Leviticus 3; Leviticus 4; Leviticus 5; Leviticus 7; Leviticus 17

Leviticus 3

1 “ ‘If your offering is a fellowship offering, and you offer an animal from the herd, whether male or female, you are to present before the LORD an animal without defect.

2 You are to lay your hand on the head of your offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall splash the blood against the sides of the altar.

3 From the fellowship offering you are to bring a food offering to the LORD: the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them,

4 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys.

5 Then Aaron’s sons are to burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering that is lying on the burning wood; it is a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.

6 “ ‘If you offer an animal from the flock as a fellowship offering to the LORD, you are to offer a male or female without defect.

7 If you offer a lamb, you are to present it before the LORD,

8 lay your hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splash its blood against the sides of the altar.

9 From the fellowship offering you are to bring a food offering to the LORD: its fat, the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone, the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them,

10 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys.

11 The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering presented to the LORD.

12 “ ‘If your offering is a goat, you are to present it before the LORD,

13 lay your hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splash its blood against the sides of the altar.

14 From what you offer you are to present this food offering to the LORD: the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them,

15 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys.

16 The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the LORD’s.

17 “ ‘This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.’ ”

Leviticus 4

1 The LORD said to Moses,

2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands—

3 “ ‘If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.

4 He is to present the bull at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the LORD. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it there before the LORD.

5 Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood and carry it into the tent of meeting.

6 He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD, in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.

7 The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. The rest of the bull’s blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

8 He shall remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering—all the fat that is connected to the internal organs,

9 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys—

10 just as the fat is removed from the ox sacrificed as a fellowship offering. Then the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering.

11 But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, as well as the head and legs, the internal organs and the intestines—

12 that is, all the rest of the bull—he must take outside the camp to a place ceremonially clean, where the ashes are thrown, and burn it there in a wood fire on the ash heap.

13 “ ‘If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, when they realize their guilt

14 and the sin they committed becomes known, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the tent of meeting.

15 The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull’s head before the LORD, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the LORD.

16 Then the anointed priest is to take some of the bull’s blood into the tent of meeting.

17 He shall dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it before the LORD seven times in front of the curtain.

18 He is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

19 He shall remove all the fat from it and burn it on the altar,

20 and do with this bull just as he did with the bull for the sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the community, and they will be forgiven.

21 Then he shall take the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull. This is the sin offering for the community.

22 “ ‘When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of the LORD his God, when he realizes his guilt

23 and the sin he has committed becomes known, he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect.

24 He is to lay his hand on the goat’s head and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD. It is a sin offering.

25 Then the priest shall 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 out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

26 He shall burn all the fat on the altar as he burned the fat of the fellowship offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the leader’s sin, and he will be forgiven.

27 “ ‘If any member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, when they realize their guilt

28 and the sin they have committed becomes known, they must bring as their offering for the sin they committed a female goat without defect.

29 They are to lay their hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering.

30 Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

31 They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.

32 “ ‘If someone brings a lamb as their sin offering, they are to bring a female without defect.

33 They are to lay their hand on its head and slaughter it for a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered.

34 Then the priest shall 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 out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

35 They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the lamb of the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar on top of the food offerings presented to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.

Leviticus 5

1 “ ‘If anyone sins because they do not speak up when they hear a public charge to testify regarding something they have seen or learned about, they will be held responsible.

2 “ ‘If anyone becomes aware that they are guilty—if they unwittingly touch anything ceremonially unclean (whether the carcass of an unclean animal, wild or domestic, or of any unclean creature that moves along the ground) and they are unaware that they have become unclean, but then they come to realize their guilt;

3 or if they touch human uncleanness (anything that would make them unclean) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt;

4 or if anyone thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil (in any matter one might carelessly swear about) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt—

5 when anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess in what way they have sinned.

6 As a penalty for the sin they have committed, they must bring to the LORD a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering ; and the priest shall make atonement for them for their sin.

7 “ ‘Anyone who cannot afford a lamb is to bring two doves or two young pigeons to the LORD as a penalty for their sin—one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.

8 They are to bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one for the sin offering. He is to wring its head from its neck, not dividing it completely,

9 and is to splash some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar; the rest of the blood must be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering.

10 The priest shall then offer the other as a burnt offering in the prescribed way and make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.

11 “ ‘If, however, they cannot afford two doves or two young pigeons, they are to bring as an offering for their sin a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour for a sin offering. They must not put olive oil or incense on it, because it is a sin offering.

12 They are to bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful of it as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar on top of the food offerings presented to the LORD. It is a sin offering.

13 In this way the priest will make atonement for them for any of these sins they have committed, and they will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest, as in the case of the grain offering.’ ”

14 The LORD said to Moses:

15 “When anyone is unfaithful to the LORD by sinning unintentionally in regard to any of the LORD’s holy things, they are to bring to the LORD as a penalty a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel. It is a guilt offering.

16 They must make restitution for what they have failed to do in regard to the holy things, pay an additional penalty of a fifth of its value and give it all to the priest. The priest will make atonement for them with the ram as a guilt offering, and they will be forgiven.

17 “If anyone sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, even though they do not know it, they are guilty and will be held responsible.

18 They are to bring to the priest as a guilt offering a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the wrong they have committed unintentionally, and they will be forgiven.

19 It is a guilt offering; they have been guilty of wrongdoing against the LORD.”

Leviticus 7

1 “ ‘These are the regulations for the guilt offering, which is most holy:

2 The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be splashed against the sides of the altar.

3 All its fat shall be offered: the fat tail and the fat that covers the internal organs,

4 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys.

5 The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering presented to the LORD. It is a guilt offering.

6 Any male in a priest’s family may eat it, but it must be eaten in the sanctuary area; it is most holy.

7 “ ‘The same law applies to both the sin offering and the guilt offering: They belong to the priest who makes atonement with them.

8 The priest who offers a burnt offering for anyone may keep its hide for himself.

9 Every grain offering baked in an oven or cooked in a pan or on a griddle belongs to the priest who offers it,

10 and every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.

11 “ ‘These are the regulations for the fellowship offering anyone may present to the LORD:

12 “ ‘If they offer it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering they are to offer thick loaves made without yeast and with olive oil mixed in, thin loaves made without yeast and brushed with oil, and thick loaves of the finest flour well-kneaded and with oil mixed in.

13 Along with their fellowship offering of thanksgiving they are to present an offering with thick loaves of bread made with yeast.

14 They are to bring one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the LORD; it belongs to the priest who splashes the blood of the fellowship offering against the altar.

15 The meat of their fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; they must leave none of it till morning.

16 “ ‘If, however, their offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day they offer it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day.

17 Any meat of the sacrifice left over till the third day must be burned up.

18 If any meat of the fellowship offering is eaten on the third day, the one who offered it will not be accepted. It will not be reckoned to their credit, for it has become impure; the person who eats any of it will be held responsible.

19 “ ‘Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean must not be eaten; it must be burned up. As for other meat, anyone ceremonially clean may eat it.

20 But if anyone who is unclean eats any meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the LORD, they must be cut off from their people.

21 Anyone who touches something unclean—whether human uncleanness or an unclean animal or any unclean creature that moves along the ground —and then eats any of the meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the LORD must be cut off from their people.’ ”

22 The LORD said to Moses,

23 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats.

24 The fat of an animal found dead or torn by wild animals may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it.

25 Anyone who eats the fat of an animal from which a food offering may be presented to the LORD must be cut off from their people.

26 And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal.

27 Anyone who eats blood must be cut off from their people.’ ”

28 The LORD said to Moses,

29 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who brings a fellowship offering to the LORD is to bring part of it as their sacrifice to the LORD.

30 With their own hands they are to present the food offering to the LORD; they are to bring the fat, together with the breast, and wave the breast before the LORD as a wave offering.

31 The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons.

32 You are to give the right thigh of your fellowship offerings to the priest as a contribution.

33 The son of Aaron who offers the blood and the fat of the fellowship offering shall have the right thigh as his share.

34 From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh that is presented and have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as their perpetual share from the Israelites.’ ”

35 This is the portion of the food offerings presented to the LORD that were allotted to Aaron and his sons on the day they were presented to serve the LORD as priests.

36 On the day they were anointed, the LORD commanded that the Israelites give this to them as their perpetual share for the generations to come.

37 These, then, are the regulations for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering and the fellowship offering,

38 which the LORD gave Moses at Mount Sinai in the Desert of Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the LORD.

Leviticus 17

1 The LORD said to Moses,

2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the LORD has commanded:

3 Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox, a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside of it

4 instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD in front of the tabernacle of the LORD—that person shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; they have shed blood and must be cut off from their people.

5 This is so the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the LORD, at the entrance to the tent of meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings.

6 The priest is to splash the blood against the altar of the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the fat as an aroma pleasing to the LORD.

7 They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.’

8 “Say to them: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice

9 and does not bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to sacrifice it to the LORD must be cut off from the people of Israel.

10 “ ‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people.

11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.

12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”

13 “ ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth,

14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.”

15 “ ‘Anyone, whether native-born or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then they will be clean.

16 But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be held responsible.’ ”