Leviticus 4
4
The Absolution-Offering
1-12 God spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites, When a person sins unintentionally by straying from any of God’s commands, breaking what must not be broken, if it’s the anointed priest who sins and so brings guilt on the people, he is to bring a bull without defect to God as an Absolution-Offering for the sin he has committed. Have him bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting in the presence of God, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter the bull before God. He is then to take some of the bull’s blood, bring it into the Tent of Meeting, dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of it seven times before God, before the curtain of the Sanctuary. He is to smear some of the blood on the horns of the Altar of Fragrant Incense before God which is in the Tent of Meeting. He is to pour the rest of the bull’s blood out at the base of the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. He is to remove all the fat from the bull of the Absolution-Offering, the fat which covers and is connected to the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is around them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver which he takes out along with the kidneys—the same procedure as when the fat is removed from the bull of the Peace-Offering. Finally, he is to burn all this on the Altar of Burnt Offering. Everything else—the bull’s hide, meat, head, legs, organs, and guts—he is to take outside the camp to a clean place where the ashes are dumped and is to burn it on a wood fire.
13-21“If the whole congregation sins unintentionally by straying from one of the commandments of God that must not be broken, they become guilty even though no one is aware of it. When they do become aware of the sin they’ve committed, the congregation must bring a bull as an Absolution-Offering and present it at the Tent of Meeting. The elders of the congregation will lay their hands on the bull’s head in the presence of God and one of them will slaughter it before God. The anointed priest will then bring some of the blood into the Tent of Meeting, dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of it seven times before God in front of the curtain. He will smear some of the blood on the horns of the Altar which is before God in the Tent of Meeting and pour the rest of it at the base of the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. He will remove all the fat and burn it on the Altar. He will follow the same procedure with this bull as with the bull for the Absolution-Offering. The priest makes atonement for them and they are forgiven. They then will take the bull outside the camp and burn it just as they burned the first bull. It’s the Absolution-Offering for the congregation.
22-26“When a ruler sins unintentionally by straying from one of the commands of his God which must not be broken, he is guilty. When he becomes aware of the sin he has committed, he must bring a goat for his offering, a male without any defect, lay his hand on the head of the goat, and slaughter it in the place where they slaughter the Whole-Burnt-Offering in the presence of God—it’s an Absolution-Offering. The priest will then take some of the blood of the Absolution-Offering with his finger, smear it on the horns of the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering, and pour the rest at the base of the Altar. He will burn all its fat on the Altar, the same as with the fat of the Peace-Offering.
“The priest makes atonement for him on account of his sin and he’s forgiven.
27-31“When an ordinary member of the congregation sins unintentionally, straying from one of the commandments of God which must not be broken, he is guilty. When he is made aware of his sin, he shall bring a goat, a female without any defect, and offer it for his sin, lay his hand on the head of the Absolution-Offering, and slaughter it at the place of the Whole-Burnt-Offering. The priest will take some of its blood with his finger, smear it on the horns of the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering, and pour the rest at the base of the Altar. Finally, he’ll take out all the fat, the same as with the Peace-Offerings, and burn it on the Altar for a pleasing fragrance to God.
“In this way, the priest makes atonement for him and he’s forgiven.
32-35“If he brings a lamb for an Absolution-Offering, he shall present a female without any defect, lay his hand on the head of the Absolution-Offering, and slaughter it at the same place they slaughter the Whole-Burnt-Offering. The priest will take some of the blood of the Absolution-Offering with his finger, smear it on the horns of the Altar of Burnt-Offering, and pour the rest at the base of the Altar. He shall remove all the fat, the same as for the lamb of the Peace-Offering. Finally, the priest will burn it on the Altar on top of the gifts to God.
“In this way, the priest makes atonement for him on account of his sin and he’s forgiven.”
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Leviticus 4: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
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.