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“Anyone refusing to give testimony concerning what he knows about a crime is guilty.

“Anyone touching anything ceremonially unclean—such as the dead body of an animal forbidden for food, wild or domesticated, or the dead body of some forbidden insect—is guilty, even though he wasn’t aware of touching it. Or if he touches human discharge of any kind, he becomes guilty as soon as he realizes that he has touched it.

“If anyone makes a rash vow, whether the vow is good or bad, when he realizes what a foolish vow he has taken, he is guilty.

“In any of these cases, he shall confess his sin and bring his guilt offering to the Lord, a female lamb or goat, and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be freed from his sin, and need not fulfill the vow.[a]

“If he is too poor to bring a lamb to the Lord, then he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons as his guilt offering; one of the birds shall be his sin offering and the other his burnt offering. The priest shall offer as the sin sacrifice whichever bird is handed to him first, breaking its neck, but not severing its head from its body. Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood at the side of the altar and the rest shall be drained out at the base of the altar; this is the sin offering. 10 He shall offer the second bird as a burnt offering, following the customary procedures that have been set forth; so the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin, and he shall be forgiven.

11 “If he is too poor to bring turtledoves or young pigeons as his sin offering, then he shall bring a tenth of a bushel of fine flour. He must not mix it with olive oil or put any incense on it because it is a sin offering. 12 He shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take out a handful as a representative portion and burn it on the altar just as any other offering to Jehovah made by fire; this shall be his sin offering. 13 In this way the priest shall make atonement for him for any sin of this kind, and he shall be forgiven. The rest of the flour shall belong to the priest, just as was the case with the grain offering.”

14 And the Lord said to Moses, 15 “If anyone sins by unintentionally defiling what is holy, then he shall bring a ram without defect, worth whatever fine[b] you charge against him, as his guilt offering to the Lord. 16 And he shall make restitution for the holy thing he has defiled, or the tithe omitted,[c] by paying for the loss, plus a 20 percent penalty; he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven.

17-18 “Anyone who disobeys some law of God without realizing it is guilty anyway, and must bring his sacrifice of a value determined by Moses. This sacrifice shall be a ram without blemish taken to the priest as a guilt offering; with it the priest shall make atonement for him, so that he will be forgiven for whatever it is he has done without realizing it. 19 It must be offered as a guilt offering, for he is certainly guilty before the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 5:6 he shall be freed from his sin, and need not fulfill the vow, implied.
  2. Leviticus 5:15 worth whatever fine, literally, “using the standard of the shekel of the sanctuary.”
  3. Leviticus 5:16 or the tithe omitted, implied in remainder of the verse.

“‘If anyone sins because they do not speak up when they hear a public charge to testify(A) regarding something they have seen or learned about, they will be held responsible.(B)

“‘If anyone becomes aware that they are guilty—if they unwittingly touch anything ceremonially unclean (whether the carcass of an unclean animal, wild or domestic, or of any unclean creature that moves along the ground)(C) and they are unaware that they have become unclean,(D) but then they come to realize their guilt; or if they touch human uncleanness(E) (anything that would make them unclean)(F) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt; or if anyone thoughtlessly takes an oath(G) to do anything, whether good or evil(H) (in any matter one might carelessly swear about) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt— when anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess(I) in what way they have sinned. As a penalty for the sin they have committed, they must bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat(J) from the flock as a sin offering[a];(K) and the priest shall make atonement(L) for them for their sin.

“‘Anyone who cannot afford(M) a lamb(N) is to bring two doves or two young pigeons(O) to the Lord as a penalty for their sin—one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. They are to bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one for the sin offering. He is to wring its head from its neck,(P) not dividing it completely,(Q) and is to splash(R) some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar;(S) the rest of the blood must be drained out at the base of the altar.(T) It is a sin offering. 10 The priest shall then offer the other as a burnt offering in the prescribed way(U) and make atonement(V) for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.(W)

11 “‘If, however, they cannot afford(X) two doves or two young pigeons,(Y) they are to bring as an offering for their sin a tenth of an ephah[b](Z) of the finest flour(AA) for a sin offering. They must not put olive oil or incense on it, because it is a sin offering. 12 They are to bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful of it as a memorial[c] portion(AB) and burn it on the altar(AC) on top of the food offerings presented to the Lord. It is a sin offering. 13 In this way the priest will make atonement(AD) for them for any of these sins they have committed, and they will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest,(AE) as in the case of the grain offering.(AF)’”

The Guilt Offering

14 The Lord said to Moses: 15 “When anyone is unfaithful to the Lord by sinning unintentionally(AG) in regard to any of the Lord’s holy things, they are to bring to the Lord as a penalty(AH) a ram(AI) from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel.[d](AJ) It is a guilt offering.(AK) 16 They must make restitution(AL) for what they have failed to do in regard to the holy things, pay an additional penalty of a fifth of its value(AM) and give it all to the priest. The priest will make atonement for them with the ram as a guilt offering, and they will be forgiven.

17 “If anyone sins and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, even though they do not know it,(AN) they are guilty and will be held responsible.(AO) 18 They are to bring to the priest as a guilt offering(AP) a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the wrong they have committed unintentionally, and they will be forgiven.(AQ) 19 It is a guilt offering; they have been guilty of[e] wrongdoing against the Lord.”(AR)

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 5:6 Or purification offering; here and throughout this chapter
  2. Leviticus 5:11 That is, probably about 3 1/2 pounds or about 1.6 kilograms
  3. Leviticus 5:12 Or representative
  4. Leviticus 5:15 That is, about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams
  5. Leviticus 5:19 Or offering; atonement has been made for their