Leviticus 5-7
GOD’S WORD Translation
Sins Which Require an Offering for Sin
5 ⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “Now, if you are a witness under oath and won’t tell what you saw or what you know, you are sinning and will be punished.
2 “If you touch anything unclean [a]—the unclean dead body of a wild or tame animal or the body of an unclean, swarming creature—and then ignore what you did, you are unclean and will be guilty.
3 “If you become unclean by touching human uncleanness of any kind and then ignore it (although you know what you did), you will be guilty.
4 “If you hastily take a vow about what you will or will not do (as some people do) and then ignore it (although you know what you said), you will be guilty.
5 “So if you are guilty of any of these sins, you must confess it. 6 Bring your guilt offering to the Lord for the sin you committed. It must be a female sheep or goat as an offering for sin. Then the priest will make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong.
If You Cannot Afford a Sheep
7 “Now, if you cannot afford a sheep, you must bring to the Lord two mourning doves or two pigeons as a guilt offering for the sin you committed. One will be an offering for sin, the other a burnt offering. 8 Bring them to the priest, and he will sacrifice the offering for sin first. He will break the bird’s neck without pulling its head off. 9 He will sprinkle some of the blood from the offering for sin on the side of the altar, and the rest of the blood will be drained at the bottom of the altar. It is an offering for sin. 10 Then, following the proper procedures, he will sacrifice the second bird as a burnt offering. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong.
If You Cannot Afford Two Mourning Doves
11 “But if you cannot afford two mourning doves or two pigeons, then bring eight cups of flour as an offering for the sin you committed. Never put olive oil on it or add incense to it, because it is an offering for sin. 12 Bring it to the priest. The priest will take a handful of it. He will burn it as a reminder on top of the offering by fire to the Lord on the altar. It is an offering for sin. 13 So the priest will make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong, and you will be forgiven. The offering will belong to the priest like the grain offering.”
For Unintentional Wrongdoing against the Lord’s Property
14 The Lord spoke to Moses, 15 “If any of you fail to do your duty by unintentionally doing something wrong with any of the Lord’s holy things, bring a guilt offering to the Lord. It must be a ram that has no defects or its value in silver weighed according to the official standards of the holy place. 16 Pay for whatever holy things you used plus one-fifth more. Give it to the priest. So the priest will use the ram sacrificed for the guilt offering to make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong, and you will be forgiven.
For Unintentionally Disobeying the Lord’s Commands
17 “If any of you do wrong—even one thing forbidden by any of the Lord’s commands, but you didn’t know it—when you realize your guilt, you must be punished. 18 You must bring the priest a ram that has no defects from the flock or its value in money for a guilt offering. The priest will make peace with the Lord for the wrong you did unintentionally (although you didn’t know what you did), and you will be forgiven. 19 It is a guilt offering because you are certainly guilty as far as the Lord is concerned.”
For Sins against the Lord’s People
6 [b]The Lord spoke to Moses, 2 “If any of you sin against the Lord by failing to do your duty, if you lie to your neighbor about something you were supposed to take care of or if you lie about something stolen or seized from your neighbor, you are sinning and will be guilty. 3 If you find something that someone lost and lie about it under oath, or commit any other sin like this, 4 you are sinning and will be guilty. Return what you stole or seized, what you were supposed to take care of, the lost item you found, 5 or whatever it was that you swore falsely about. Pay it back in full plus one-fifth more. Give it back to its owner on the day you bring your guilt offering. 6 Then bring the Lord your guilt offering, a ram that has no defects or its value in money. Bring it to the priest. 7 So the priest will make peace with the Lord. Then you will be forgiven for whatever you did that made you guilty.”
Instructions for Taking Care of the Fire
8 The Lord spoke to Moses, 9 “Command Aaron and his sons: These are the instructions for the burnt offering that stays on the altar overnight while the altar fire is kept burning.
10 “The priest must put on his linen clothes, including his linen undergarments. Then he will remove the ashes left on the altar from the fire that consumed the burnt offering and will put them next to the altar. 11 Then he will take off these clothes and put on some others. He will take the ashes to a clean place outside the camp. 12 The fire must always be burning on the altar. It must never go out. The priest will burn wood on it every morning. He will lay the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offering. 13 The fire must always be burning on the altar. It must never go out.
The Grain Offering from the People
14 “These are the instructions for the grain offering. Aaron’s sons must bring it into the Lord’s presence in front of the altar. 15 One of them will remove a handful of flour from the grain offering, together with the olive oil and all the incense. He will burn it on the altar as a reminder. It is a soothing aroma to the Lord. 16 Aaron and his sons will eat the rest of it. They will eat unleavened bread in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. 17 Don’t use yeast in baking the bread. I have given it to them as their share from the offerings by fire made to me. It is very holy like the offering for sin and the guilt offering. 18 Every male descendant of Aaron may eat it. It is a permanent law for generations to come regarding the offering by fire to the Lord. Everyone who touches it will become holy.”
Special Grain Offerings from the Priests
19 The Lord spoke to Moses, 20 “This is the offering that Aaron and his sons must bring to the Lord on the day he is anointed—eight cups of flour. They must do this every day. He must offer half of it in the morning and half in the evening. 21 Prepare it in a frying pan with olive oil, mixing it well. Offer baked pieces of the grain offering as a soothing aroma to the Lord. 22 Aaron’s son who is anointed to take his place as priest will prepare it. This is a permanent law of the Lord: It must be completely burned. 23 Every grain offering made by a priest must be completely burned. It must not be eaten.”
Instructions for the Offering for Sin
24 The Lord spoke to Moses, 25 “Tell Aaron and his sons: These are the instructions for the offering for sin. The offering for sin must be slaughtered in the Lord’s presence in the same place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. It is very holy. 26 The priest who makes the offering for sin will eat it in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. 27 Anything that touches its meat will be holy. If blood gets on someone’s clothes, he must wash them in a holy place. 28 Any piece of pottery in which the offering for sin is cooked must be broken into pieces. Any copper kettle in which the offering for sin is cooked must be scoured and rinsed with water. 29 Any male among the priests may eat the offering for sin. It is very holy. 30 Any offering for sin must not be eaten if some of the blood was brought into the holy place in the tent of meeting to make peace with the Lord. It must be burned.”
Instructions for the Guilt Offering
7 ⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “These are the instructions for the guilt offering. It is very holy. 2 It must be slaughtered in the same place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. ⌞A priest⌟ will throw the blood against the altar on all sides. 3 He will offer all the fat, the fat from the tail, the fat covering the internal organs, 4 and the two kidneys with the fat on them. He will also remove the lobe of the liver along with the kidneys. 5 The priest will burn them on the altar. It is a guilt offering by fire to the Lord. 6 Any male among the priests may eat it. It will be eaten in a holy place. It is very holy.
7 “The same instructions apply to the offering for sin and the guilt offering. Both offerings belong to the priest to make peace with the Lord. 8 The skin of the burnt offering belongs to the priest who sacrifices it. 9 Every grain offering, whether baked in an oven or prepared in a skillet or a frying pan, belongs to the priest who offers it. 10 Every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, will be shared equally by all of Aaron’s sons.
Instructions for the Fellowship Offering of Thanksgiving
11 “These are the instructions for the fellowship offering that you must bring to the Lord. 12 If you offer it as a thank offering, you must also bring rings of unleavened bread mixed with olive oil, wafers of unleavened bread brushed with olive oil, and loaves made from flour mixed well with olive oil. 13 In addition to these rings of bread, you must bring bread with yeast along with your fellowship offering of thanksgiving. 14 From every offering you must bring one loaf to the Lord as a ⌞special⌟ contribution. It will belong to the priest who throws the blood of the fellowship offering.
15 “The meat from your fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered. Never leave any of it until morning.
Instructions for Other Fellowship Offerings
16 “If your sacrificial offering is something you vowed or a freewill offering, it must be eaten the day you offer it or the next day. 17 However, on the third day any meat left over from the sacrifice must be burned. 18 You will not be accepted if any meat from the fellowship offering is eaten on the third day. You will not receive credit for it. It is repulsive to God. The person who eats any of it must be punished.
19 “Meat that touches anything unclean must not be eaten. It must be burned. Anyone who is clean may eat from these sacrifices. 20 Those who eat meat from the Lord’s fellowship offering while unclean must be excluded from the people. 21 Those who touch anything unclean, human or animal, or any other disgusting uncleanness and still eat the Lord’s fellowship offering must be excluded from the people.”
No Fat or Blood May Be Eaten
22 The Lord spoke to Moses, 23 “Tell the Israelites: Never eat any fat from bulls, sheep, or goats. 24 The fat from an animal that dies naturally or is killed by wild animals you may use for any other purpose, but you must never eat it. 25 Those who eat the fat from an animal which they sacrificed by fire to the Lord must be excluded from the people.
26 “Never eat the blood of any bird or animal no matter where you live. 27 Those who eat any blood must be excluded from the people.”
Dividing the Fellowship Offering between the People and the Priests
28 The Lord spoke to Moses, 29 “Tell the Israelites: Anyone who offers the Lord a fellowship offering must bring a part of that sacrifice as a gift to the Lord. 30 Bring the sacrifices by fire made to the Lord yourself. Bring the fat with the breast. Take the breast and present it to the Lord.
31 “The priest will burn the fat on the altar. However, the breast will belong to Aaron and his sons. 32 You will also give the priest the right thigh as a contribution. 33 When any of Aaron’s sons offer the blood and fat of the fellowship offering, the right thigh will belong to him as his share. 34 From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that was presented ⌞to me⌟ and the thigh from the contribution offering. I have given them to the priest Aaron and his sons. This is a permanent law for generations to come.
35 “This is the share for Aaron and his sons from the sacrifices by fire made to the Lord. It was given to them on the day Moses ordained them to serve the Lord as priests. 36 The Lord commanded the Israelites to give it to them on the day he anointed them. This is a permanent law for generations to come.”
Summary of Offerings
37 These are the instructions for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the offering for sin, the guilt offering, the ordination offering, and the fellowship offering. 38 On Mount Sinai the Lord gave Moses commands about these offerings at the same time that he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to him in the Sinai Desert.
Footnotes
- 5:2 “Unclean ” refers to anything that is not presentable to God.
- 6:1 Leviticus 6:1–30 in English Bibles is Leviticus 5:20–6:23 in the Hebrew Bible.
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