Leviticus 5; Leviticus 6; Leviticus 7

Leviticus 5

1 "'If a person is ordered to tell in court what he has seen or what he knows and he does not tell the court, he is guilty of sin.

2 "'Or someone might touch something unclean, such as the dead body of an unclean wild animal or an unclean farm animal or an unclean crawling animal. Even if he does not know that he touched it, he will still be unclean and guilty of sin.

3 "'Someone might touch human uncleanness -- anything that makes someone unclean -- and not know it. But when he learns about it, he will be guilty.

4 "'Or someone might make a promise before the Lord without thinking. It might be a promise to do something bad or something good; it might be about anything. Even if he forgets about it, when he remembers, he will be guilty.

5 "'When anyone is guilty of any of these things, he must tell how he sinned.

6 He must bring an offering to the Lord as a penalty for sin; it must be a female lamb or goat from the flock. The priest will perform the acts to remove that person's sin so he will belong to the Lord.

7 "'But if the person cannot afford a lamb, he must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the Lord as the penalty for his sin. One bird must be for a sin offering, and the other must be for a whole burnt offering.

8 He must bring them to the priest, who will first offer the one for the sin offering. He will pull the bird's head from its neck, but he will not pull it completely off.

9 He must sprinkle the blood from the sin offering on the side of the altar, and then he must pour the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar; it is a sin offering.

10 Then the priest must offer the second bird as a whole burnt offering, as the law says. In this way the priest will remove the person's sin so he will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him.

11 "'If the person cannot afford two doves or two pigeons, he must bring about two quarts of fine flour as an offering for sin. He must not put oil or incense on the flour, because it is a sin offering.

12 He must bring the flour to the priest. The priest will take a handful of the flour as a memorial offering and burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made by fire to the Lord; it is a sin offering.

13 In this way the priest will remove the person's sins so he will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him. What is left of the sin offering belongs to the priest, like the grain offering.'"

14 The Lord said to Moses,

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."

Leviticus 6

1 The Lord said to Moses,

2 "A person might sin against the Lord by doing one of these sins: He might lie about what happened to something he was taking care of for someone else, or he might lie about a promise he made. He might steal something or cheat someone.

3 He might find something that had been lost and then lie about it. He might make a promise before the Lord about something and not mean it, or he might do some other sin.

4 If he does any of these things, he is guilty of sin. He must bring back whatever he stole or whatever he took by cheating. He must bring back the thing he took care of for someone else. He must bring back what he found and lied about

5 or what he made a false promise about. He must pay the full price plus an extra one-fifth of the value of what he took. He must give the money to the true owner on the day he brings his penalty offering.

6 He must bring his penalty to the priest -- a male sheep from the flock, one that does not have anything wrong with it and that is worth the correct amount. It will be a penalty offering to the Lord.

7 Then the priest will perform the acts to remove that person's sin so he will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him for the sins that made him guilty."

8 The Lord said to Moses,

9 "Give this command to Aaron and the priests: 'These are the teachings about the whole burnt offering: The burnt offering must stay on the altar all night until morning, and the altar's fire must be kept burning.

10 The priest must put on his linen robe and linen underclothes next to his body. Then he will remove the ashes from the burnt offering on the altar and put them beside the altar.

11 Then he must take off those clothes and put on others and carry the ashes outside the camp to a special clean place.

12 But the fire must be kept burning on the altar; it must not be allowed to go out. The priest must put more firewood on the altar every morning, place the whole burnt offering on the fire, and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings.

13 The fire must be kept burning on the altar all the time; it must not go out.

14 "'These are the teachings about the grain offering: The priests must bring it to the Lord in front of the altar.

15 The priest must take a handful of fine flour, with the oil and all of the incense on it, and burn the grain offering on the altar as a memorial offering to the Lord. Its smell is pleasing to him.

16 Aaron and the priests may eat what is left, but it must be eaten without yeast in a holy place. They must eat it in the courtyard of the Meeting Tent.

17 It must not be cooked with yeast. I have given it as their share of the offerings made to me by fire; it is most holy, like the sin offering and the penalty offering.

18 Any male descendant of Aaron may eat it as his share of the offerings made to the Lord by fire, and this will continue from now on. Whatever touches these offerings shall become holy.'"

19 The Lord said to Moses,

20 "This is the offering Aaron and the priests must bring to the Lord on the day they appoint Aaron as high priest: They must bring two quarts of fine flour for a continual grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening.

21 The fine flour must be mixed with oil and cooked on a griddle. Bring it when it is well mixed. Present the grain offering that is broken into pieces, and it will be a smell that is pleasing to the Lord.

22 One of the priests appointed to take Aaron's place as high priest must make the grain offering. It is a rule forever that the grain offering must be completely burned to the Lord.

23 Every grain offering made by a priest must be completely burned; it must not be eaten."

24 The Lord said to Moses,

25 "Tell Aaron and the priests: 'These are the teachings about the sin offering: The sin offering must be killed in front of the Lord in the same place the whole burnt offering is killed; it is most holy.

26 The priest who offers the sin offering must eat it in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Meeting Tent.

27 Whatever touches the meat of the sin offering must be holy, and if the blood is sprinkled on any clothes, you must wash them in a holy place.

28 The clay pot the meat is cooked in must be broken, or if a bronze pot is used, it must be scrubbed and rinsed with water.

29 Any male in a priest's family may eat the offering; it is most holy.

30 But if the blood of the sin offering is taken into the Meeting Tent and used to remove sin in the Holy Place, that sin offering must be burned with fire. It must not be eaten.

Leviticus 7

1 "'These are the teachings about the penalty offering, which is most holy:

2 The penalty offering must be killed where the whole burnt offering is killed. Then the priest must sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar.

3 He must offer all the fat from the penalty offering -- the fat tail, the fat that covers the inner organs,

4 both kidneys with the fat that is on them near the lower back muscle, and the best part of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys.

5 The priest must burn all these things on the altar as an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a penalty offering.

6 Any male in a priest's family may eat it. It is most holy, so it must be eaten in a holy place.

7 "'The penalty offering is like the sin offering in that the teachings are the same for both. The priest who offers the sacrifice to remove sins will get the meat for food.

8 The priest who offers the burnt offering may also have the skin from it.

9 Every grain offering that is baked in an oven, cooked on a griddle, or baked in a dish belongs to the priest who offers it.

10 Every grain offering, either dry or mixed with oil, belongs to the priests, and all priests will share alike.

11 "'These are the teachings about the fellowship offering a person may offer to the Lord:

12 If he brings the fellowship offering to show his thanks, he should also bring loaves of bread made without yeast that are mixed with oil, wafers made without yeast that have oil poured over them, and loaves of fine flour that are mixed with oil.

13 He must also offer loaves of bread made with yeast along with his fellowship offering, which he gives to show thanks.

14 One of each kind of offering will be for the Lord; it will be given to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the fellowship offering.

15 When the fellowship offering is given to thank the Lord, the meat from it must be eaten the same day it is offered; none of it must be left until morning.

16 "'If a person brings a fellowship offering just to give a gift to God or because of a special promise to him, the sacrifice should be eaten the same day he offers it. If there is any left, it may be eaten the next day.

17 If any meat from this sacrifice is left on the third day, it must be burned up.

18 Any meat of the fellowship offering eaten on the third day will not be accepted, nor will the sacrifice count for the person who offered it. It will become unclean, and anyone who eats the meat will be guilty of sin.

19 "'People must not eat meat that touches anything unclean; they must burn this meat with fire. Anyone who is clean may eat other meat.

20 But if anyone is unclean and eats the meat from the fellowship offering that belongs to the Lord, he must be cut off from his people.

21 "'If anyone touches something unclean -- uncleanness that comes from people, from an animal, or from some hated thing -- touching it will make him unclean. If he then eats meat from the fellowship offering that belongs to the Lord, he must be cut off from his people.'"

22 The Lord said to Moses,

23 "Tell the people of Israel: 'You must not eat any of the fat from cattle, sheep, or goats.

24 If an animal is found dead or torn by wild animals, you may use its fat for other things, but you must not eat it.

25 If someone eats fat from an animal offering made by fire to the Lord, he must be cut off from his people.

26 No matter where you live, you must not eat blood from any bird or animal.

27 Anyone who eats blood must be cut off from his people.'"

28 The Lord said to Moses,

29 "Tell the people of Israel: 'If someone brings a fellowship offering to the Lord, he must give part of it as his sacrifice to the Lord.

30 He must carry that part of the gift in his own hands as an offering made by fire to the Lord. He must bring the fat and the breast of the animal to the priest, to be presented to the Lord as the priests' share.

31 Then the priest must burn the fat on the altar, but the breast of the animal will belong to Aaron and the priests.

32 You must also give the right thigh from the fellowship offering to the priest as a gift;

33 it will belong to the priest who offers the blood and fat of the fellowship offering.

34 I have taken the breast and the thigh from the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, and I have given these parts to Aaron and the priests as their share for all time from the Israelites.'"

35 This is the portion that belongs to Aaron and his sons from the offerings made by fire to the Lord. They were given this share on the day they were presented to the Lord as priests.

36 On the day the Lord appointed the priests, he commanded Israel to give this share to them, and it is to be given to the priests as their share from now on.

37 These are the teachings about the whole burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the penalty offering, the offering for the appointment of priests, and the fellowship offering.

38 The Lord gave these teachings to Moses on Mount Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the Lord in the Sinai Desert.