Leviticus 3-5

New Life Version

Peace Gifts

3 ‘If this gift given on the altar is a peace gift taken from the herd, male or female, he should give one to the Lord that is perfect. ² He will lay his hand on the head of his gift, and kill it at the door of the meeting tent. Aaron’s sons, the religious leaders, will put the blood around on the altar. ³ And from the peace gift, a gift by fire to the Lord, he will give all the fat that covers and is upon the inside parts, ⁴ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the part that is on the liver, which he will take away with the kidneys. ⁵ Then Aaron’s sons will burn it on the altar, on the burnt gift that is on the wood of the fire. It is a gift by fire, a pleasing smell to the Lord. ⁶ If his peace gift to the Lord is from the flock, male or female, he will give one that is perfect. ⁷ If he gives a lamb, then he will give it to the Lord. ⁸ He will lay his hand on the head of his gift, and kill it in front of the meeting tent. Aaron’s sons will put its blood around on the altar. ⁹ And from the peace gifts he will bring as a gift by fire to the Lord, its fat, the whole fat tail, taking it off close to the backbone, and the fat that covers and is upon the inside parts, ¹⁰ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the part that is on the liver, which he will take away with the kidneys. ¹¹ Then the religious leader will burn them on the altar, a food gift by fire to the Lord.

¹² ‘If his gift is a goat, then he will give it to the Lord. ¹³ He will lay his hand on its head, and kill it in front of the meeting tent. The sons of Aaron will put its blood around on the altar. ¹⁴ Then he will give from it as his gift by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers and is on the inside parts, ¹⁵ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the part that is on the liver, which he will take away with the kidneys. ¹⁶ The religious leader will burn them on the altar, a food gift by fire for a pleasing smell. All fat is the Lord’s. ¹⁷ It will be a Law forever for all your people in all your houses, that you do not eat any fat or any blood.’”

Gifts Given When a Person Sins without Meaning To

4 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to the people of Israel, ‘If a person sins without meaning to, by not obeying what the Lord has told us to do, these are the rules he must follow. ³ If the chosen religious leader sins and so brings guilt on the people, let him give to the Lord a bull that is perfect. It is a sin gift for the sin he has done. ⁴ He will bring the bull to the door of the meeting tent before the Lord. He will lay his hand on the head of the bull, and kill the bull before the Lord. ⁵ Then the chosen religious leader is to take some of the bull’s blood and bring it to the meeting tent. ⁶ The religious leader will put his finger in the blood and put some of the blood seven times before the Lord and in front of the curtain of the holy place. ⁷ And the religious leader will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet-smelling perfume in the meeting tent before the Lord. Then he will pour out all of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar of burnt gifts at the door of the meeting tent. ⁸ He will take from it all the fat of the bull of the sin gift, the fat that covers the inside parts, and all the fat that is on the inside parts, ⁹ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the part on the liver, which he will take off with the kidneys, ¹⁰ just as these are taken from the bull of the peace gift. The religious leader is to burn them on the altar of burnt gifts. ¹¹ But the bull’s skin and all its flesh, its head, legs, inside parts and its waste, ¹² all the rest of the bull, he is to bring to a clean place away from the tents, where the ashes are poured out. There he will burn it on wood with fire. It will be burned where the ashes are poured out.

¹³ ‘If all the people of Israel sin and do not obey what the Lord has told them, without meaning to and without knowing about it, they are guilty. ¹⁴ When their sin becomes known, the people will give a bull from the herd for a sin gift. They will bring it in front of the meeting tent. ¹⁵ Then the leaders of the people will lay their hands on the bull’s head before the Lord. And the bull will be killed before the Lord. ¹⁶ The chosen religious leader will take some of the bull’s blood to the meeting tent. ¹⁷ There the religious leader will put his finger in the blood and put it seven times before the Lord and in front of the curtains. ¹⁸ He will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar before the Lord in the meeting tent. And he will pour out all the blood at the base of the altar of burnt gifts at the door of the meeting tent. ¹⁹ He will take all its fat from it and burn it on the altar. ²⁰ He will do the same with the bull as he did with the bull of the sin gift. So the religious leader will pay for their sins. And they will be forgiven. ²¹ Then he will bring the bull away from the tents and burn it as he burned the first bull. It is the sin gift for all the people.

²² ‘When a leader sins without meaning to, by doing any of all the things the Lord God has told us not to do, he becomes guilty. ²³ If his sin is made known to him, he will bring for his gift a male goat that is perfect. ²⁴ He will lay his hand on the head of the male goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt gifts before the Lord. It is a sin gift. ²⁵ Then the religious leader will take some of the blood of the sin gift with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt gifts. He will pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt gifts. ²⁶ He will burn all its fat on the altar like the fat of the peace gifts. So the religious leader will pay the price for the man’s sin. And he will be forgiven.

²⁷ ‘If anyone among the people of the land sins without meaning to, by doing any of the things the Lord said not to do, he becomes guilty. ²⁸ If his sin is made known to him, he will bring for his gift a female goat that is perfect, for the sin he has done. ²⁹ He will lay his hand on the head of the sin gift, and kill the sin gift at the place of burnt gifts. ³⁰ The religious leader will take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt gifts. He will pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. ³¹ Then he will take all its fat, just as the fat was taken from the peace gifts. And the religious leader will burn it on the altar for a pleasing smell to the Lord. So the religious leader will pay for his sin. And he will be forgiven.

³² ‘If he brings a lamb for a sin gift, he will bring a female lamb that is perfect. ³³ He will lay his hand on the head of the sin gift, and kill it for a sin gift in the place where they kill the burnt gifts. ³⁴ The religious leader will take some of the blood of the sin gift with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt gifts. He will pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. ³⁵ Then he will take all its fat, just as the lamb’s fat is taken from the peace gifts. The religious leader will burn it on the altar, on the gifts by fire to the Lord. So the religious leader will pay for him the price for the sin he has done. And he will be forgiven.

5 ‘If a person sins by saying nothing when he is told in court to tell what he knows or what he has seen, he will become guilty. ² If a person touches anything that is unclean, the dead body of a wild animal, or of cattle, or of anything that moves on the earth that is unclean, even without knowing it, then he will be unclean and will be guilty. ³ Or if he touches a human who is unclean for whatever reason, without knowing it, when he learns about it, he will be guilty. ⁴ If a person without thinking swears he will do something, whether bad or good, any foolish promise a person may swear, when he learns about it, he will be guilty. ⁵ When a person is guilty in any of these, he should tell of the sin he has done. ⁶ He should bring his guilt gift to the Lord for the sin he has done, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin gift. And the religious leader will pay the price for him for his sin.

⁷ ‘But if he does not have enough money for a lamb, he should bring to the Lord as his guilt gift for his sin two turtle-doves or two young pigeons. One will be for a sin gift, and the other for a burnt gift. ⁸ He will bring them to the religious leader, who will give the sin gift first. He will break its neck without taking off its head. ⁹ Then he will put some of the blood of the sin gift on the side of the altar. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. It is a sin gift. ¹⁰ Then he will make the second bird ready for a burnt gift, by following the Law. So the religious leader will pay the price for him for the sin he has done. And he will be forgiven.

¹¹ ‘But if he does not have enough money for two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, he should bring one- tenth part of a basket of fine flour for a sin gift. He should not put oil or special perfume on it, for it is a sin gift. ¹² He will bring it to the religious leader, who will take a handful of it as a part to be remembered. And he will burn this part of the flour on the altar with the gifts made by fire to the Lord. It is a sin gift. ¹³ So the religious leader will pay the price for him for the sin he has done in any of these things. And he will be forgiven. The rest of the flour will be for the religious leader, as in the grain gift.’”

Making Things Right

¹⁴ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁵ “If a person is not faithful and sins against the holy things of the Lord without meaning to, he should bring his guilt gift to the Lord. It should be a ram that is perfect from the flock, worth money the same as the weight of silver decided upon for the holy place. It is a guilt gift. ¹⁶ He should pay for his sin against the holy thing, and add one-fifth part to it, and give it to the religious leader. Then the religious leader will give for his sin the ram of the guilt gift as the price for his sin. And he will be forgiven.

¹⁷ “If a person sins by doing any of the things the Lord has told him not to do, even without meaning to, he is guilty and must pay for his sin. ¹⁸ He will bring to the religious leader a ram that is perfect from the flock, that is decided to be the right price for a guilt gift. So the religious leader will pay the price for him for the sin he had done without meaning to. And he will be forgiven. ¹⁹ It is a guilt gift. For sure he has sinned against the Lord.”