Leviticus · Majority Standard Bible
Leviticus 4 Majority Standard Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Then the LORD said to Moses,
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Tell the Israelites to do as follows with one who sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s commandments and does what is forbidden by them:
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If anyone sins unintentionally, in any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and does any one of them,
3 If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without blemish as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.
3 if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer for his sin which he has sinned a young bull without defect to Yahweh for a sin offering.
4 He must bring the bull to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter it before the LORD.
4 He shall bring the bull to the door of the Tent of Meeting before Yahweh; and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull, and kill the bull before Yahweh.
5 Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood and bring it into the Tent of Meeting.
5 The anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull, and bring it to the Tent of Meeting.
6 The priest is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary.
6 The priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before Yahweh, before the veil of the sanctuary.
7 The priest must then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting. And he is to pour out the rest of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
7 The priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense before Yahweh, which is in the Tent of Meeting; and he shall pour out the rest of the blood of the bull at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
8 Then he shall remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering—the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them,
8 He shall take all the fat of the bull of the sin offering from it: the fat that covers the innards, and all the fat that is on the innards,
9 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he is to remove with the kidneys—
9 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the cover on the liver, with the kidneys, he shall remove,
10 just as the fat is removed from the ox of the peace offering. Then the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering.
10 as it is removed from the bull of the sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering.
11 But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, with its head and legs and its entrails and dung—
11 He shall carry the bull’s skin, all its meat, with its head, and with its legs, its innards, and its dung
12 all the rest of the bull—he must take outside the camp to a ceremonially clean place where the ashes are poured out, and there he must burn it on a wood fire on the ash heap.
12 —all the rest of the bull—outside of the camp to a clean place where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire. It shall be burned where the ashes are poured out.
13 Now if the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly so that they violate any of the LORD’s commandments and incur guilt by doing what is forbidden,
13 “‘If the whole congregation of Israel sins, and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and are guilty;
14 when they become aware of the sin they have committed, then the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the Tent of Meeting.
14 when the sin in which they have sinned is known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for a sin offering, and bring it before the Tent of Meeting.
15 The elders of the congregation are to lay their hands on the bull’s head before the LORD, and it shall be slaughtered before the LORD.
15 The elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before Yahweh; and the bull shall be killed before Yahweh.
16 Then the anointed priest is to bring some of the bull’s blood into the Tent of Meeting,
16 The anointed priest shall bring some of the blood of the bull to the Tent of Meeting.
17 and he is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the veil.
17 The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before Yahweh, before the veil.
18 He is also to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting, and he must pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
18 He shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before Yahweh, that is in the Tent of Meeting; and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
19 And he is to remove all the fat from it and burn it on the altar.
19 All its fat he shall take from it, and burn it on the altar.
20 He shall offer this bull just as he did the bull for the sin offering; in this way the priest will make atonement on their behalf, and they will be forgiven.
20 He shall do this with the bull; as he did with the bull of the sin offering, so he shall do with this; and the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven.
21 Then he is to take the bull outside the camp and burn it, just as he burned the first bull. It is the sin offering for the assembly.
21 He shall carry the bull outside the camp, and burn it as he burned the first bull. It is the sin offering for the assembly.
22 When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is prohibited by any of the commandments of the LORD his God, he incurs guilt.
22 “‘When a ruler sins, and unwittingly does any one of all the things which Yahweh his God has commanded not to be done, and is guilty,
23 When he becomes aware of the sin he has committed, he must bring an unblemished male goat as his offering.
23 if his sin in which he has sinned is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without defect.
24 He is to lay his hand on the head of the goat and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD. It is a sin offering.
24 He shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before Yahweh. It is a sin offering.
25 Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
25 The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering. He shall pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering.
26 He must burn all its fat on the altar, like the fat of the peace offerings; thus the priest will make atonement for that man’s sin, and he will be forgiven.
26 All its fat he shall burn on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin, and he will be forgiven.
27 And if one of the common people sins unintentionally and does what is prohibited by any of the LORD’s commandments, he incurs guilt.
27 “‘If anyone of the common people sins unwittingly, in doing any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and is guilty,
28 When he becomes aware of the sin he has committed, he must bring an unblemished female goat as his offering for that sin.
28 if his sin which he has sinned is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has sinned.
29 He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering.
29 He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering.
30 Then the priest is to take some of its blood with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
30 The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.
31 Then he is to remove all the fat, just as it is removed from the peace offering, and the priest is to burn it on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.
31 All its fat he shall take away, like the fat is taken away from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh; and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.
32 If, however, he brings a lamb as a sin offering, he must bring an unblemished female.
32 “‘If he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring a female without defect.
33 And he is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it as a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered.
33 He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering.
34 Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.
34 The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.
35 And he shall remove all the fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the peace offerings, and he shall burn it on the altar along with the food offerings to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.
35 He shall remove all its fat, like the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall burn them on the altar, on the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. The priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin that he has sinned, and he will be forgiven.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Moses
Drawn from the Nile, he led Israel out of Egypt and received God's Law.
Cited in the guide: Exodus 2–Deuteronomy 34
Cross references (33)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 2 Psalm 19:12; Leviticus 4:27; Numbers 15:22–29; Hebrews 9:7; James 3:10
- 3 Leviticus 9:2; Hebrews 7:27–28; Leviticus 4:14; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ezra 8:35
- 4 Leviticus 1:3–4; Leviticus 16:21; Isaiah 53:6; Exodus 29:10–11; 1 Peter 3:18
- 5 Leviticus 16:14; Numbers 19:4; Leviticus 4:16–17; Leviticus 16:19; 1 John 1:7
- 6 Joshua 6:4; Leviticus 26:18; Leviticus 26:28; Joshua 6:8; Leviticus 16:14
- 7 Leviticus 8:15; Leviticus 9:9; Leviticus 5:9; Leviticus 4:18; Leviticus 16:18
- 8 Leviticus 4:26; Leviticus 3:3–5; Leviticus 3:14–16; John 12:27; Leviticus 4:35
- 9 Leviticus 3:4
- 11 Numbers 19:5; Exodus 29:14; Hebrews 13:11–13; Leviticus 16:27; Leviticus 6:30
- 12 Hebrews 13:11; Leviticus 6:10–11; Exodus 29:14; Leviticus 16:27; Numbers 19:5
- 13 Leviticus 5:17; Leviticus 5:2–5; Ezra 10:19; 1 Timothy 1:13; Leviticus 6:4
- 14 Leviticus 4:23; Leviticus 4:3; Leviticus 4:28
- 15 Leviticus 1:4; Numbers 8:10; Deuteronomy 21:3–9; Exodus 24:9; Leviticus 4:4
- 16 Leviticus 4:5–12; Hebrews 9:12–14
- 17 Leviticus 4:6–7
- 18 Leviticus 4:7
- 19 Leviticus 4:26; Psalm 22:14; Leviticus 4:8–10; Leviticus 6:7; Leviticus 4:31
- 20 Numbers 15:25; Leviticus 12:8; Hebrews 10:10–12; Leviticus 4:26; 1 John 1:7
- 21 Leviticus 16:15; 1 Timothy 2:5–6; Ezra 8:35; 2 Chronicles 29:21–24; Leviticus 4:11–12
- 22 Leviticus 4:2; Leviticus 4:13; Numbers 31:13; 2 Samuel 24:10–17; Exodus 18:21
- 23 Leviticus 4:14; Leviticus 5:4; Romans 8:3; 2 Kings 22:10–13; Numbers 28:15
- 24 Leviticus 1:5; Leviticus 3:2; Leviticus 16:15; Isaiah 53:6; Leviticus 3:8
- 25 Leviticus 4:30; Leviticus 4:18; Leviticus 4:34; Leviticus 4:7; Leviticus 9:9
- 26 Leviticus 4:20; Leviticus 3:5; Numbers 15:28; Leviticus 4:31; Leviticus 4:35
- 27 Leviticus 4:2; Numbers 15:27; Leviticus 4:13; Numbers 5:6; Numbers 15:29
- 28 Leviticus 4:23; Leviticus 4:3; Leviticus 4:32; Isaiah 7:14; Galatians 3:28
- 29 Leviticus 4:4; Leviticus 4:24; Leviticus 1:4; Leviticus 4:15; Leviticus 4:33
- 30 Leviticus 4:7; Leviticus 4:34; Leviticus 4:25; Hebrews 2:10; Romans 8:3–4
- 31 Leviticus 4:26; Leviticus 4:35; Genesis 8:21; Leviticus 1:9; Exodus 29:18
- 32 Leviticus 4:28; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 Peter 3:18; John 1:29; 1 Peter 2:24
- 33 Leviticus 4:29–31; Leviticus 4:4
- 34 Leviticus 4:25; Leviticus 4:30; Leviticus 4:7; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 10:29
- 35 Leviticus 4:26; Leviticus 4:30–31; Leviticus 4:20; Leviticus 14:18; Leviticus 6:7
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… was offered for sin, a ram, anything; the victim itself which was offered for sin was called "sin." A sacrifice for sin then was called "sin;" so that in one place the Law says, "That the Priests are to lay their hands upon the sin." "Him" then, "who knew no sin, He made sin for us;" that is, "He was …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)