Leviticus 5:17

17 "If a person sins and does something the Lord has commanded not to be done, even if he does not know it, he is still guilty. He is responsible for his sin.

Leviticus 5:17 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 5:17

And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which
are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord
Respecting holy things:

though he wist it not;
or did not know that he had transgressed a negative command:

yet he is guilty, and shall bear the iniquity;
be chargeable with guilt, and is liable to punishment, and must make an atonement and satisfaction for it; see ( Luke 12:48 ) .

Leviticus 5:17 In-Context

15 "If a person accidentally sins and does something against the holy things of the Lord, he must bring from the flock a male sheep that has nothing wrong with it. This will be his penalty offering to the Lord. Its value in silver must be correct as set by the Holy Place measure. It is a penalty offering.
16 That person must pay for the sin he did against the holy thing, adding one-fifth to its value. Then he must give it all to the priest. In this way the priest will remove the person's sin so he will belong to the Lord, by using the male sheep as the penalty offering. And the Lord will forgive the person.
17 "If a person sins and does something the Lord has commanded not to be done, even if he does not know it, he is still guilty. He is responsible for his sin.
18 He must bring the priest a male sheep from the flock, one that has nothing wrong with it and that is worth the correct amount. It will be a penalty offering. Though the person sinned without knowing it, with this offering the priest will remove the sin so the person will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him.
19 The person is guilty of doing wrong, so he must give the penalty offering to the Lord."
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.