Leviticus 4

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

1The LORD spoke to Moses and said:

2Speak 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:

2"Tell the people of Israel this. Sometimes a person breaks one of my rules by accident. They do something I said not to do. Here is what they must do.

Note"Through ignorance" in the old English does not mean the person was stupid. It means they did not know they were breaking a rule.

3If 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.

3If the chief priest sins, he brings guilt on all the people. The priest is the man who leads worship. He must bring a young bull to the LORD. The bull must be healthy, with nothing wrong with it. It is an offering to take away his sin.

Note"Without blemish" means the animal has no injury or sickness. The best animal was given, not a hurt one.

4And 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.

4He brings the bull to the door of the special tent where God meets his people. He lays his hand on the bull's head. Then he kills the bull there before the LORD.

5And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock’s blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:

5The chief priest takes some of the bull's blood. He carries it into the tent.

6And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary.

6He dips his finger in the blood. He sprinkles it seven times before the LORD. He does this in front of the curtain inside the holy tent.

7And 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.

7Then he puts some blood on the corners of the incense altar. That altar burns sweet-smelling spices inside the tent. He pours the rest of the blood at the bottom of the big altar. That altar stands at the door of the tent.

NoteThe "horns" of an altar were four points that stuck up, one at each corner. They were not real animal horns.

8And 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,

8Next he takes off all the fat from the bull. That means the fat covering the insides, and the fat on them.

9And 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,

9He also takes the two kidneys with the fat on them, near the sides. He takes the fatty part above the liver too.

10As 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.

10He does this the same way as with a peace offering animal. Then the priest burns these parts on the big altar.

11And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung,

11But the bull's skin, all its meat, its head, its legs, its insides, and its waste are left.

12Even 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.

12He carries all the rest of the bull outside the camp. He takes it to a clean spot where ashes are dumped. There he burns it on a wood fire.

13And 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;

13Sometimes all the people of Israel sin by accident. They do not even notice they did it. They broke one of the LORD's rules, so they are guilty.

14When 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.

14Later they find out about the sin they did. Then the people must bring a young bull. They bring it in front of the tent where God meets them.

15And 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.

15The leaders of the people lay their hands on the bull's head. This happens before the LORD. Then the bull is killed there.

16And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock’s blood to the tabernacle of the congregation:

16The chief priest carries some of the bull's blood into the tent.

17And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail.

17He dips his finger in the blood. He sprinkles it seven times before the LORD, in front of the curtain.

18And 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.

18He puts some blood on the corners of the altar inside the tent. He pours the rest of the blood at the bottom of the big altar by the door.

19And he shall take all his fat from him, and burn it upon the altar.

19He takes all the fat off the bull. He burns the fat on the altar.

20And 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.

20He does everything just like he did with the first bull. In this way the priest makes things right between the people and God. Then they are forgiven.

Note"Make an atonement" means to make things right again between a person and God.

21And 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.

21Then he carries the bull outside the camp. He burns it like he burned the first bull. This offering takes away the sin of all the people.

22When 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;

22Sometimes a leader of the people sins by accident. He does something the LORD his God said not to do. He is guilty.

23Or 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:

23Later he learns about the sin he did. Then he must bring a male goat as his gift. The goat must be healthy, with nothing wrong with it.

24And 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.

24He lays his hand on the goat's head. He kills it before the LORD, where burnt offerings are killed. It is an offering to take away sin.

25And 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.

25The priest dips his finger in the blood of that offering. He puts blood on the corners of the big altar. He pours the rest at the bottom of the altar.

26And 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.

26He burns all the goat's fat on the altar, like a peace offering. In this way the priest makes things right for that man. Then the man is forgiven.

27And 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;

27Sometimes a regular person sins by accident. He does something the LORD said not to do. He is guilty.

28Or 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.

28Later he learns about the sin he did. Then he must bring a female goat as his gift. The goat must be healthy, with nothing wrong with it.

29And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering.

29He lays his hand on the head of that offering. He kills it where burnt offerings are killed.

30And 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.

30The priest dips his finger in its blood. He puts blood on the corners of the big altar. He pours the rest at the bottom of the altar.

31And 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.

31He takes off all the fat, the same way as with a peace offering. The priest burns it on the altar, and the smell pleases the LORD. In this way he makes things right, and the man is forgiven.

32And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish.

32He may bring a lamb instead of a goat. If he does, it must be a healthy female lamb.

33And 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.

33He lays his hand on the head of that offering. He kills it where burnt offerings are killed.

34And 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:

34The priest dips his finger in the blood of that offering. He puts blood on the corners of the big altar. He pours the rest at the bottom of the altar.

35And 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.

35He takes off all the fat, like the fat of a peace offering lamb. The priest burns it on the altar with the other fire offerings. In this way he makes things right, and the man is forgiven.