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Sacrifices To Ask the Lord's Blessing

The Lord said:

When you offer sacrifices to ask my blessing,[a] you may offer either a bull or a cow, but there must be nothing wrong with the animal. Lead it to the entrance of the sacred tent, lay your hand on its head, and have it killed there. A priest from Aaron's family will splatter its blood against the four sides of the altar.

Offer all of the fat on the animal's insides, as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat. Some of the priests will lay these pieces on the altar and send them up in smoke with a smell that pleases me, together with the sacrifice that is offered to please me.[b]

Instead of a bull or a cow, you may offer any sheep or goat that has nothing wrong with it. If you offer a sheep, you must present it to me at the entrance to the sacred tent. Lay your hand on its head and have it killed there. A priest will then splatter its blood against the four sides of the altar.

Offer the fat on the tail, the tailbone, and the insides, 10 as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat. 11 One of the priests will lay these pieces on the altar and send them up in smoke as a food offering for me.

12 If you offer a goat, you must also present it to me 13 at the entrance to the sacred tent. Lay your hand on its head and have it killed there. A priest will then splatter its blood against the four sides of the altar.

14 Offer all of the fat on the animal's insides, 15 as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat. 16 One of the priests will put these pieces on the altar and send them up in smoke as a food offering with a smell that pleases me.

All fat belongs to me. 17 So you and your descendants must never eat any fat or any blood, not even in the privacy of your own homes.[c] This law will never change.

Sacrifices for Sin

(Leviticus 6.24-30)

The Lord told Moses to 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:

When the high priest sins, he makes everyone else guilty too. And so, he must sacrifice a young bull that has nothing wrong with it. The priest will lead the bull to the entrance of the sacred tent, lay his hand on its head, and kill it there. He will take a bowl of the blood inside the tent, dip a finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of it seven times toward the sacred chest behind the curtain. Then, 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[d] near the entrance to the tent.

8-10 The priest will remove the fat from the bull, just as he does when he sacrifices a bull to ask my blessing.[e] 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.

11-12 The 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.[f]

When the Whole Nation Sins

The Lord said:

13 When the nation of Israel disobeys me without meaning to, the whole nation is still guilty. 14 Once 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, 15 where your tribal leaders will lay their hands on its head, before having it killed in my presence.

16 The priest will take a bowl of the animal's blood inside the sacred tent, 17 dip a finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of it seven times toward the sacred chest behind the curtain. 18 Then, 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[g] near the entrance to the tent. 19-21 After 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:

22 Any tribal leader who disobeys me without knowing it is still guilty. 23 As soon as the leader realizes what has happened, he must sacrifice a goat[h] that has nothing wrong with it. 24 This 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. 25 The 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. 26 Then he must send all of the fat up in smoke, just as he does when a sacrifice is offered to ask my blessing.[i] By this sacrifice the leader's sin will be forgiven.

When Ordinary People Sin

The Lord said:

27 (A) When any of you ordinary people disobey me without meaning to, you are still guilty. 28 As soon as you realize what you have done, you must sacrifice a female goat that has nothing wrong with it. 29 Lead the goat to the north side of the bronze altar and lay your hand on its head, before having it killed. 30 Then 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. 31 After this, the priest will remove all of the fat, just as he does when an animal is sacrificed to ask my blessing.[j] 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.

32 If you offer a lamb instead of a goat as a sacrifice for sin, it must be a female that has nothing wrong with it. 33 Lead the lamb to the altar and lay your hand on its head, before having it killed. 34 The 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. 35 After 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.

The Lord said:

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

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

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

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

As soon as you discover that you have committed any of these sins, you must confess what you have done. 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.

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.

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, 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.

Footnotes

  1. 3.1 sacrifices to ask my blessing: These sacrifices have traditionally been called “peace offerings” or “offerings of well-being.” A main purpose was to ask for the Lord's blessing, and so in the CEV they are sometimes called “sacrifices to ask the Lord's blessing.”
  2. 3.5 sacrifice … to please me: See the note at 1.1-3.
  3. 3.17 not even … homes: Or “no matter where you live.”
  4. 4.7 incense altar … bronze altar: See the note at 1.1-3.
  5. 4.8-10 to ask my blessing: See the note at 3.1.
  6. 4.11,12 ash heap: See the note at 1.16.
  7. 4.18 incense altar … bronze altar: See the note at 1.1-3.
  8. 4.23 goat: See the note at 1.1-3.
  9. 4.26 sacrifice … blessing: See the note at 3.1.
  10. 4.31 sacrifice … blessing: See the note at 3.1.

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