Leviticus 4

1 ADONAI said to Moshe,
2 "Tell the people of Isra'el: 'If anyone sins inadvertently against any of the mitzvot of ADONAI concerning things which should not be done, if he does any one of them,
3 then, if it is the anointed cohen who sinned and thus brought guilt on the people, he is to offer ADONAI a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he committed.
4 He must bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before ADONAI, lay his hand on the bull's head and slaughter the bull in the presence of ADONAI.
5 The anointed cohen is to take some of the bull's blood and bring it to the tent of meeting.
6 The cohen is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times in the presence of ADONAI in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.
7 The cohen is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for fragrant incense before ADONAI there in the tent of meeting. All the remaining blood of the bull he is to pour out at the base of the altar for burnt offerings, which is at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
8 He is to remove from the bull for the sin offering all of its fat -the fat covering the inner organs, all the fat above the inner organs,
9 the two kidneys, the fat on them near the flanks, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys
10 as it is removed from an ox sacrificed as a peace offering; and the cohen is to make these parts go up in smoke on the altar for burnt offerings.
11 But the bull's hide and all its flesh, with its head, the lower parts of its legs, its inner organs and dung -
12 in other words, the entire bull -he is to bring outside the camp to a clean place, where the ashes are emptied out. There he is to burn it on wood with fire; there, where the ashes are emptied out, it is to be burned up.
13 "'If the entire community of Isra'el inadvertently makes a mistake, with the assembly being unaware of the matter, and they do something against any of the mitzvot of ADONAI concerning things which should not be done, they are guilty.
14 When the sin they have committed becomes known, then the assembly is to offer a young bull as a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting.
15 The leaders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull's head and slaughter the bull in the presence of ADONAI.
16 The anointed cohen is to bring some of the bull's blood to the tent of meeting.
17 The cohen is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times in the presence of ADONAI in front of the curtain.
18 He is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar before ADONAI, there in the tent of meeting. All the remaining blood he is to pour out at the base of the altar for burnt offerings, which is at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
19 He is to remove all its fat and make it go up in smoke on the altar.
20 This is what he is to do with the bull - he must do the same with this bull as he does with the one for the sin offering. Thus the cohen will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.
21 He is to bring 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 and inadvertently does something against any of the mitzvot of ADONAI concerning things which should not be done, he is guilty.
23 If the sin which he committed becomes known to him, he is to bring as his offering a male goat without defect,
24 lay his hand on the goat's head and slaughter it in the place where they slaughter the burnt offering in the presence of ADONAI ; it is a sin offering.
25 The cohen is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. Its remaining blood he is to pour out at the base of the altar for burnt offerings.
26 All its fat he is to make go up in smoke on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice for peace offerings; thus the cohen will make atonement for him in regard to his sin, and he will be forgiven.
27 "'If an individual among the people commits a sin inadvertently, doing something against any of the mitzvot of ADONAI concerning things which should not be done, he is guilty.
28 If the sin he committed becomes known to him, he is to bring as his offering a female goat without defect for the sin he committed,
29 lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter the sin offering in the place of burnt offerings.
30 The cohen is to take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. All its remaining blood he is to pour out at the base of the altar.
31 All its fat he is to remove, as the fat is removed from the sacrifice for peace offerings; and the cohen is to make it go up in smoke on the altar as a fragrant aroma for ADONAI. Thus the cohen will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.
32 "'If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, he is to bring a female without defect,
33 lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it as a sin offering in the place where they slaughter burnt offerings.
34 The cohen is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. All its remaining blood he is to pour out at the base of the altar.
35 All its fat he is to remove, as the fat of a lamb is removed from the sacrifice for peace offerings; and the cohen is to make it go up in smoke on the altar on top of the offerings for ADONAI made by fire. Thus the cohen will make atonement for him in regard to the sin he committed, and he will be forgiven.

Leviticus 4 Commentary

Chapter 4

The sin-offering of ignorance for the priest. (1-12) For the whole congregation. (13-21) For a ruler. (22-26) For any of the people. (27-35)

Verses 1-12 Burnt-offerings, meat-offerings, and peace-offerings, had been offered before the giving of the law upon mount Sinai; and in these the patriarchs had respect to sin, to make atonement for it. But the Jews were now put into a way of making atonement for sin, more particularly by sacrifice, as a shadow of good things to come; yet the substance is Christ, and that one offering of himself, by which he put away sin. The sins for which the sin-offerings were appointed are supposed to be open acts. They are supposed to be sins of commission, things which ought not to have been done. Omissions are sins, and must come into judgment: yet what had been omitted at one time, might be done at another; but a sin committed was past recall. They are supposed to be sins committed through ignorance. The law begins with the case of the anointed priest. It is evident that God never had any infallible priest in his church upon earth, when even the high priest was liable to fall into sins of ignorance. All pretensions to act without error are sure marks of Antichrist. The beast was to be carried without the camp, and there burned to ashes. This was a sign of the duty of repentance, which is the putting away sin as a detestable thing, which our soul hates. The sin-offering is called sin. What they did to that, we must do to our sins; the body of sin must be destroyed, ( Romans 6:6 ) . The apostle applies the carrying this sacrifice without the camp to Christ, ( Hebrews 13:11-13 ) .

Verses 13-21 If the leaders of the people, through mistake, caused them to err, an offering must be brought, that wrath might not come upon the whole congregation. When sacrifices were offered, the persons, on whose behalf they were devoted, were to lay their hands on the heads of the victims, and to confess their sins. The elders were to do so, when the sacrifices were offered for the whole congregation. The load of sin was supposed then to be borne by the guiltless animal. When the offering is completed, it is said, atonement is made, and the sin shall be forgiven. The saving of churches and kingdoms from ruin, is owing to the satisfaction and mediation of Christ.

Verses 22-26 Those who have power to call others to account, are themselves accountable to the Ruler of rulers. The sin of the ruler, committed through ignorance, must come to his knowledge, either by the check of his own conscience, or by the reproof of his friends; both which even the best and greatest, not only should submit to, but be thankful for. That which I see not, teach thou me, and, Show me wherein I have erred, are prayers we should put up to God every day; that if, through ignorance, we fall into sin, we may not through ignorance abide in it.

Verses 27-35 Here is the law of the sin-offering for a common person. To be able to plead, when charged with sin, that we did it ignorantly, and through the surprise of temptation, will not bring us off, if we have no interest in that great plea, Christ hath died. The sins of ignorance committed by a common person, needed a sacrifice; the greatest are not above, the meanest are not below Divine justice. None, if offenders, were overlooked. Here rich and poor meet together; they are alike sinners, and welcome to Christ. From all these laws concerning the sin-offerings, we may learn to hate sin, and to watch against it; and to value Christ, the great and true Sin-offering, whose blood cleanses from all sin, which it was not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away. For us to err, with the Bible in our hands, is the effect of pride, sloth, and carelessness. We need to use frequent self-examination, with serious study of the Scriptures, and earnest prayer for the convincing influences of God the Holy Spirit; that we may detect our sins of ignorance, repent, and obtain forgiveness through the blood of Christ.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 4

This chapter contains the law of the sin offering, which was offered for sins committed through ignorance, error, and mistake, Le 4:1,2 and gives an account of the matter of them, and the rites belonging thereunto, which were different according to the persons for whom it was made, as for the anointed priest, Le 4:3-12 for the whole congregation, Le 4:13-21 and for the ruler, Le 4:22-26 and for any of the common people, Le 4:27-35.

Leviticus 4 Commentaries

Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.