Leviticus3

New American Standard

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¹‘Now if his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings, if he is going to offer from the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without defect before the Lord.

²And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood around on the altar.

³From the sacrifice of the peace offerings he shall then present an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails,

⁴and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.

⁵Then Aaron’s sons shall offer it up in smoke on the altar on the burnt offering, which is on the wood that is on the fire; it is an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord.

⁶But if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord is from the flock, he shall offer it, male or female, without defect.

⁷If he is going to offer a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before the Lord,

⁸and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.

⁹From the sacrifice of peace offerings he shall then bring as an offering by fire to the Lord, its fat, the entire fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails,

¹⁰and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.

¹¹Then the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire to the Lord.

¹²‘Now if his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord,

¹³and he shall lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.

¹⁴From it he shall present his offering as an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails,

¹⁵and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.

¹⁶The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire as a soothing aroma; all fat is the Lord’s.

¹⁷It is a permanent statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places: you shall not eat any fat or any blood.’”

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Leviticus 3.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: The peace-offering of the herd. (1–5). The peace-offering of the flock. (6–17).

vv1-5

The peace-offerings had regard to God as the giver of all good things. These were divided between the altar, the priest, and the owner. They were called peace-offering, because in them God and his people did, as it were, feast together, in token of friendship. The peace-offerings were offered by way of supplication. If a man were in pursuit of any mercy, he would add a peace-offering to his prayer for it. Christ is our Peace, our Peace-offering; for through him alone it is that we can obtain an answer of peace to our prayers. Or, the peace-offering was offered by way of thanksgiving for some mercy received. We must offer to God the sacrifice of praise continually, by Christ our Peace; and then this shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock.

vv6-17

Here is a law that they should eat neither fat nor blood. As for the fat, it means the fat of the inwards, the suet. The blood was forbidden for the same reason; because it was God's part of every sacrifice. God would not permit the blood that made atonement to be used as a common thing, Heb 10:29; nor will he allow us, though we have the comfort of the atonement made, to claim for ourselves any share in the honour of making it. This taught the Jews to observe distinction between common and sacred things; it kept them separate from idolaters. It would impress them more deeply with the belief of some important mystery in the shedding of the blood and the burning the fat of their solemn sacrifices. Christ, as the Prince of peace, “made peace with the blood of his cross.” Through him the believer is reconciled to God; and having the peace of God in his heart, he is disposed to follow peace with all men. May the Lord multiply grace, mercy, and peace, to all who desire to bear the Christian character.

Key Words

offeringH7133Hebrew

קׇרְבָּן: something brought near the altar, i.e. a sacrificial present

sacrificeH2077Hebrew

זֶבַח: properly, a slaughter, i.e. the flesh of an animal; by implication, a sacrifice (the victim or the act)

peace offeringH8002Hebrew

שֶׁלֶם: properly, requital, i.e. a (voluntary) sacrifice in thanks

offersH7126Hebrew

קָרַב: to approach (causatively, bring near) for whatever purpose

herdH1241Hebrew

בָּקָר: beef cattle or an animal of the ox family of either gender (as used for plowing); collectively, a herd

maleH2145Hebrew

זָכָר: properly, remembered, i.e. a male (of man or animals, as being the most noteworthy sex)

femaleH5347Hebrew

נְקֵבָה: female (from the sexual form)

without blemishH8549Hebrew

תָּמִים: entire (literally, figuratively or morally); also (as noun) integrity, truth

beforeH6440Hebrew

פָּנִים: the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.)

layH5564Hebrew

סָמַךְ: to prop (literally or figuratively); reflexively, to lean upon or take hold of (in a favorable or unfavorable sense)