Cases Requiring Sin Offerings

1Sin offerings are required in the following cases.

If someone is officially summoned to give evidence in court and does not give information about something he has seen or heard, he must suffer the consequences.

2If someone unintentionally touches anything ritually unclean, such as a dead animal, he is unclean and guilty as soon as he realizes what he has done.

3If someone unintentionally touches anything of human origin that is unclean, whatever it may be, he is guilty as soon as he realizes what he has done.

4If someone makes a careless vow, no matter what it is about, he is guilty as soon as he realizes what he has done.

5When a person is guilty, he must confess the sin, 6and as the penalty for his sin he must bring to the LORD a female sheep or goat as an offering. The priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin.

7If a man cannot afford a sheep or a goat, he shall bring to the LORD as the payment for his sin two doves or two pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 8He shall bring them to the priest, who will first offer the bird for the sin offering. He will break its neck without pulling off its head 9and sprinkle some of its blood against the side of the altar. The rest of the blood will be drained out at the base of the altar. This is an offering to take away sin. 10Then he shall offer the second bird as a burnt offering, according to the regulations. In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven.

11If a man cannot afford two doves or two pigeons, he shall bring one kilogramme of flour as a sin offering. He shall not put any olive oil or any incense on it, because it is a sin offering, not a grain offering. 12He shall bring it to the priest, who will take a handful of it as a token that it has all been offered to the LORD, and he will burn it on the altar as a food offering. It is an offering to take away sin. 13In this way the priest shall offer the sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven. The rest of the flour belongs to the priest, just as in the case of a grain offering.

Repayment Offerings

14The LORD gave the following regulations to Moses. 15If anyone sins unintentionally by failing to hand over the payments that are sacred to the LORD, he shall bring as his repayment offering to the LORD a male sheep or goat without any defects. Its value is to be determined according to the official standard. 16He must make the payments he has failed to hand over and must pay an additional twenty per cent. He shall give it to the priest, and the priest shall offer the animal as a sacrifice for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven.

17If anyone sins unintentionally by breaking any of the LORD's commands, he is guilty and must pay the penalty. 18He must bring to the priest as a repayment offering a male sheep or goat without any defects. Its value is to be determined according to the official standard. The priest shall offer the sacrifice for the sin which the man committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven. 19It is a repayment offering for the sin he committed against the LORD.