Leviticus 4:22

For the Leader

4:22 “‘Whenever ¹  a leader, by straying unintentionally, ²  sins and violates one of the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be violated, ³  and he pleads guilty,

Leviticus 4:27

For the Common Person

4:27 “‘If an ordinary individual ⁴  sins by straying unintentionally ⁵  when he violates one of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, ⁶  and he pleads guilty

Leviticus 6:25-26

6:25 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the law of the sin offering. In the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered the sin offering must be slaughtered before the Lord. It is most holy. ⁷  6:26 The priest who offers it for sin is to eat it. It must be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the Meeting Tent.

Leviticus 10:17

10:17 “Why did you not eat the sin offering in the sanctuary? For it is most holy and he gave it to you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, ⁸  to make atonement on their behalf before the Lord.

¹ tn This section begins with the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’asher) which usually means “who” or “which,” but here means “whenever.”

² tn See the Lev 4:2 note on “straying.”

³ tn Heb “and does one from all the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be done”; cf. NRSV “ought not to be done”; NIV “does what is forbidden in any of the commands.”

⁴ tn Heb “an individual from the people of the land”; cf. NASB “anyone of the common people” (KJV, ASV both similar); NAB “a private person.”

⁵ tn Heb “If one person sins by straying, from the people of the land.” See Lev 4:2 for a note on “straying.”

⁶ tn Heb “by doing it, one from the commandments of the Lord which must not be done.”

⁷ tn Heb “holiness of holinesses [or holy of holies] it is.” Cf. NAB “most sacred”; CEV “very sacred”; TEV “very holy.”

⁸ sn This translation is quite literal. On the surface it appears to mean that the priests would “bear the iniquity” of the congregation by the act of eating the sin offering (so J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:622-25, 635-40). Such a notion is, however, found nowhere else in the Levitical regulations and seems unlikely (so J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 136). A more likely interpretation is reflected in this interpretive rendering: “he gave it to you [as payment] for [your work of] bearing the iniquity of the congregation.” The previous section of the chapter deals with the prebends that the priests received for performing the ministry of the tabernacle (Lev 10:12-15). Lev 10:16-18, therefore, seems to continue the very same topic in the light of the most immediate situation (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:702-4).