Leviticus4
English Standard Version
1And the Lord to , ,
2 to the of , , in any of the Lord ’s about things not to be , and one ,
3if it is the who , thus bringing on the , then he shall for the that he has a the to the Lord for a .
4He shall the to the of the of the Lord and his on the of the and the the Lord.
5And the shall some of the of the and it into the of ,
6and the shall his in the and part of the the Lord in of the of the .
7And the shall some of the on the of the of the Lord that is in the of , and all the rest of the of the he shall at the of the of that is at the of the of .
8And the of the of the he shall from it, the that the and the that is on the
9and the with the that is on them at the and the lobe of the that he shall with the
10(just these are from the of the of the ); and the shall them on the of .
11But the of the and all its , with its , its , its , and its —
12all the rest of the —he shall the to a , to the , and shall burn it on a of . the it shall be .
13If the whole of and the is from the of the , and they any of the things that by the Lord ’s ought not to be , and they realize their ,
14when the which they have becomes , the shall a from the for a and it in of the of .
15And the of the shall their on the of the the Lord, and the shall be the Lord.
16Then the shall some of the of the into the of ,
17and the shall his in the and it the Lord in of the .
18And he shall some of the on the of the is in the of the Lord, and the of the he shall at the of the of that is at the of the of .
19And all its he shall from it and on the .
20Thus shall he with the . As he with the of the , so shall he with this. And the shall for them, and they shall be .
21And he shall the the and burn it as he the ; it is the for the .
22When a , of the that by the of the Lord his ought not to be , and realizes his ,
23or the which he has is made to him, he shall as his a , a ,
24and shall his on the of the and it in the where they the the Lord; it is a .
25Then the shall some of the of the with his and it on the of the of and the rest of its at the of the of .
26And its he shall on the , like the of the of . So the shall for him for his , and he shall be .
27 of the in any of the things that by the Lord ’s ought not to be , and realizes his ,
28or the he has is made to him, he shall for his a , a , for his which he has .
29And he shall his on the of the and the in the of .
30And the shall some of its with his and it on the of the of and all the rest of its at the of the .
31And all its he shall , as the is , and the shall it on the for a to the Lord. And the shall for him, and he shall be .
32If he a as his for a , he shall a
33and his on the of the and it for a in the where they the .
34Then the shall some of the of the with his and it on the of the of and all the rest of its at the of the .
35And all its he shall as the of the is from the of , and the shall it on the , on top of the Lord ’s . And the shall for him for the which he has , and he shall be .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Leviticus 4.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The sin-offering of ignorance for the priest. (1–12). For the whole congregation. (13–21). For a ruler. (22–26). For any of the people. (27–35).
vv1-12
Burnt-offerings, meat-offerings, and peace-offerings, had been offered before the giving of the law upon mount Sinai; and in these the patriarchs had respect to sin, to make atonement for it. But the Jews were now put into a way of making atonement for sin, more particularly by sacrifice, as a shadow of good things to come; yet the substance is Christ, and that one offering of himself, by which he put away sin. The sins for which the sin-offerings were appointed are supposed to be open acts. They are supposed to be sins of commission, things which ought not to have been done. Omissions are sins, and must come into judgment: yet what had been omitted at one time, might be done at another; but a sin committed was past recall. They are supposed to be sins committed through ignorance. The law begins with the case of the anointed priest. It is evident that God never had any infallible priest in his church upon earth, when even the high priest was liable to fall into sins of ignorance. All pretensions to act without error are sure marks of Antichrist. The beast was to be carried without the camp, and there burned to ashes. This was a sign of the duty of repentance, which is the putting away sin as a detestable thing, which our soul hates. The sin-offering is called sin. What they did to that, we must do to our sins; the body of sin must be destroyed, Ro 6:6. The apostle applies the carrying this sacrifice without the camp to Christ, Heb 13:11–13.
vv13-21
If the leaders of the people, through mistake, caused them to err, an offering must be brought, that wrath might not come upon the whole congregation. When sacrifices were offered, the persons, on whose behalf they were devoted, were to lay their hands on the heads of the victims, and to confess their sins. The elders were to do so, when the sacrifices were offered for the whole congregation. The load of sin was supposed then to be borne by the guiltless animal. When the offering is completed, it is said, atonement is made, and the sin shall be forgiven. The saving of churches and kingdoms from ruin, is owing to the satisfaction and mediation of Christ.
vv22-26
Those who have power to call others to account, are themselves accountable to the Ruler of rulers. The sin of the ruler, committed through ignorance, must come to his knowledge, either by the check of his own conscience, or by the reproof of his friends; both which even the best and greatest, not only should submit to, but be thankful for. That which I see not, teach thou me, and, Show me wherein I have erred, are prayers we should put up to God every day; that if, through ignorance, we fall into sin, we may not through ignorance abide in it.
Key Words
דָבַר: perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
נֶפֶשׁ: properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)
חָטָא: properly, to miss; hence (figuratively and generally) to sin; by inference, to forfeit, lack, expiate, repent, (causatively) lead astray, condemn
שְׁגָגָה: a mistake or inadvertent transgression
מִצְוָה: a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law)
עָשָׂה: to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application
Cross References
Leviticus 4Christ suffered outside the gate, fulfilling the typology of the sin offering burned outside the camp.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Unlike Levitical priests who offered for their own sins, Christ was holy and needed no offering.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Establishes the early precedent for burning the flesh of the sin offering outside the camp.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Direct parallel for carrying the bullock without the camp to be burned as a sin offering.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Establishes the standard formula for atonement and forgiveness achieved through the ritual.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The parallel law for a common person who sins through ignorance.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The high priest, bound by infirmity, must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Prescribes the altar of sweet incense, on whose horns the high priest's sin offering blood is placed.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The Day of Atonement law requiring the sin offering carcass to be burned outside the camp.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Provides the parallel law for sacrifices required when the whole congregation sins through ignorance.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Contrasts the ruler's minor offering with the high priest's far more costly bullock.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Laying hands on the sacrifice typifies the transference of guilt to a substitute.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Prescribes the foundational law of laying hands on the sacrifice for atonement.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Refers to the high priest offering for himself and for the errors (ignorance) of the people.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The law for anointing the high priest, qualifying him to represent the people.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Specifies sprinkling blood seven times before the mercy seat, echoing the sevenfold sprinkling here.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Directs that the fat portion of the sin offering is burned like the peace offering.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Matches the strict ritual requirement to burn sin offerings outside the camp.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Contrasts blood placed on the outer altar horns with inner sanctuary blood.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Specifies burning the fat on the altar, modeled after peace offerings.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identical protocol for when a ruler's or commoner's sin comes to knowledge.
Supported by JFB
Reiterates bringing a female lamb or goat as a trespass offering.
Supported by Matthew Poole
A prayer for cleansing from secret faults and sins committed in ignorance.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Contrasts weak, sinful high priests appointed by law with the perfect, eternal Son.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Laying hands on the sacrifice's head to make atonement, transfering guilt symbolically.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Eleazar sprinkling the heifer's blood seven times directly before the tabernacle.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Priestly mediation for sins of ignorance secures forgiveness for the congregation.
Supported by Matthew Poole