Leviticus 4

1 And the Lord spake to Moses, and said,

2 Speak thou to the sons of Israel, When a soul, that is, a man, hath done sin by ignorance, and hath done anything of all the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded that those shall not be done, (thou shalt follow these ordinances); (Say thou to the Israelites, When someone hath done sin by ignorance, and hath done anything against any of the Lord's commandments, which he commanded that should not be done, thou shalt follow these ordinances;)

3 if a priest that is anointed, hath done sin, making the people to trespass, he shall offer for his sin a calf without wem to the Lord (he shall offer for his sin offering a calf without blemish, or without fault, to the Lord).

4 And he shall bring it to the door of the tabernacle of witnessing, before the Lord (And he shall bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle of the Witnessing, before the Lord), and he shall put his hand on the head thereof, and he shall offer it to the Lord.

5 And he shall take up of the blood of the calf, and shall bring it into the tabernacle of witnessing. (And he shall take some of the calf's blood, and shall bring it into the Tabernacle of the Witnessing.)

6 And when he hath dipped his finger into the blood, he shall sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, against the veil of the saintuary (in front of the Veil of the sanctuary).

7 And he shall put of the same blood on the corners of the altar of incense most acceptable to the Lord, which altar is in the tabernacle of witnessing; soothly he shall shed all the tother blood into the foundament of the altar of burnt sacrifice in the entering of the tabernacle. (And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense to the Lord, which altar is in the Tabernacle of the Witnessing; and he shall pour out all the other blood at the foundation, or at the base, of the altar of burnt sacrifice at the entrance to the Tabernacle.)

8 And he shall offer for his sin the inner fatness of the calf, as well it that covereth the entrails, as all things that be within, (And for his sin offering, he shall offer the inner fat of the calf, which covereth the innards, as well as all the things that be within,)

9 (and the) two little reins, and the caul, which is on them, beside [the] ileum, and the fatness of the maw, with the little reins,

10 as it is offered of the calf of the sacrifice of peaceable things (as it is offered from the calf for the peace offering); and the priest shall burn those things on the altar of (the) burnt sacrifice.

11 Soothly the priest shall bear out of the tents (And the priest shall carry away from the tents, or from the camp), the skin, and all the flesh, with the head, and the feet, and [the] entrails, and the dung,

12 and the body that is left, into a clean place, where [the] ashes be wont to be poured out; and he shall burn those things upon the heap of wood, the which shall be burnt in the place of ashes poured out (which shall be burned in the place where the ashes be poured out).

13 That if all the company of the sons of Israel knoweth not (And if all the congregation of the Israelites knoweth not), and doeth by unknowing that that is against the commandment of the Lord,

14 and afterward understandeth his sin, he shall offer a calf for that sin, and he shall bring the calf to the door of the tabernacle. (and afterward understand their sin, they shall offer a calf for a sin offering, and they shall bring the calf to the entrance, or to the front, of the Tabernacle.)

15 And the elder men of the people shall set hands on the head thereof before the Lord; and when the calf is offered in the sight of the Lord, (And the elders of the people shall put their hands on its head before the Lord; and when the calf is killed before the Lord,)

16 the priest that is anointed shall bear in of his blood into the tabernacle of witnessing; (the anointed priest shall bring some of its blood into the Tabernacle of the Witnessing;)

17 and when he hath dipped his finger, he shall sprinkle the blood seven times against the veil. (and when he hath dipped his finger in it, he shall sprinkle the blood in front of the Veil seven times before the Lord.)

18 And he shall put of the same blood in the horns of the altar, which is before the Lord in the tabernacle of witnessing; soothly he shall pour the blood that leaveth, (or the residue blood,) beside the foundament of the altar of burnt sacrifice, which is in the door of the tabernacle of witnessing. (And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar, which is before the Lord in the Tabernacle of the Witnessing; and he shall pour out the blood that is left at the foundation, or at the base, of the altar of burnt sacrifice, which is at the entrance to the Tabernacle of the Witnessing.)

19 And he shall take all the fatness thereof, and shall burn it on the altar;

20 and he shall do also of this calf, as he did before of the tother (and so he shall do with this calf, as he did before with the other one); and when the priest shall pray for them, the Lord shall be merciful.

21 Forsooth he shall bear out [of the tents] that calf, and he shall burn it, as he did also the former calf, for it is for the sin of the multitude. (And he shall carry that calf out away from the tents, and he shall burn it, as he burned the other calf, for it is a sin offering for the multitude.)

22 If a prince sinneth, and doeth by ignorance one thing of many, which is forbidden in the law of the Lord,

23 and afterward understandeth his sin, he shall offer to the Lord a sacrifice, a goat buck, without wem (without blemish, or without fault);

24 and he shall set his hand on the head thereof. And when he hath offered it in the place, where [the] burnt sacrifice is wont to be slain, before the Lord, for it is for sin (for it is a sin offering);

25 the priest shall dip his finger in the blood of [the] sacrifice for sin, and he shall touch with his bloody finger the corners of the altar of burnt sacrifice, and he shall pour the blood that leaveth, (or the residue blood,) at the foundament thereof. (the priest shall dip his finger in the blood of the sin offering, and he shall touch with his bloody finger the horns of the altar of burnt sacrifice, and he shall pour out the blood that is left at the foundation, or at the base, of the altar.)

26 Soothly the priest shall burn the inner fatness above the altar, as it is wont to be done in the sacrifice of peaceable things (And the priest shall burn the inner fat on the altar, as it is done for the peace offering), and the priest shall pray for him, and for his sin, and it shall be forgiven to him.

27 That if a soul, that is, a singular man (And if anyone), of the people of the land sinneth by ignorance, that he do anything of these [things] that be forbidden in the law of the Lord, and trespasseth,

28 and knoweth his sin, he shall offer a she goat without wem (he shall offer a she goat without blemish);

29 and he shall set his hand upon the head of the sacrifice which is for [the] sin (and he shall put his hand on the head of the sin offering,) and he shall offer it in the place of [the] burnt sacrifice.

30 And the priest shall take of the blood thereof upon his finger, and he shall touch the horns of the altar of burnt sacrifice, and he shall pour the blood that is left at the foundament of the altar. (And the priest shall take some of its blood on his finger, and he shall touch the horns of the altar of burnt sacrifice, and he shall pour out the blood that is left at the foundation, or at the base, of the altar.)

31 Soothly he shall take away all the inner fatness, as it is wont to be done away of the sacrifices of peaceable things, and he shall burn it on the altar, into odour of sweetness to the Lord (And he shall take away all the inner fat, as it is done away with the peace offering, and he shall burn it on the altar, to make the sweetest aroma to the Lord); and the priest shall pray for him, and it shall be forgiven to him.

32 Soothly if he offereth of little beasts a sacrifice for sin, that is, a sheep without wem, (And if he offereth a small beast for his sin offering, that is, a sheep without blemish, or without fault,)

33 he shall put his hand on the head thereof, and he shall offer it in the place where the beasts of (the) burnt sacrifices be wont to be slain.

34 And the priest shall take of the blood thereof in his finger, and he shall touch therewith the horns of the altar of burnt sacrifice, and he shall pour the blood that is left at the foundament of the altar. (And the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and he shall touch with it the horns of the altar of burnt sacrifice, and he shall pour out the blood that is left at the foundation, or at the base, of the altar.)

35 And he shall do away all the inner fatness, as the inner fatness of the ram, that is offered for peaceable things, is wont to be done away, and the priest shall burn it upon the altar of incense of the Lord (And he shall do away all the inner fat, as the inner fat of the ram, that is offered for the peace offering is done away, and the priest shall burn it on the altar on top of, or along with, the burnt sacrifices to the Lord); and the priest shall pray for him, and for his sin, and it shall be forgiven to him.

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.