Leviticus 4
4
Offerings for Unintentional Wrongdoing
1The Lord spoke to Moses, 2“Tell the Israelites: If a person unintentionally does something wrong—even one thing that is forbidden by any of the Lord’s commands—this is what he must do.
Offerings for Wrongdoing by the Chief Priest
3“If the anointed priest does something wrong and brings guilt on the people, he must bring a bull that has no defects as an offering for sin to the Lord. 4He must bring the bull into the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He will place his hand on the bull’s head. He will then slaughter the bull in the Lord’s presence. 5Then the anointed priest will take some of the bull’s blood and bring it into the tent of meeting. 6The priest will dip his finger in it and sprinkle some of the blood seven times in the Lord’s presence facing the canopy in the holy place. 7Then the priest will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for sweet-smelling incense in the Lord’s presence in the tent of meeting. He will pour the rest of the bull’s blood at the bottom of the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8He will remove all of the fat from the bull that is the offering for sin, the fat that covers the internal organs, 9and the two kidneys with the fat on them. He will also remove the lobe of the liver and the kidneys 10the same way they were removed from the bull used for the fellowship offering. The priest will lay them on the altar for burnt offerings. 11Then he will take the entire bull (the skin, meat, head, legs, internal organs, and excrement) 12to a clean #4:12 “Clean” refers to anything that is presentable to God. place outside the camp where the ashes are dumped. He will burn it there on a wood fire.
Offerings for Wrongdoing by the Whole Congregation
13“If the whole congregation of Israel unintentionally does something wrong, without the assembly being aware of it, if they do even one thing that is forbidden by any of the Lord’s commands, they will be guilty. 14When the wrong they have done becomes known, the congregation must sacrifice a bull as an offering for sin. They must bring it in front of the tent of meeting. 15The leaders of the congregation will place their hands on the bull’s head in the Lord’s presence. One of them will slaughter it in the Lord’s presence. 16Then the anointed priest will bring some of the bull’s blood into the tent of meeting. 17The priest will dip his finger in some of the blood and sprinkle it seven times in the Lord’s presence facing the canopy. 18He will also put some blood on the horns of the altar in the Lord’s presence in the tent of meeting. He will pour the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 19He will remove all the fat and burn it on the altar. 20He will do the same thing with this bull that he did with the bull used as the offering for sin. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for the people, and they will be forgiven. 21Then he will take the bull outside the camp and will burn it the same way he burned the first bull. It is an offering for sin for the community.
Offerings for Wrongdoing by a Leader
22“When a leader unintentionally does something wrong—even one thing that is forbidden by any of the commands of the Lord his God—he will be guilty. 23When he is told about what he has done wrong, he must bring a male goat that has no defects as his offering. 24He will place his hand on the goat’s head and slaughter it in the Lord’s presence where he slaughters animals for burnt offerings. It is an offering for sin. 25Then the priest will take some of the blood of the offering for sin with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. He will pour the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar for burnt offerings. 26He will burn all the fat on the altar the same way the fat of the fellowship offering is burned. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for what the leader did wrong, and the leader will be forgiven.
Offerings for Wrongdoing by a Common Person—Goats
27“If a common person unintentionally does something wrong—even one thing forbidden by the Lord’s commands—he will be guilty. 28When he is told about what he has done wrong, he must bring a female goat that has no defects as his offering for what he has done wrong. 29He will place his hand on the animal’s head and slaughter it where animals for burnt offerings are slaughtered. 30The priest will take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. He will pour the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. 31He will remove all the fat the same way it is removed from the fellowship offering. The priest will burn it on the altar for a soothing aroma to the Lord. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for that person, and that person will be forgiven.
Offerings for Wrongdoing by a Common Person—Lambs
32“If someone brings a lamb as his offering for sin, he must bring a female that has no defects. 33He will place his hand on the animal’s head and slaughter it where he slaughters animals for burnt offerings. 34Then the priest will take some of the blood from the offering for sin with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. He will pour the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. 35He will remove all the fat the same way the fat of the lamb is removed from the fellowship offerings. Then the priest will burn it on the altar with the offering by fire to the Lord. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for what that person did wrong, and that person will be forgiven.”
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Leviticus 4
4
Sacrifices for Sin
(Leviticus 6.24-30)
1The Lord told Moses 2to say to the community of Israel:
Offer a sacrifice to ask forgiveness when you sin by accidentally doing something I have told you not to do.
When the High Priest Sins
The Lord said:
3When the high priest sins, he makes everyone else guilty too. And so, he must sacrifice a young bull that has nothing wrong with it. 4The priest will lead the bull to the entrance of the sacred tent, lay his hand on its head, and kill it there. 5He will take a bowl of the blood inside the tent, 6dip a finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of it seven times toward the sacred chest behind the curtain. 7Then, in my presence, he will smear some of the blood on each of the four corners of the incense altar, before pouring out the rest at the foot of the bronze altar#4.7 incense altar … bronze altar: See the note at 1.1-3. near the entrance to the tent.
8-10The priest will remove the fat from the bull, just as he does when he sacrifices a bull to ask my blessing.#4.8-10 to ask my blessing: See the note at 3.1. This includes the fat on the insides, as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat. He will then send it all up in smoke.
11-12The skin and flesh of the bull, together with its legs, insides, and the food still in its stomach, are to be taken outside the camp and burned on a wood fire near the ash heap.#4.11,12 ash heap: See the note at 1.16.
When the Whole Nation Sins
The Lord said:
13When the nation of Israel disobeys me without meaning to, the whole nation is still guilty. 14Once you realize what has happened, you must sacrifice a young bull to ask my forgiveness. Lead the bull to the entrance of the sacred tent, 15where your tribal leaders will lay their hands on its head, before having it killed in my presence.
16The priest will take a bowl of the animal's blood inside the sacred tent, 17dip a finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of it seven times toward the sacred chest behind the curtain. 18Then, in my presence, he must smear some of the blood on each of the four corners of the incense altar, before pouring out the rest at the foot of the bronze altar#4.18 incense altar … bronze altar: See the note at 1.1-3. near the entrance to the tent. 19-21After this, the priest will remove the fat from the bull and send it up in smoke on the altar. Finally, he will burn its remains outside the camp, just as he did with the other bull. By this sacrifice the sin of the whole nation will be forgiven.
When a Tribal Leader Sins
The Lord God said:
22Any tribal leader who disobeys me without knowing it is still guilty. 23As soon as the leader realizes what has happened, he must sacrifice a goat#4.23 goat: See the note at 1.1-3. that has nothing wrong with it. 24This is a sacrifice for sin. So he will lay his hand on the animal's head, before having it killed in my presence at the north side of the bronze altar. 25The priest will dip a finger in the blood, smear some of it on each of the four corners of the altar, and pour out the rest at the foot of the altar. 26Then he must send all of the fat up in smoke, just as he does when a sacrifice is offered to ask my blessing.#4.26 sacrifice … blessing: See the note at 3.1. By this sacrifice the leader's sin will be forgiven.
When Ordinary People Sin
The Lord said:
27 #
Nu 15.27,28. When any of you ordinary people disobey me without meaning to, you are still guilty. 28As soon as you realize what you have done, you must sacrifice a female goat that has nothing wrong with it. 29Lead the goat to the north side of the bronze altar and lay your hand on its head, before having it killed. 30Then a priest will dip a finger in the blood; he will smear some of it on each of the four corners of the altar and pour out the rest at the foot of the altar. 31After this, the priest will remove all of the fat, just as he does when an animal is sacrificed to ask my blessing.#4.31 sacrifice … blessing: See the note at 3.1. The priest will then send the fat up in smoke with a smell that pleases me. This animal is sacrificed so that I will forgive you ordinary people when you sin.
32If you offer a lamb instead of a goat as a sacrifice for sin, it must be a female that has nothing wrong with it. 33Lead the lamb to the altar and lay your hand on its head, before having it killed. 34The priest will dip a finger in the blood, smear some of it on each of the four corners of the altar, and pour out the rest at the foot of the altar. 35After this, all of the fat must be removed, just as when an animal is sacrificed to ask my blessing. Then the priest will send it up in smoke to me, together with a food offering, and your sin will be forgiven.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.