Leviticus 4
Offerings for Unintentional Sins
1The LORD commanded Moses 2to tell the people of Israel that anyone who sinned and broke any of the LORD's commands without intending to, would have to observe the following rules.
3If it is the High Priest who sins and so brings guilt on the people, he shall present a young bull without any defects and sacrifice it to the LORD for his sin. 4He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent, put his hand on its head, and kill it there in the LORD's presence. 5Then the High Priest shall take some of the bull's blood and carry it into the Tent. 6He shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it in front of the sacred curtain seven times. 7Then he shall put some of the blood on the projections at the corners of the incense altar in the Tent. He shall pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar used for burning sacrifices, which is at the entrance of the Tent. 8From this bull he shall take all the fat, the fat on the internal organs, 9the kidneys and the fat on them, and the best part of the liver. 10The priest shall take this fat and burn it on the altar used for the burnt offerings, just as he does with the fat from the animal killed for the fellowship offering. 11But he shall take its skin, all its flesh, its head, its legs, and its internal organs including the intestines, 12carry it all outside the camp to the ritually clean place where the ashes are poured out, and there he shall burn it on a wood fire.
13If it is the whole community of Israel that sins and becomes guilty of breaking one of the LORD's commands without intending to, 14then as soon as the sin becomes known, the community shall bring a young bull as a sin offering. They shall bring it to the Tent of the LORD's presence; 15the leaders of the community shall put their hands on its head, and it shall be killed there. 16The High Priest shall take some of the bull's blood into the Tent, 17dip his finger in it, and sprinkle it in front of the curtain seven times. 18He shall put some of the blood on the projections at the corners of the incense altar inside the Tent and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar used for burning sacrifices, which is at the entrance of the Tent. 19Then he shall take all its fat and burn it on the altar. 20He shall do the same thing with this bull as he does with the bull for the sin offering, and in this way he shall make the sacrifice for the people's sin, and they will be forgiven. 21Then he shall take the bull outside the camp and burn it, just as he burns the bull offered for his own sin. This is an offering to take away the sin of the community.
22If it is a ruler who sins and becomes guilty of breaking one of the LORD's commands without intending to, 23then as soon as his attention is called to the sin, he shall bring as his offering a male goat without any defects. 24He shall put his hand on its head and kill it on the north side of the altar, where the animals for the burnt offerings are killed. This is an offering to take away sin. 25The priest shall dip his finger in the blood of the animal, put it on the projections at the corners of the altar, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. 26Then he shall burn all its fat on the altar, just as he burns the fat of the animals killed for the fellowship offerings. In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the sin of the ruler, and he will be forgiven.
27If it is one of the common people who sins and becomes guilty of breaking one of the LORD's commands without intending to, 28then as soon as his attention is called to the sin, he shall bring as his offering a female goat without any defects. 29He shall put his hand on its head and kill it on the north side of the altar, where the animals for the burnt offerings are killed. 30The priest shall dip his finger in the blood of the animal, put it on the projections at the corners of the altar, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. 31Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat is removed from the animals killed for the fellowship offerings, and he shall burn it on the altar so that the smell pleases the LORD. In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven.
32If a man brings a sheep as a sin offering, it must be a female without any defects. 33He shall put his hand on its head and kill it on the north side of the altar, where the animals for the burnt offerings are killed. 34The priest shall dip his finger in the blood of the animal, put it on the projections at the corners of the altar, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. 35Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat is removed from the sheep killed for the fellowship offerings, and he shall burn it on the altar along with the food offerings given to the LORD. In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven.
Good News Translation® with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Anglicisation © The British and Foreign Bible Society 1976, 1994, 2004
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