The Third Book of Moses, called Leviticus
Leviticus 5
Chapter V · Vol. I, pp. 369–370
1 The trespass-offering of one that sinneth in concealing his knowledge, in touching an unclean thing, or in making an oath; from the flock, 7 or of fowls, 11 or of flour. 14 The trespass-offering in sacrilege, 17 and in sins of ignorance.
1 AND if a a soul sin, and b hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear c his iniquity.1
a ver. 15, 17.
b Pr. 29.24. Mat. 26.63. 1 Ki. 8.31.
c ch. 19.8; 20.17, be held a guilty partaker in the sin.
1 The reference here is not to one who has heard imprecation or blasphemy; but to one who has heard false evidence given, which he was capable of proving to be false, and yet has not contradicted it—has not offered himself as a witness—he bears guilt. P.—Our Lord, who, 'as a sheep before her shearers,' was dumb for a time, 'answered the high-priest nothing,' Mat. 26.62-64. But when the high-priest said, 'I adjure thee by the living God,' our Lord, in obedience to this law, immediately replied: the voice of swearing, then, is the voice of him that administers the oath. By this righteous law, suppression of truth is sin.—C.
2 Or if a soul d touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcass of an unclean beast, or a carcass of unclean cattle, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and if it be e hidden from him; he also shall be f unclean and guilty.2
d Nu. 16.16. ch. 11.8, 31, 39.
e Ps. 19.12. 1 Jn. 3.20.
f 2 Co. 6.17. 1 Ti. 5.22. Ep. 5.11.
2 The latter part of the verse should be translated: 'And if it is hidden from him, and he is unclean and guilty.' Our English version obscures the sense.—P.
3 Or if he touch the g uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.
g ch. xii. xiii. xv.; 22.13.
4 Or if a soul h swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these.3
A.M. 2514. B.C. 1490.
h Rashly, 1 Sa. 14.24; 25.22. Mat. 14.7. Ac. 23.12. Ju. 11.30, 31.
3 Habitual swearing begets such a fatal familiarity with an oath that men actually take God's name in vain without thought or recollection; anger also prompts to threats or promises and oaths that pass as totally out of the memory as a storm passes from the sky, leaving no trace; drunkenness produces similar wickedness and oblivion, with frequent circumstances of deep aggravation. These circumstances will account for the oath, and the possibility of its being hid from him by whom it was recklessly pronounced and lightly forgot. The law may, perhaps, also be intended to apply to cases where the execution of the oath is found impossible, and it may, in that sense, be said to be hidden from him.—C.
5 And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall i confess that he hath sinned in that thing.
6 And he shall bring his k trespass-offering4 unto the LORD, for his sin which he hath sinned, a l female from the flock, a lamb, or a kid of the goats, for a sin-offering: m and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin.
k ver. 14; ch. 6.6; 14.12; 19.21, 22. Is. 53.10.
4 The sins called trespasses are somewhat indefinite, but may generally be reduced to the heads of duties omitted, ch. 5.1, ceremonial uncleanness, ver. 2, 3, rash and inconsiderate vows, ver. 4, ignorance and infringement of typical rites, ver. 15, and frauds remediable by restitution, ch. 6.2, 3.—C.
l ch. 4.28, 32. Ga. 4.4. Ge. 3.15. Is. 7.14. Je. 31.22. Ro. 8.3.
m See ch. 4.35.
7 And if n he be not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring, for his trespass which he hath committed, o two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, unto the LORD; one p for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering.
n ch. 12.8; 14.21. 2 Co. 8.12. Ja. 2.5.
o ch. 1.14, 15. He. 7.26. 1 Pe. 2.22, 24. 2 Co. 5.21.
p ver. 6. See ch. iv.
8 And he shall bring them unto the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin-offering first, and q wring off his head from his neck, but shall not divide it asunder.
q ch. 1.15. 1 Pe. 3.18. Ro. 4.25.
9 And he shall r sprinkle of the blood of the sin-offering upon the side of the altar; and s the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar: it is a sin-offering.
10 And he shall t offer the second for a burnt-offering, according to the manner: and the priest shall make an u atonement for him for his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.
11 But if he be not able to bring two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons; then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the x tenth part of an ephah[≈ 2.2 litres · 3.9 pints] of y fine flour for a sin-offering: he shall put z no oil upon it, neither shall he put any frankincense thereon; for it is a sin-offering.
x Five pints, Ex. 16.18, 36.
y ch. ii. Nu. vii. xv. Jn. 12.24. Is. 4.2.
z ch. 2.1. Nu. 5.15. Is. 53.2-10. Ps. 22.1, 21; 69.1-21.
12 Then shall he bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it, a even a memorial thereof, and burn it on the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: it is a sin-offering.
a ch. 2.2, 9; 6.15; 4.35. Ps. 22.13, 14. Jn. 12.27. Mat. 26.38, 39. Lu. 22.44.
13 Andb the priest shall make an atonement for him, as touching his sin that he hath sinned in one of these, and it shall be forgiven him: and c the remnant shall be the priest's, as a meat-offering.
b See ch. 4.35.
c ch. 2.3; 7.9. Jn. 4.34. Is. 53.10, 12. 1 Co. 9.13.
14 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
15 If a soul commit a trespass, and sin throughd ignorance4 in the holy things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the LORD a e ram without blemish out of the flocks, f with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass-offering.
A.M. 2514. B.C. 1490.
d ch. 4.2, 13, 22, 27; ver. 17. 1 Ti. 1.13. Mat. 22.29. He. 5.2; 9.7.
4 Ignorance in the holy things.—As neglecting, through ignorance, to redeem the first-born, or neglecting to offer the required sacrifices, or eating what was ceremonially forbidden, and the like.—C.
e ch. 22.14; 6.6. Ex. 29.1. ver. 18. 1 Ti. 2.5, 6.
f ch. 27.8, 12-18; 6.4, 5; 22.14. Nu. 5.7.
16 Andg he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering, and it shall be forgiven him.
g ch. 22.14; 6.5; 27.13, 15, 19, 27. Nu. 5.7. Ro. 3.24-26. Ps. 69.4.
17 Andh if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wisti it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.5
18 And he shall bring a k ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass-offering, unto the priest: and l the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him.
k ver. 15. Ex. 29.1. ch. 6.6. 1 Ti. 2.5, 6. Ze. 13.7. Ps. 80.17.
l ch. 1.4; 4.20, 26, 31, 35; 6.7; 12.8; 14.18. Nu. 15.25.
19 It is a m trespass-offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the LORD.
m ver. 6, 7, 15, 16; ch. 6.5, 6; 7.1, 7; 14.12-14, 21, 25, 31. Is. 53.10. He. 10.10, 12, 14. 1 Jn. 1.7. 2 Co. 5.21. Ro. 4.25. 1 Pe. 3.18.
Notes
Reflections.—How necessary is it to have a particular sight and sense of our sins! It therefore becomes us to keep a universal guard over all the powers of our soul and members of our body; and over none more than our tongue. Grievous is the crime of robbing God and his ministers! And however mortifying, an honest restitution is necessary. Nor have we any reason to believe our crime pardoned while we retain the wages of unrighteousness; for all sin is unsavoury to the truly penitent soul. But bless the Lord, O my soul, that the oblation of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God—of Jesus, the corn of wheat—suits every trespass which I can be guilty of! Bless him that herein provision is made for the vilest sinner of mankind, and the poorest mortal upon earth; and that poverty is no bar in our way to heaven through him, nor our access to the God of heaven. Meanwhile, let me take heed to my ways that I sin not with my heart, my hand, or my tongue, since nothing less than the sacrifice of Christ makes possible the pardon of sin.
Measures in square brackets are modern equivalents added for this edition. They are not in the King James text or in Brown’s notes. They use common scholarly estimates: a cubit is about 45.7 cm (18 in), a shekel about 11.4 g (0.4 oz), an ephah about 22 litres. Money values give the worth of the silver or gold at spot prices on 28 October 2026, not what the sum would buy in the ancient world.