Leviticus 4:1-35
Rules for Sin Offerings
The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘Suppose someone sins without meaning to. And that person does something the Lord commands us not to do.
“ ‘Suppose it is the anointed priest who sins. And suppose he brings guilt on the people. Then he must bring a young bull to the Lord. It must not have any flaws. He must bring it as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He must bring the bull to the entrance to the tent of meeting in the sight of the Lord. He must place his hand on its head. He must kill it there in the sight of the Lord. Then the anointed priest must take some of the bull’s blood. He must carry it into the tent of meeting. He must dip his finger into the blood. He must sprinkle some of it seven times in the sight of the Lord. He must do it in front of the curtain of the Most Holy Room. Then the priest must put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for burning incense. The horns stick out from the upper four corners of the altar. The incense burned on that altar has a sweet smell. The altar stands in front of the Lord in the tent of meeting. The priest must pour out the rest of the bull’s blood at the bottom of the altar for burnt offerings. That altar stands at the entrance to the tent. He must remove all the fat from the bull for the sin offering. It includes the fat that is connected to the inside parts. It includes both kidneys with the fat on them next to the lower back muscles. It also includes the long part of the liver. He must remove all of it together with the kidneys. He must remove it in the same way the fat is removed from an ox sacrificed as a friendship offering. Then the priest must burn all of it on the altar for burnt offerings. But the bull’s hide must be taken away. So must all its meat. So must its head and legs. And so must its inside parts and guts. In other words, all the rest of the bull must be taken away. The priest must take it outside the camp. He must take it to a “clean” place. He must take it to the place where the ashes are thrown. Then he must burn it there in a wood fire on a pile of ashes.
“ ‘Or suppose the whole community of Israel sins without meaning to. They do something the Lord commands us not to do. Suppose they realize their guilt. And suppose their sin becomes known. Then they must bring a young bull as a sin offering. They must offer it in front of the tent of meeting. The elders of the community must place their hands on the bull’s head in the sight of the Lord. The bull must be killed in the sight of the Lord. Then the anointed priest must take some of the bull’s blood into the tent of meeting. He must dip his finger into the blood. He must sprinkle it seven times in the sight of the Lord. He must do it in front of the curtain. He must put some of the blood on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar. The altar stands in front of the Lord in the tent of meeting. The priest must pour out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar for burnt offerings. That altar stands at the entrance to the tent. He must remove all the fat from the bull. He must burn it on the altar. He must do the same thing with that bull as he did with the bull for the sin offering. When he does, he will pay for the sin of the community. And they will be forgiven. Then he must take the bull outside the camp. He must burn it just as he burned the first bull. It is the sin offering for the whole community.
“ ‘Or suppose a leader sins without meaning to. He disobeys any of the commands of the Lord his God. And suppose he realizes his guilt and his sin becomes known. Then he must bring an offering. It must be a male goat. It must not have any flaws. He must place his hand on the goat’s head. He must kill it. He must do it at the place where the animals for burnt offerings are killed in the sight of the Lord. His offering is a sin offering. Then the priest must dip his finger into some of the blood of the sin offering. He must put it on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar for burnt offerings. He must pour out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. He must burn all the fat on the altar. He must burn it in the same way he burned the fat of the friendship offering. When he does, he will pay for the sin of the leader. And the leader will be forgiven.
“ ‘Or suppose someone in the community sins without meaning to. They disobey any of the Lord’s commands. And suppose they realize their guilt and their sin becomes known. Then they must bring an offering for the sin they have committed. It must be a female goat. It must not have any flaws. They must place their hand on the head of the animal for the sin offering. It must be killed at the place where the animals for burnt offerings are killed. Then the priest must dip his finger into some of the blood. He must put it on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar for burnt offerings. He must pour out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. They must remove all the fat in the same way the fat is removed from the friendship offering. The priest must burn it on the altar. Its smell pleases the Lord. When the priest burns the offering, he will pay for their sin. And they will be forgiven.
“ ‘Suppose someone brings a lamb as their sin offering. Then they must bring a female animal. It must not have any flaws. They must place their hand on its head. They must kill it as a sin offering. They must do it at the place where the animals for burnt offerings are killed. Then the priest must dip his finger into some of the blood of the sin offering. He must put it on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar for burnt offerings. He must pour out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. They must remove all the fat in the same way the fat is removed from the lamb for the friendship offering. The priest must burn it on the altar on top of the food offerings presented to the Lord. When he does, he will pay for the sin they have committed. And they will be forgiven.
Leviticus 5:1-13
“ ‘Suppose someone has been called as a witness to something they have seen or learned about. Then if they do not tell what they know, they have sinned. And they will be held responsible for it.
“ ‘Or suppose someone touches something not “clean.” It could be the dead bodies of wild animals or of livestock. Or it could be the dead bodies of creatures that move along the ground. Even though those people are not aware that they touched them, they have become “unclean.” And they are guilty. Or suppose they touch something “unclean” that comes from a human being. It could be anything that would make them “unclean.” Suppose they are not aware that they touched it. When they find out about it, they will be guilty. Or suppose someone makes a promise to do something without thinking it through. It does not matter what they promised. It does not matter whether they made the promise without thinking about it carefully. And suppose they are not aware that they did not think it through. When they find out about it, they will be guilty. When someone is guilty in any of those ways, they must admit they have sinned. They must bring a sin offering to pay for the sin they have committed. They must bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat from the flock. The priest will sacrifice the animal. That will pay for the person’s sin.
“ ‘Suppose they can’t afford a lamb. Then they must get two doves or two young pigeons. They must bring them to the Lord to pay for their sin. One of them is for a sin offering. The other is for a burnt offering. They must bring them to the priest. The priest will offer the one for the sin offering first. He must twist its head. But he must not twist it off completely. Then he must splash some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar. He must empty out the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar. It is a sin offering. Then the priest will offer the other bird as a burnt offering. He must do it in the way the law requires. That will pay for the sin they have committed. And they will be forgiven.
“ ‘But suppose they can’t afford two doves or two young pigeons. Then they must bring three and a half pounds of the finest flour as an offering for their sin. It is a sin offering. They must not put olive oil or incense on it. That is because it is a sin offering. They must bring it to the priest. The priest must take a handful of it. He must burn that part on the altar. It will be a reminder that all good things come from the Lord. The priest must burn it on top of the food offerings presented to the Lord. It is a sin offering. In that way the priest will pay for any of the sins they have committed. And they will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest. It is the same as in the case of the grain offering.’ ”
