Leviticus 4:13-23

13 "If the whole congregation sins unintentionally by straying from one of the commandments of God that must not be broken, they become guilty even though no one is aware of it.
14 When they do become aware of the sin they've committed, the congregation must bring a bull as an Absolution-Offering and present it at the Tent of Meeting.
15 The elders of the congregation will lay their hands on the bull's head in the presence of God and one of them will slaughter it before God.
16 The anointed priest will then bring some of the blood into the Tent of Meeting,
17 dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of it seven times before God in front of the curtain.
18 He will smear some of the blood on the horns of the Altar which is before God in the Tent of Meeting and pour the rest of it at the base of the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
19 He will remove all the fat and burn it on the Altar.
20 He will follow the same procedure with this bull as with the bull for the Absolution-Offering. The priest makes atonement for them and they are forgiven.
21 They then will take the bull outside the camp and burn it just as they burned the first bull. It's the Absolution-Offering for the congregation.
22 "When a ruler sins unintentionally by straying from one of the commands of his God which must not be broken, he is guilty.
23 When he becomes aware of the sin he has committed, he must bring a goat for his offering, a male without any defect,

Leviticus 4:13-23 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.