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Leviticus 4

1Yahweh spoke to Moses: 2“Tell the sons of Israel: When a person sins unintentionally by doing any of the things Yahweh has commanded must not be done— 3if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must present to Yahweh a young bull without defect as a purification offering for the sin he has committed. 4He must bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before Yahweh, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter the bull before Yahweh. 5The anointed priest must take some of the bull’s blood and bring it into the tent of meeting. 6The priest must dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before Yahweh, in front of the sanctuary curtain. 7The priest must put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before Yahweh in the tent of meeting. He must pour out 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 must remove all the fat from the bull of the purification offering: the fat covering the inner parts and all the fat on the inner parts, 9the two kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which he must remove with the kidneys, 10just as these are removed from the ox offered as a peace sacrifice. The priest must burn them as an offering on the altar of burnt offering. 11But the bull’s hide and all its flesh, with its head and legs, its inner parts and its dung— 12he must take the whole bull outside the camp to a clean place where the ashes are emptied and burn it on wood in the fire. It must be burned where the ashes are emptied.

13“If the whole congregation of Israel goes astray and the matter escapes the assembly’s notice, and they do any of the things Yahweh has commanded must not be done and incur guilt, 14then, when the sin they committed becomes known, the assembly must present a young bull as a purification offering and bring it before the tent of meeting. 15The elders of the congregation must lay their hands on the bull’s head before Yahweh, and the bull must be slaughtered before Yahweh. 16The anointed priest must bring some of the bull’s blood into the tent of meeting. 17The priest must dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before Yahweh in front of the curtain. 18He must put some of the blood on the horns of the altar before Yahweh in the tent of meeting. He must pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 19He must remove all its fat and burn it as an offering on the altar. 20He must do with this bull just as he did with the bull of the purification offering; that is what he must do with it. The priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven. 21He must take the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull. It is a purification offering for the assembly.

22“When a leader sins unintentionally by doing any of the things Yahweh his God has commanded must not be done and incurs guilt, 23or the sin he committed is made known to him, he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect. 24He must lay his hand on the goat’s head and slaughter it in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before Yahweh. It is a purification offering. 25The priest must take some of the blood of the purification offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26He must burn all its fat as an offering on the altar, like the fat of the peace sacrifice. The priest will make atonement for him for his sin, and he will be forgiven.

27“If a person from the ordinary people sins unintentionally by doing any of the things Yahweh has commanded must not be done and incurs guilt, 28or the sin they committed is made known to them, they must bring as their offering a female goat without defect for the sin they committed. 29They must lay their hand on the head of the purification offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering. 30The priest must take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 31He must remove all its fat, just as the fat is removed from the peace sacrifice. The priest must burn it as an offering on the altar as a pleasing aroma to Yahweh. The priest will make atonement for that person, and they will be forgiven.

32“If they bring a lamb as their purification offering, they must bring a female without defect. 33They must lay their hand on the head of the purification offering and slaughter it as a purification offering in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. 34The priest must take some of the blood of the purification offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 35He must remove all its fat, just as the fat is removed from the lamb of the peace sacrifice. The priest must burn it as an offering on the altar, on Yahweh’s offerings by fire. The priest will make atonement for that person for the sin they committed, and they will be forgiven.

Translation notes 10

4:2 — A person. Hebrew uses nephesh, often translated “soul,” for a person here. The law does not restrict this general term to men. The male and female animals specified later are kept explicit.

4:2 — Unintentionally. The word concerns going astray through error or lack of awareness. It does not make every offense an accident or say that an unrecognized offense has no consequences. Chapter 5 also addresses failures to testify, impurity, and rash oaths.

4:3 — Anointed priest. This is the priest consecrated with anointing oil, functioning as the high priest. The Hebrew connects his sin with guilt falling on the people; it does not explain the precise mechanism.

4:3 — Purification offering. The traditional name is “sin offering.” The same Hebrew word can mean either the offense or this offering, depending on context. “Purification offering” helps show the ritual’s concern with purification, including the treatment of the sanctuary and its furnishings. The text also explicitly connects the offering with sin, atonement, and forgiveness.

4:6–7 — Sprinkle and put. The priest sprinkles blood toward the curtain and puts blood on the altar’s horns, its projecting corners. The rest goes to the base of the outer altar. These distinct actions and locations should not be collapsed into a general description of sacrifice.

4:9 — Appendage of the liver. The exact anatomical identification is uncertain; a liver lobe or an attached membrane has been proposed. The kidneys and their fat are separately specified.

4:12 — Burn it. Burning the remains outside the camp uses a different Hebrew verb from burning a portion as an offering on the altar. The repeated instruction about the ash deposit is present in Hebrew.

4:15 — Slaughtered. After the elders’ plural action, Hebrew uses a singular verb for slaughter without naming its subject. The passive wording leaves the slaughterer unspecified.

4:20 — Atonement and forgiveness. Atonement names the priest’s ritual action on behalf of the offenders; forgiveness is the stated result. The translation retains both rather than treating them as identical expressions.

4:23, 28 — Or the sin is made known. The Hebrew says “or,” linking incurred guilt and the offense becoming known. Some understand this as the offender’s own recognition followed by another person informing them; others read it as a condition: “when the sin becomes known.” The wording does not identify who discloses it.