Leviticus 4

Unintentional Sin

1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the Israelites, saying: If someone sins unintentionally in any of the LORD’s commandments concerning things that are not to be done, and does any one of them— 3if the anointed priest sins so that guilt comes upon the people, then for the sin committed he will bring to the LORD a young bull without defect as a sin offering.

The Sin of the Anointed Priest

4He will bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter the bull before the LORD. 5The anointed priest will take some of the bull’s blood and bring it into the Tent of Meeting. 6The priest will dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD, in front of the curtain of the sanctuary. 7The priest will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting, and pour all the rest of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

8He will remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering: the fat covering the entrails and all the fat around the entrails, 9the two kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the appendage of the liver, removed with the kidneys, 10just as these are removed from the ox of the sacrifice of well-being. The priest will turn them into smoke on the altar of burnt offering. 11But the bull’s skin, all its flesh, its head, legs, entrails, and dung— 12all the rest of the bull—he will carry outside the camp to a clean place where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire. It will be burned where the ashes are poured out.

The Sin of the Congregation

13If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally and the matter is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any of the things that the LORD commanded not to be done and become guilty, 14when the sin they committed becomes known, the assembly will bring a young bull as a sin offering and bring it before the Tent of Meeting. 15The elders of the congregation will lay their hands on the bull’s head before the LORD, and the bull will be slaughtered before the LORD. 16The anointed priest will bring some of the bull’s blood into the Tent of Meeting. 17The priest will dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, in front of the curtain. 18He will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting, and pour all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

19He will remove all its fat and turn it into smoke on the altar. 20He will do with this bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; so he will do with it. The priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven. 21He will carry the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull. It is the sin offering for the assembly.

The Sin of a Leader

22When a leader sins and unintentionally does any one of the things that the LORD his God has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty, 23when the sin he committed is revealed to him, he will bring as his offering a male goat without defect. 24He will lay his hand on the goat’s head and slaughter it in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD. It is a sin offering. 25The priest will take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 26He will turn all its fat into smoke on the altar like the fat of the sacrifice of well-being. The priest will make atonement for the leader concerning his sin, and he will be forgiven.

The Sin of an Individual

27If any one of the people of the land sins unintentionally by doing any of the things the LORD has commanded not to be done and becomes guilty, 28when the sin committed is revealed, that person will bring as an offering a female goat without defect for the sin committed. 29The person will lay a hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering. 30The priest will take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 31The priest will remove all its fat, just as the fat is removed from the sacrifice of well-being, and turn it into smoke on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. The priest will make atonement for the person, and that person will be forgiven.

32If the person brings a lamb as the offering for a sin offering, it will be a female without defect. 33The person will lay a hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it as a sin offering in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. 34The priest will take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 35The priest will remove all its fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of well-being, and turn it into smoke on the altar upon the offerings by fire to the LORD. The priest will make atonement for the person concerning the sin committed, and that person will be forgiven.