2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through inadvertence against any of the commandments of Jehovah [in things] that ought not to be done, and do any of them;
3 if the priest that is anointed sin according to the trespass of the people; then for his sin which he hath sinned shall he present a young bullock without blemish to Jehovah for a sin-offering.
4 And he shall bring the bullock to the entrance of the tent of meeting before Jehovah; and shall lay his hand on the bullock's head, and slaughter the bullock before Jehovah.
5 And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it into the tent of meeting;
6 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before Jehovah before the veil of the sanctuary;
7 and the priest shall put of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense, which is in the tent of meeting, before Jehovah; and he shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering, which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
8 And all the fat of the bullock of the sin-offering shall he take off from it; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is on the inwards,
9 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the net above the liver which he shall take away as far as the kidneys,
10 as it is taken off from the ox of the sacrifice of peace-offering; and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt-offering.
11 And the skin of the bullock, and all its flesh, with its head, and with its legs, and its inwards, and its dung,
12 even the whole bullock shall he carry forth outside the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out shall it be burnt.
13 And if the whole assembly of Israel sin inadvertently, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the congregation, and they do [somewhat against] any of all the commandments of Jehovah [in things] which should not be done, and are guilty;
14 and the sin wherewith they have sinned against it have become known; then the congregation shall present a young bullock for the sin-offering, and shall bring it before the tent of meeting;
15 and the elders of the assembly shall lay their hands on the head of the bullock before Jehovah; and one shall slaughter the bullock before Jehovah.
16 And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood into the tent of meeting;
17 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before Jehovah, before the veil;
18 and he shall put of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before Jehovah which is in the tent of meeting; and he shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering, which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
19 And all its fat shall he take off from it and burn on the altar.
20 And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock of sin-offering: so shall he do with it. And the priest shall make atonement for them; and it shall be forgiven them.
21 And he shall carry forth the bullock outside the camp, and burn it as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin-offering of the congregation.
22 When a prince sinneth and through inadvertence doeth [somewhat against] any of all the commandments of Jehovah his God [in things] which should not be done, and is guilty;
23 if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge, he shall bring his offering, a buck of the goats, a male without blemish.
24 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and slaughter it at the place where they slaughter the burnt-offering before Jehovah: it is a sin-offering.
25 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger, and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and shall pour out its blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering.
26 And he shall burn all its fat on the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him [to cleanse him] from his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
27 And if any one of the people of the land sin through inadvertence, that he do [somewhat against] any of the commandments of Jehovah [in things] which should not be done, and be guilty;
28 if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge, then he shall bring his offering, a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.
29 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin-offering, and slaughter the sin-offering at the place of the burnt-offering.
30 And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put [it] on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar.
31 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace-offering; and the priest shall burn it on the altar, for a sweet odour to Jehovah; and the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.
32 And if he bring a sheep for his offering for sin, a female without blemish shall he bring it.
33 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin-offering, and slaughter it for a sin-offering at the place where they slaughter the burnt-offering.
34 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger, and put [it] on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar.
35 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of peace-offering; and the priest shall burn them on the altar, with Jehovah's offerings by fire; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.
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Commentary on Leviticus 4 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 4
Le 4:1, 2. Sin Offering of Ignorance.
2. If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord—a soul—an individual. All sins may be considered, in a certain sense, as committed "through ignorance," error, or misapprehension of one's true interests. The sins, however, referred to in this law were unintentional violations of the ceremonial laws,—breaches made through haste, or inadvertency of some negative precepts, which, if done knowingly and wilfully, would have involved a capital punishment.
do against any of them—To bring out the meaning, it is necessary to supply, "he shall bring a sin offering."
Le 4:3-35. Sin Offering for the Priest.
3. If the priest that is anointed do sin—that is, the high priest, in whom, considering his character as typical mediator, and his exalted office, the people had the deepest interest; and whose transgression of any part of the divine law, therefore, whether done unconsciously or heedlessly, was a very serious offense, both as regarded himself individually, and the influence of his example. He is the person principally meant, though the common order of the priesthood was included.
according to the sin of the people—that is, bring guilt on the people. He was to take a young bullock (the age and sex being expressly mentioned), and having killed it according to the form prescribed for the burnt offerings, he was to take it into the holy place and sprinkle the atoning blood seven times before the veil, and tip with the crimson fluid the horns of the golden altar of incense, on his way to the court of the priests,—a solemn ceremonial appointed only for very grave and heinous offenses, and which betokened that his sin, though done in ignorance, had vitiated all his services; nor could any official duty he engaged in be beneficial either to himself or the people, unless it were atoned for by blood.
11. the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh—In ordinary circumstances, these were perquisites of the priests. But in the expiation necessary for a sin of the high priest, after the fat of the sacrifice was offered on the altar, the carcass was carried without the camp [Le 4:12], in order that the total combustion of it in the place of ashes might the more strikingly indicate the enormity of the transgression, and the horror with which he regarded it (compare Heb 13:12, 13).
13-21. if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance—In consequence of some culpable neglect or misapprehension of the law, the people might contract national guilt, and then national expiation was necessary. The same sacrifice was to be offered as in the former case, but with this difference in the ceremonial, that the elders or heads of the tribes, as representing the people and being the principal aggressors in misleading the congregation, laid their hands on the head of the victim. The priest then took the blood into the holy place, where, after dipping his finger in it seven times, he sprinkled the drops seven times before the veil. This done, he returned to the court of the priests, and ascending the altar, put some portion upon its horns; then he poured it out at the foot of the altar. The fat was the only part of the animal which was offered on the altar; for the carcass, with its appurtenances and offals, was carried without the camp, into the place where the ashes were deposited, and there consumed with fire.
22-26. When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments—Whatever was the form of government, the king, judge, or subordinate, was the party concerned in this law. The trespass of such a civil functionary being less serious in its character and consequences than that either of the high priest or the congregation, a sin offering of inferior value was required—"a kid of the goats"; and neither was the blood carried into the sanctuary, but applied only to the altar of burnt offering; nor was the carcass taken without the camp; it was eaten by the priests-in-waiting.
27-34. if any one of the common people sin through ignorance—In this case the expiatory offering appointed was a female kid, or a ewe-lamb without blemish; and the ceremonies were exactly the same as those observed in the case of the offending ruler [Le 4:22-26]. In these two latter instances, the blood of the sin offering was applied to the altar of burnt offering—the place where bloody sacrifices were appointed to be immolated. But the transgression of a high priest, or of the whole congregation, entailing a general taint on the ritual of the tabernacle, and vitiating its services, required a further expiation; and therefore, in these cases, the blood of the sin offering was applied to the altar of incense [Le 4:6, 17].
35. it shall be forgiven him—None of these sacrifices possessed any intrinsic value sufficient to free the conscience of the sinner from the pollution of guilt, or to obtain his pardon from God; but they gave a formal deliverance from a secular penalty (Heb 9:13, 14); and they were figurative representations of the full and perfect sin offering which was to be made by Christ.