CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Leviticus 4
Chapter 4 of 27
Chapter Overview
What happens in Leviticus 4
God gives instructions for the sin offering. This sacrifice was for when someone sinned by accident or without meaning to. Different people required different offerings: the high priest brought a bull, the whole community brought a bull, a leader brought a male goat, and an ordinary person brought a female goat or lamb.
Scripture
Leviticus 4
The Sin Offering for the High Priest
Study note
The sin offering dealt with sins committed unintentionally. Even when people did not mean to sin, their wrongdoing still needed to be made right with God. The high priest's sin was the most serious because he represented all the people before God. His sin offering required the most expensive animal, a young bull. The blood was sprinkled seven times before the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, showing how seriously God took the priest's sin.
1 Then the Lord gave Moses another message. He said, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 "Give the people of Israel these orders. Someone might break one of the Lord's commands by mistake. They might do something wrong without meaning to. Here is what to do." Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:
3 "The high priest who was anointed might be the one who sins. His sin brings guilt on the whole group. He must bring a young bull to the Lord. The bull must have no flaws. It is a sin gift." If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.
4 "He must bring the bull to the entrance of the Tabernacle. He must lay his hand on the bull's head and kill it there before the Lord." And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD.
5 "The anointed priest must then collect some of the bull's blood and carry it inside the Tabernacle." And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:
6 "He must dip his finger into the blood. He must sprinkle it seven times before the Lord. He sprinkles before the curtain in the sanctuary." And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the veil of the sanctuary.
7 "The priest must also put some of the blood on the horns of the incense altar inside the Tabernacle. That altar stands in the Lord's presence. All the rest of the bull's blood must be poured out at the bottom of the burnt offering altar near the Tabernacle entrance." And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
8 "He must cut away all the fat from the sin offering bull. This means the fat around the organs and all the fat attached to them." And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
9 "both kidneys with the fat around them near the lower back, and the covering over the liver. These must be taken out along with the kidneys." And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away,
10 "These are exactly the same parts that get removed from the peace offering bull. The priest must burn them on the burnt offering altar." As it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the burnt offering.
11 "But the bull's hide and all its meat, along with its head, legs, internal organs, and waste --" And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung,
12 "the entire rest of the bull -- must be hauled outside the camp to a ritually clean spot where ashes are dumped. It must be burned there on a wood fire, right on the ash heap." Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt.
The Sin Offering for the Whole Community
Study note
Sometimes the entire community sinned without realizing it. When they discovered their mistake, the elders placed their hands on the bull's head on behalf of all the people. The same process was followed as for the high priest's offering. This taught that sin affects the whole community, not just individuals, and that the community as a whole was responsible for making things right with God.
13 "Now suppose the entire community of Israel sins by accident. Even though the people did not realize they broke one of the Lord's commands, they are still guilty." And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;
14 "Once the sin is found out, the people must bring a young bull as a sin offering. They must bring it to the front of the Tabernacle." When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation.
15 "The community leaders must lay their hands on the bull's head there before the Lord. Then the bull must be killed before the Lord." And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD.
16 "The anointed priest must carry some of the bull's blood into the Tabernacle." And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the congregation:
17 "He must dip his finger in the blood and flick it seven times in the Lord's presence, before the curtain." And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the veil.
18 "He must put some of the blood on the horns of the altar inside the Tabernacle, the one that stands in the Lord's presence. All the rest of the blood must be poured out at the bottom of the burnt offering altar, near the Tabernacle entrance." And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
19 "He must cut away all the fat from the bull and burn it on the altar." And he shall take all his fat from him, and burn it upon the altar.
20 "He must handle this bull in exactly the same way as the sin offering for the priest. Through this process, the priest will restore the community's relationship with God, and their sin will be forgiven." And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
21 "Afterward, the bull must be hauled outside the camp and burned, just like the first one. This is how a sin offering works for the entire community." And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation.
The Sin Offering for a Leader
Study note
When a tribal leader or ruler sinned unintentionally, he brought a male goat. The blood was handled differently than for the priest or the community. It was put on the horns of the main altar in the courtyard rather than being brought inside the Tabernacle. Leaders were held to a high standard, but their offering was less costly than the priest's, showing that the priest had the greatest responsibility before God.
22 "A leader might break one of the Lord his God's commands by mistake. He might do something that is not allowed. That leader becomes guilty." When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty;
23 "Once the leader becomes aware of the sin, he must bring a male goat that has no flaws as his offering." Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish:
24 "He must lay his hand on the goat's head and slaughter it at the spot where burnt offerings are slaughtered, in the Lord's presence. This is a sin offering." And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD: it is a sin offering.
25 "The priest must dip his finger in the blood of the sin offering and smear it on the horns of the burnt offering altar. The remaining blood must be poured out at the bottom of the burnt offering altar." And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering.
26 "He must burn all the fat on the altar, the same way fat is handled in the peace offering. Through this process, the priest will restore the leader's relationship with God regarding that sin, and the leader will be forgiven." And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
The Sin Offering for an Ordinary Person
Study note
An ordinary person who sinned unintentionally could bring either a female goat or a female lamb. The offering was the least expensive of the sin offerings, showing God's fairness. Everyone, regardless of their position, had a way to be forgiven. The repeated promise that 'it shall be forgiven him' shows the heart of these sacrifices: God wanted to forgive people and provided a clear way for them to receive that forgiveness.
27 "An everyday person might break one of the Lord's commands by mistake. The person does something not allowed. That person becomes guilty." And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty;
28 "Once the person finds out what happened, a female goat with nothing wrong with it must be brought as the offering for that sin." Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.
29 "The person must lay a hand on the animal's head and slaughter it at the place where burnt offerings are made." And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering.
30 "The priest must dip his finger in some of the blood and smear it on the horns of the burnt offering altar. All the remaining blood must be poured out at the bottom of the altar." And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar.
31 "He must cut away all the fat, the same way fat is removed from the peace offering. The priest must burn it on the altar, producing an aroma that pleases the Lord. Through this process, the priest will restore the person's relationship with God, and the person will be forgiven." And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour unto the LORD; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.
32 "If the person brings a lamb instead for the sin offering, it must be a female that has no flaws." And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish.
33 "The person must lay a hand on the lamb's head. Then he must kill it as a sin offering at the same place where burnt offerings are made." And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering.
34 "The priest must dip his finger in some of the blood from the sin offering and smear it on the horns of the burnt offering altar. All the remaining blood must be poured out at the bottom of the altar." And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar:
35 "He must cut away all the fat, the same way fat is removed from a lamb used in the peace offering. The priest must burn these parts on the altar with the other fire offerings to the Lord. Through this process, the priest will restore the person's relationship with God regarding the sin that was committed, and the person will be forgiven." And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.
Key Themes
Themes in Leviticus 4
The seriousness of sin — even unintentional sinDifferent levels of responsibility require different responsesBlood atonement as the way sin is addressedNo one is above the need for forgiveness
Prophetic Connections
How this chapter points to Christ
Leviticus 1-12 Hebrews 9:11-14
Christ entered the true Most Holy Place with His own blood, not the blood of animals, obtaining eternal redemption — the perfect fulfillment of the sin offering.
Apply This Today
Living Leviticus 4
The sin offering addressed unintentional sins — wrongs committed without realizing it. This teaches us that sin is not just about deliberate rebellion; it includes the ways we fall short without even knowing. Leaders bore greater responsibility, requiring costlier sacrifices. The good news is that God provided a way to deal with every kind of failure.
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