Leviticus 5:3

3 " 'Or suppose he touches something "unclean" that comes from a human being. It could be anything that would make him "unclean." Suppose he is not aware that he touched it. When he finds out about it, he will be guilty.

Leviticus 5:3 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 5:3

Or if he touch the uncleanness of man
The dead body of a man, or the bone of a dead body, or a grave, or any profluvious or menstruous person:

whatsoever uncleanness [it be] that a man shall be defiled withal:
not morally, but ceremonially:

and it be hid from him;
he is not sensible that he has touched any thing ceremonially unclean:

when he knoweth [of it], then he shall be guilty:
acknowledge his guilt, and offer a sacrifice for it, as after directed.

Leviticus 5:3 In-Context

1 " 'Suppose a person has been called as a witness to something he has seen or learned about. Then if he does not tell what he knows, he has sinned. And he will be held accountable for it.

2 " 'Or suppose a person touches something that is not "clean." It could be the dead bodies of wild animals or of livestock. Or it could be the dead bodies of creatures that move along the ground. Even though he is not aware that he touched them, he has become "unclean." And he is guilty.

3 " 'Or suppose he touches something "unclean" that comes from a human being. It could be anything that would make him "unclean." Suppose he is not aware that he touched it. When he finds out about it, he will be guilty.

4 " 'Or suppose a person takes an oath and makes a promise to do something without thinking it through. It does not matter what he promised. It does not matter whether he took the oath without thinking about it carefully. And suppose he is not aware that he did not think it through. When he finds out about it, he will be guilty.

5 " 'When someone is guilty in any of those ways, he must admit he has sinned.