Leviticus 5
5
Special Cases for Purification Offerings.#This differs from the prescriptions for purification offerings in chap. 4 by listing four specific wrongs for which a purification offering is brought and allowing the substitution of birds and grain offerings in the case of poverty. 1If a person, either having seen or come to know something, does wrong by refusing as a witness under oath to give information,#Jgs 17:2–3; Prv 29:24. that individual shall bear the penalty; 2or if someone, without being aware of it, touches any unclean thing, such as the carcass of an unclean wild animal, or an unclean domestic animal, or an unclean swarming creature,#Swarming creature: a rather imprecise categorization that includes various small creatures in the seas, such as fish that go about in large groups or swarms (Gn 1:20; Lv 11:10); or, similarly, various winged insects that mass in the skies (Lv 11:20; Dt 14:19); and, finally, various small creatures that move in swarms on land, whether crawlers, quadrupeds, or of the multilegged variety (Lv 11:41–42). According to 11:29–30, even various rodents and lizards can be included in this category. and thus is unclean and guilty;#Lv 11:1–45; 15:31; 17:15–16. 3or if someone, without being aware of it, touches some human uncleanness,#Lv 12:4; 13:35–36; 15:2–12, 19–27; Nm 19:14–22. whatever kind of uncleanness this may be, and then subsequently becomes aware of guilt; 4or if someone, without being aware of it, rashly utters an oath with bad or good intent,#Nm 30:3; Jgs 11:30–36; 1 Sm 14:24–30; Mk 6:23–26; Acts 23:12. whatever kind of oath this may be, and then subsequently becomes aware of guilt in regard to any of these matters— 5when someone is guilty in regard to any of these matters, that person shall confess the wrong committed, 6and make reparation to the Lord for the wrong committed: a female animal from the flock, a ewe lamb or a she-goat, as a purification offering. Thus the priest shall make atonement on the individual’s behalf for the wrong.
7If, however, the person cannot afford an animal of the flock,#Cf. Lv 5:11; 12:8; 14:21. that person shall bring to the Lord as reparation for the wrong committed two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a purification offering and the other for a burnt offering. 8The guilty party shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer the one for the purification offering first.#Lv 1:14–17. Wringing its head at the neck, yet without breaking it off, 9he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the purification offering against the side of the altar. The rest of the blood shall be drained out against the base of the altar. It is a purification offering. 10The other bird he shall offer as a burnt offering according to procedure. Thus the priest shall make atonement on the person’s behalf for the wrong committed, so that the individual may be forgiven.
11If the person is unable to afford even two turtledoves or two pigeons, that person shall bring as an offering for the wrong committed one tenth of an ephah#Ephah: see note on Is 5:10. of bran flour for a purification offering. The guilty party shall not put oil or place frankincense on it, because it is a purification offering.#Lv 2:1–3; Nm 5:15. 12The individual shall bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful as a token of the offering and burn it on the altar with the other oblations for the Lord. It is a purification offering. 13Thus the priest shall make atonement on the person’s behalf for the wrong committed in any of the above cases, so that the individual may be forgiven. The rest of the offering, like the grain offering, shall belong to the priest.
Reparation Offerings.#This last half of the chapter deals with a distinct sacrifice, the reparation offering (Heb. ’asham). The Hebrew root for this term has a basic meaning of “be guilty.” The noun can have a consequential sense of “that which is due from guilt,” i.e., “compensation, indemnification, reparation”; hence the translation “reparation offering,” rather than the alternatives “guilt offering” or “trespass offering.” This offering is brought most often in cases of sacrilege. 14The Lord said to Moses: 15#Lv 7:1–6; Nm 5:5–8. When a person commits sacrilege by inadvertently misusing any of the Lord’s sacred objects,#Lv 22:14. the wrongdoer shall bring to the Lord as reparation an unblemished ram from the flock, at the established value#At the established value: the Hebrew term ‘erkĕkā, which in context means “(established) value,” may indicate that a person could bring the monetary equivalent of a ram instead of an actual animal. See vv. 18, 25. in silver shekels according to the sanctuary shekel, as a reparation offering. 16The wrongdoer shall also restore what has been misused of the sacred objects, adding a fifth of its value,#Lv 22:14; 27:13, 15, 19, 27. and give this to the priest. Thus the priest shall make atonement for the person with the ram of the reparation offering, so that the individual may be forgiven.
17If someone does wrong and violates one of the Lord’s prohibitions without realizing it, that person is guilty#Ps 19:13; Jb 1:5. and shall bear the penalty. 18The individual shall bring to the priest an unblemished ram of the flock, at the established value, for a reparation offering. The priest shall then make atonement on the offerer’s behalf for the error inadvertently and unknowingly committed so that the individual may be forgiven. 19It is a reparation offering. The individual must make reparation to the Lord.
20The Lord said to Moses: 21When someone does wrong and commits sacrilege against the Lord by deceiving#Ps 59:13; Hos 4:2. a neighbor about a deposit or a pledge or a stolen article, or by otherwise retaining a neighbor’s goods unjustly;#Ex 22:6–12. 22or if, having found a lost article, the person lies about it, swearing falsely about any of the things that a person may do wrong— 23when someone has thus done wrong and is guilty, that person shall restore the thing that was stolen, the item unjustly retained, the item left as deposit, or the lost article that was found 24or whatever else the individual swore falsely about. That person shall make full restitution of the thing itself, and add one fifth of its value to it, giving it to its owner at the time of reparation. 25Then that person shall bring to the priest as reparation to the Lord an unblemished ram of the flock, at the established value, as a reparation offering. 26The priest shall make atonement on the person’s behalf before the Lord, so that the individual may be forgiven for whatever was done to incur guilt.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Leviticus 5
5
Cases Requiring Sin Offerings
1Sin offerings are required in the following cases.
If someone is officially summoned to give evidence in court and does not give information about something he has seen or heard, he must suffer the consequences.
2If someone unintentionally touches anything ritually unclean, such as a dead animal, he is unclean and guilty as soon as he realizes what he has done.
3If someone unintentionally touches anything of human origin that is unclean, whatever it may be, he is guilty as soon as he realizes what he has done.
4If someone makes a careless vow, no matter what it is about, he is guilty as soon as he realizes what he has done.
5When a person is guilty, he must confess the sin, 6and as the penalty for his sin he must bring to the LORD a female sheep or goat as an offering. The priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin.
7If a man cannot afford a sheep or a goat, he shall bring to the LORD as the payment for his sin two doves or two pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 8He shall bring them to the priest, who will first offer the bird for the sin offering. He will break its neck without pulling off its head 9and sprinkle some of its blood against the side of the altar. The rest of the blood will be drained out at the base of the altar. This is an offering to take away sin. 10Then he shall offer the second bird as a burnt offering, according to the regulations. In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven.
11If a man cannot afford two doves or two pigeons, he shall bring one kilogramme of flour as a sin offering. He shall not put any olive oil or any incense on it, because it is a sin offering, not a grain offering. 12He shall bring it to the priest, who will take a handful of it as a token that it has all been offered to the LORD, and he will burn it on the altar as a food offering. It is an offering to take away sin. 13In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven. The rest of the flour belongs to the priest, just as in the case of a grain offering.
Repayment Offerings
14The LORD gave the following regulations to Moses. 15If anyone sins unintentionally by failing to hand over the payments that are sacred to the LORD, he shall bring as his repayment offering to the LORD a male sheep or goat without any defects. Its value is to be determined according to the official standard. 16He must make the payments he has failed to hand over and must pay an additional twenty per cent. He shall give it to the priest, and the priest shall offer the animal as a sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven.
17If anyone sins unintentionally by breaking any of the LORD's commands, he is guilty and must pay the penalty. 18He must bring to the priest as a repayment offering a male sheep or goat without any defects. Its value is to be determined according to the official standard. The priest shall offer the sacrifice for the sin which the man committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven. 19It is a repayment offering for the sin he committed against the LORD.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.