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The LORD spoke to Moses:
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“Speak to the people of Israel: If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the things that the LORD has forbidden, and does any one of them,
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if it is the anointed priest who sins, so that the people are brought into guilt, then for the sin he has committed he shall present to the LORD a young bull without blemish as a sin offering.
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He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, before the LORD, and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and slaughter the bull before the LORD.
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The anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the Tent of Meeting.
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The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary.
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Then the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting, and all the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
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All the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall remove from the bull, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails,
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and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys,
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just as the fat is removed from the bull of the peace offering. The priest shall burn them all on the altar of burnt offering.
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But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, with its head and its legs and its entrails and its dung,
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that is, the whole bull, he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and he shall burn it up on wood with fire at the ash heap.
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If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally, and the assembly does not realize it, so that they do any one of the things that the LORD has forbidden, and they become guilty,
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when the sin they have committed becomes known, the congregation shall offer a young bull as a sin offering. They shall bring it before the Tent of Meeting.
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Then the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the LORD.
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The anointed priest shall bring some of the blood of the bull into the Tent of Meeting.
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The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil.
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Then he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting, and all the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
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All its fat he shall remove from the bull and burn it on the altar.
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Thus shall he do with the bull: as he did with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this one. In this way the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven.
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Then he shall bring the bull outside the camp and burn it up as he burned up the first bull. This is the sin offering for the congregation.
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If it is a leader who sins by doing unintentionally any one of the things that the LORD his God has forbidden, so that he becomes guilty,
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when the sin he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a male goat without blemish.
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He shall lay his hand on the head of the goat and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD; it is a sin offering.
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Then the priest shall take with his finger some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering.
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But all its fat he shall burn on the altar, as the fat of the peace offering is burned. Thus the priest shall make atonement for that person because of his sin, and he shall be forgiven.
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If one of the common people sins unintentionally by doing any one of the things that the LORD has forbidden, so that he becomes guilty,
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when the sin he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering for the sin he has committed a female goat without blemish.
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He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter the offering at the place of the burnt offering.
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Then the priest shall take with his finger some of its blood and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering. All the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.
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But all its fat he shall remove, as the fat of the peace offering is removed, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for that person, and he shall be forgiven.
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If he brings a sheep as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish.
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Then he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and slaughter it as a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is usually slaughtered.
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And the priest shall take with his finger some of the blood of the sin offering, and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering. All the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.
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But all its fat he shall remove, as the fat of the sheep of the peace offering is removed; and the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, on top of the offerings made by fire to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for the person because of the sin he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.
🩸⚖️🙏 Summary of Leviticus 4 – The Sin Offering (Sin/Trespass Offering)
Leviticus 4 explains the sin offering (sin offering)—an offering set apart for sins committed unintentionally or unknowingly. This shows that every sin, whether deliberate or not, is still serious in the sight of God and must be atoned for.
1. Offering for the High Priest (verses 1–12)
- If the high priest sins, he brings a young bull without blemish.
- The blood is taken and sprinkled before the veil of the sanctuary and on the horns of the altar of incense.
- The rest is poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offering.
- The whole animal is burned outside the camp—because his sin affects the whole people.
2. Offering for the Congregation (verses 13–21)
- If all Israel sins unintentionally, they also bring a young bull.
- The process is the same: the blood is sprinkled before the veil, on the horns of the altar, the rest is poured out, and the body is burned outside the camp.
- This shows the shared responsibility of the people.
3. Offering for a Leader (verses 22–26)
- If a leader sins, he brings a male goat without blemish.
- The blood is placed only on the horns of the burnt offering altar, not into the holy place.
- The meat may be eaten by the priest—this is different from the priestly/congregational offering that is burned up completely.
4. The Offering for Ordinary People (verses 27–35)
- If ordinary people sin unintentionally:
They bring a female goat or a female lamb without blemish.
- The procedure is similar, with a simpler level of holiness.
📖 Main Lessons
- Sin, even when unintentional, still requires forgiveness.
- The level of responsibility is determined by a person’s position and influence.
- Every group in society—priest, leader, people—all need an offering.
- The Lord provides a way of forgiveness for everyone.
- Forgiveness does not happen automatically, but through repentance and offering.
✨ Spiritual Meaning
- The sin offering affirms that God is just and holy, yet also full of love and provides a way of forgiveness.
- In the New Testament, Jesus becomes the sin offering for all of us (1 John 2:2).
- The blood of Jesus replaces this whole sacrificial system perfectly (Hebrews 9:11–14).
- This teaches us that we need self-examination and repentance, even for sins we do not realize.
- God sees sin as a serious matter, but He also provides full forgiveness for those who come to Him.
