Lev 5 | HCSB | STEP | “When someone sins in any of these ways: If he has seen, heard , or known about something he has witnessed , and did not respond to a public call to testify, he is responsible for his sin .

‏ Leviticus 5

Cases Requiring Sin Offerings

1 “When someone sins in any of these ways:

If he has seen, heard, or known about something he has witnessed, and did not respond to a public call to testify, he is responsible for his sin. ^a
2 Or if someone touches anything ^{▼▼unclean: When something is clean, it is holy or acceptable to God. When it is unclean, it is unholy (such as an unclean spirit). The term can be used in a ritual sense to apply to moral standards for living.}unclean ^c – a carcass of an unclean wild animal, ^d or unclean livestock, or an unclean swarming creature ^{▼▼Perhaps a fish, insect, rodent, or reptile; Gn 1:20; Lv 11:20-23,29-31
,} ^f – without being aware of it, he is unclean and ^{▼▼guilt/guilty: The liability to be punished for a fault, a sin, an act, or an omission unless there is forgiveness or atonement; the term normally concerns an objective fact, not a subjective feeling.}guilty. ^h

3 Or if he touches human uncleanness ⁱ – any uncleanness by which one can become defiled ^j – without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he is guilty.

4 Or if someone swears rashly ^k to do what is good or evil – concerning anything a person may speak rashly in an oath – without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt in such an instance. ^{▼▼Lit in one of such things}

5 If someone incurs guilt in one of these cases, he is to confess ^m he has committed that sin. 6 He must bring his restitution ⁿ for the sin he has committed to the Lord: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a ^{▼▼sin offering(s): Or purification offering, the sin offering was the most important OT sacrifice for cleansing from impurities. It provided purification from sin and certain forms of ceremonial uncleanness.}sin offering. In this way the priest will make ^{▼▼atone/ atonement: A theological term for God's provision to deal with human sin. In the OT, it primarily means purification. In some contexts forgiveness, pardon, expiation, propitiation, or reconciliation is included. The basis of atonement is substitutionary sacrifice offered in faith. The OT sacrifices were types and shadows of the great and final sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.}atonement ^q on his behalf for his sin.

7 “But if he cannot afford an animal from the flock, then he may bring to the Lord two turtledoves or two young pigeons ^r as restitution for his sin – one as a sin offering and the other as a ^{▼▼burnt offering(s): Or holocaust, an offering completely burned to ashes; it was used in connection with worship, seeking God's favor, expiating sin, or averting judgment.}burnt offering. 8 He is to bring them to the priest, who will first present the one for the sin offering. He must twist its head at the back of the neck without severing it. ^t 9 Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood is to be drained out at the base of the altar; ^u it is a sin offering. 10 He must prepare the second bird as a burnt offering according to the regulation. ^v In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

11 “But if he cannot afford ^{▼▼Lit if his hand is not sufficient for} two turtledoves or two young pigeons, ^x he may bring two quarts ^{▼▼Lit one-tenth of an ephah} of fine ^{▼▼Or wheat; Ex 29:2} flour ^{▼▼Lit flour as a sin offering
,} ^ab as an offering for his sin. He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. 12 He is to bring it to the priest, who will take a handful from it as its memorial portion ^ac and burn it on the altar along with the fire offerings to the Lord; it is a sin offering. 13 In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf concerning the sin he has committed in any of these cases, and he will be forgiven. The rest will belong to the priest, like the ^{▼▼grain offering(s): An offering given along with animal sacrifices or given by itself. A portion was burnt and the priests and participant ate the remainder.}grain offering.” ^ae

The Restitution Offering

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 15 “If someone offends ^af by sinning unintentionally ^ag in regard to any of the Lord’s holy things, ^{▼▼Things dedicated to the Lord such as tabernacle furnishings, priestly portions of the sacrifices, tenths, firstfruits, and firstborn livestock} he must bring his ^{▼▼restitution offering(s): An offering that was a penalty for unintentional sins, primarily in relation to the tabernacle or temple; traditionally trespass or guilt offering}restitution offering to the Lord: an unblemished ram from the flock (based on your assessment of its value in silver ^{▼▼shekel(s): In the OT the shekel is a measurement of weight that came to be used as money, either gold or silver.}shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel ^ak) as a restitution offering. 16 He must make restitution ^al for his sin regarding any holy ^am thing, adding a fifth of its value to it, ^an and give it to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf with the ram of the restitution offering, and he will be forgiven. ^ao

17 “If someone sins and without knowing it violates any of the Lord’s commands concerning anything prohibited, he bears the consequences of his guilt. 18 He must bring an unblemished ram from the flock according to your assessment of its value as a restitution offering to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the error he has committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven. 19 It is a restitution offering; he is indeed guilty before the Lord.”