the incense altar before the Lord in the Tabernacle; the remainder of the blood shall be poured out at the base of the altar for burnt offerings, at the entrance to the Tabernacle. 8 Then he shall take all the fat on the entrails, 9 the two kidneys and the loin fat on them, and the gall bladder, 10 and shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering, just as in the case of a bull or cow sacrificed as a thank offering. 11-12 But the remainder of the young bull—the skin, meat, head, legs, internal organs, and intestines—shall be carried to a ceremonially clean place outside the camp—a place where the ashes are brought from the altar—and burned there on a wood fire.

13 “If the entire nation of Israel sins without realizing it and does something that Jehovah has said not to do, all the people are guilty. 14 When they realize it, they shall offer a young bull for a sin offering, bringing it to the Tabernacle 15 where the leaders[a] of the nation shall lay their hands upon the animal’s head and kill it before the Lord. 16 Then the priest shall bring its blood into the Tabernacle, 17 and shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil. 18 Then he shall put blood upon the horns of the altar there in the Tabernacle before the Lord, and all the remainder of the blood shall be poured out at the base of the burnt offering altar, at the entrance to the Tabernacle. 19 All the fat shall be removed and burned upon the altar. 20 He shall follow the same procedure as for a sin offering; in this way the priest shall make atonement for the nation, and everyone will be forgiven. 21 The priest shall then cart the young bull outside the camp and burn it there, just as though it were a sin offering for an individual, only this time it is a sin offering for the entire nation.

22 “If one of the leaders sins without realizing it and is guilty of disobeying one of God’s laws, 23 as soon as it is called to his attention he must bring as his sacrifice a male goat without any physical defect. 24 He shall lay his hand upon its head and kill it at the place where the burnt offerings are killed, and present it to the Lord. This is his sin offering. 25 Then the priest shall take some of the blood of this sin offering and place it with his finger upon the horns of the altar of burnt offerings, and the rest of the blood shall be poured out at the base of the altar. 26 All the fat shall be burned upon the altar, just as if it were the fat of the sacrifice of a thank offering;[b] thus the priest shall make atonement for the leader concerning his sin, and he shall be forgiven.

27 “If any one of the common people sins and doesn’t realize it, he is guilty. 28 But as soon as he does realize it, he is to bring as his sacrifice a female goat without defect to atone for his sin. 29 He shall bring it to the place where the animals for burnt offerings are killed, and there lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering and kill it. 30 And the priest shall take some of the blood with his finger and smear it upon the horns of the burnt offering altar. Then the priest shall pour out the remainder of the blood at the base of the altar. 31 All the fat shall be taken off, just as in the procedure for the thank offering sacrifice, and the priest shall burn it upon the altar; and the Lord will appreciate it. Thus the priest shall make atonement for that man, and he shall be forgiven.

32 “However, if he chooses to bring a lamb as his sin offering, it must be a female without physical defect. 33 He shall bring it to the place where the burnt offerings are killed, and lay his hand upon its head and kill it there as a sin offering. 34 The priest shall take some of the blood with his finger and smear it upon the horns of the burnt offering altar, and all the rest of the blood shall be poured out at the base of the altar. 35 The fat shall be used just as in the case of a thank offering lamb—the priest shall burn the fat on the altar as in any other sacrifice made to Jehovah by fire; and the priest shall make atonement for the man, and his sin shall be forgiven.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 4:15 leaders, literally, “elders.”
  2. Leviticus 4:26 thank offering, literally, “peace offering.” Also in vv. 31, 35.
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Leviticus 4
New King James Version

The Sin Offering

4 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: (A)‘If a person sins [a]unintentionally against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which ought not to be done, and does any of them, 3 (B)if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then let him offer to the Lord for his sin which he has sinned (C)a young bull without blemish as a (D)sin offering. 4 He shall bring the bull (E)to the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and kill the bull before the Lord. 5 Then the anointed priest (F)shall take some of the bull’s blood and bring it to the tabernacle of meeting. 6 The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the Lord, in front of the (G)veil of the sanctuary. 7 And the priest shall (H)put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of meeting; and he shall pour (I)the remaining blood of the bull at the base of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 8 He shall take from it all the fat of the bull as the sin offering. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat which is on the entrails, 9 the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove, 10 (J)as it was taken from the bull of the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn them on the altar of the burnt offering. 11 (K)But the bull’s hide and all its flesh, with its head and legs, its entrails and offal— 12 the whole bull he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, (L)where the ashes are poured out, and (M)burn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned.

13 ‘Now (N)if the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally, (O)and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done something against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which should not be done, and are guilty; 14 when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for the sin, and bring it before the tabernacle of meeting. 15 And the elders of the congregation (P)shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord. Then the bull shall be killed before the Lord. 16 (Q)The anointed priest shall bring some of the bull’s blood to the tabernacle of meeting. 17 Then the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil. 18 And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of meeting; and he shall pour the remaining blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 19 He shall take all the fat from it and burn it on the altar. 20 And he shall do (R)with the bull as he did with the bull as a sin offering; thus he shall do with it. (S)So the priest shall make [b]atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them. 21 Then he shall carry the bull outside the camp, and burn it as he burned the first bull. It is a sin offering for the assembly.

22 ‘When a [c]ruler has sinned, and (T)done something unintentionally against any of the commandments of the Lord his God in anything which should not be done, and is guilty, 23 or (U)if his sin which he has committed [d]comes to his knowledge, he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a male without blemish. 24 And (V)he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it at the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord. It is a sin offering. 25 (W)The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26 And he shall burn all its fat on the altar, like (X)the fat of the sacrifice of the peace offering. (Y)So the priest shall make [e]atonement for him concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.

27 (Z)‘If [f]anyone of the [g]common people sins unintentionally by doing something against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which ought not to be done, and is guilty, 28 or (AA)if his sin which he has committed comes to his knowledge, then he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. 29 (AB)And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering. 30 Then the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. 31 (AC)He shall remove all its fat, (AD)as fat is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a (AE)sweet aroma to the Lord. (AF)So the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.

32 ‘If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, (AG)he shall bring a female without blemish. 33 Then he shall (AH)lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill it as a sin offering at the place where they kill the burnt offering. 34 The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. 35 He shall remove all its fat, as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering. Then the priest shall burn it on the altar, (AI)according to the offerings made by fire to the Lord. (AJ)So the priest shall make atonement for his sin that he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 4:2 through error
  2. Leviticus 4:20 Lit. covering
  3. Leviticus 4:22 leader
  4. Leviticus 4:23 is made known to him
  5. Leviticus 4:26 Lit. covering
  6. Leviticus 4:27 Lit. any soul
  7. Leviticus 4:27 Lit. people of the land
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Leviticus 3
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