Leviticus Chapter 5
Some cases requiring sacrifice for sin  

1 Sacrifice for sin is required in the following cases:
A man should have come forward to give evidence in court when officially summoned; but he did not speak and give information about something he had seen or heard; and so he is guilty.

2 Or else he accidentally touches something unclean, whatever it may be—the dead body of an unclean animal, wild or tame; or the dead body of one of the unclean beings that swarm—and so without realizing it, he becomes unclean, and guilty.

3 Or else he accidentally touches some human uncleanness, whatever it may be, and contact with it makes him unclean; so he becomes guilty as soon as he realizes what he has done.

4 Or else a man makes a careless vow to do either evil or good in any of those mat ters on which a man may swear unthinkingly; he does not notice it, then, but when he realizes it later, he becomes guilty.

5 He who is guilty in any of these cases, shall confess the sin committed,

6 and bring to Yahweh as a sacrifice for the sin committed a female of the flock (sheep or goat); and the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man’s sin to free him from his sin.

7 If a man cannot afford a sheep or a goat, he shall offer to Yahweh, as payment for the sin he has committed, two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a sacrifice for sin and the other for a burnt offering.

8 He will bring them to the priest who is to offer first the one intended for the sacrifice for sin. The priest shall wring its neck, without removing the head.

9 He shall sprinkle the side of the altar with the victim’s blood, and then drain out the rest of the blood at the foot of the altar. This is a sacrifice for sin.

10 Of the other bird he is to make a burnt offering according to the regulations. When the priest offers the sacrifice for the man’s sin, he will be forgiven.

11 If this man cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he is to bring two pounds of flour as an offering for the sin committed; but he shall not mix oil with it or put incense on it, for it is a sacrifice for sin.

12 He is to bring it to the priest, who is to take a handful of it to be put on the burnt offering for Yahweh in order to recall this man to Yahweh. This is a sacrifice for sin.

13 This is how the priest is to offer the sacrifice for the sin the man committed in any of these cases, and he will be forgiven. In this case, as in the case of a grain offering, the rest of the flour belongs to the priest.”

14 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

15 “If anyone is guilty of unintentionally cheating by failing to hand over the payments that are sacred to Yahweh, he is to bring to Yahweh as a sacrifice of payment a ram with no defects. This ram is to be valued according to the official standard. This is a sacrifice of repayment.

16 He must make the payments he has failed to hand over, pay an extra fifth as well, and give it to the priest. The priest shall offer the ram as a sacrifice for the man’s sin and he will be forgiven.

17 If anyone sins and does one of the things forbidden by the commandments of Yahweh without realizing it, he is guilty and must pay the penalty for his fault.

18 As a sacrifice of repay ment he is to bring to the priest a ram without any defect. Its value will be according to the official standard. The priest shall offer the sacrifice for the sin he has committed without realizing it and he will be forgiven.

19 This is a sacrifice of repayment for the man was guilty in the eyes of Yahweh.”


Sacrifices for evildoing

20 Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

21 “This refers to the man who sins against Yahweh by not returning to his neighbor a deposit or a security, or withholding something due to him or cheating him;

22 and also to the one who finds lost property and swears he has not found it; and also to the man who swears falsely in one of the cases in which people usually swear.

23 In all these cases the man who sins and becomes guilty is to give back what he has taken or demanded that does not belong to him: the deposit entrusted to him, the lost property that he found,

24 or any object about which he has sworn untruthfully. He must repay the owner in full and give an extra fifth as well on the day when he is found guilty.

25 Then he is to bring a ram without any defect to Yahweh as a sacrifice of repayment.

26 The priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man’s sin and he will be forgiven, whatever the act of which he became guilty.”