Leviticus 4:2

4:2 “Tell the Israelites, ‘When a person sins by straying unintentionally ¹  from any of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, and violates any ²  one of them ³  –

Leviticus 4:13-14

For the Whole Congregation

4:13 “‘If the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally ⁴  and the matter is not noticed by ⁵  the assembly, and they violate one of the Lord’s commandments, which must not be violated, ⁶  so they become guilty, 4:14 the assembly must present a young bull for a sin offering when the sin they have committed ⁷  becomes known. They must bring it before the Meeting Tent,

Leviticus 4:22

For the Leader

4:22 “‘Whenever ⁸  a leader, by straying unintentionally, ⁹  sins and violates one of the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be violated, ¹⁰  and he pleads guilty,

Leviticus 4:27

For the Common Person

4:27 “‘If an ordinary individual ¹¹  sins by straying unintentionally ¹²  when he violates one of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, ¹³  and he pleads guilty

Leviticus 5:13

5:13 So the priest will make atonement ¹⁴  on his behalf for his sin which he has committed by doing one of these things, ¹⁵  and he will be forgiven. ¹⁶  The remainder of the offering ¹⁷  will belong to the priest like the grain offering.’” ¹⁸ 

Leviticus 5:15-17

5:15 “When a person commits a trespass ¹⁹  and sins by straying unintentionally ²⁰  from the regulations about the Lord’s holy things, ²¹  then he must bring his penalty for guilt ²²  to the Lord, a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel, ²³  for a guilt offering. ²⁴  5:16 And whatever holy thing he violated ²⁵  he must restore and must add one fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest will make atonement ²⁶  on his behalf with the guilt offering ram and he will be forgiven.” ²⁷ 

Unknown trespass

5:17 “If a person sins and violates any of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated ²⁸  (although he did not know it at the time, ²⁹  but later realizes he is guilty), then he will bear his punishment for iniquity ³⁰ 

Psalms 19:12

19:12 Who can know all his errors? ³¹ 

Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of. ³² 

Luke 12:48

12:48 But the one who did not know his master’s will ³³  and did things worthy of punishment ³⁴  will receive a light beating. ³⁵  From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, ³⁶  and from the one who has been entrusted with much, ³⁷  even more will be asked. ³⁸ 

[4:2]  ¹ tn Heb “And a person, when he sins in straying.” The English translation of “by straying” (בִּשְׁגָגָה [bishgagah] literally, “in going astray; in making an error”) varies greatly, but almost all suggest that this term refers to sins that were committed by mistake or done not knowing that the particular act was sinful (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:228-29). See, e.g., LXX “involuntarily”; Tg. Onq. “by neglect”; KJV “through ignorance”; ASV, RSV, NJPS “unwittingly”; NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “unintentionally”; NAB, NEB “inadvertently”; NCV “by accident.” However, we know from Num 15:27-31 that committing a sin “by straying” is the opposite of committing a sin “defiantly” (i.e., בְּיַד רָמָה [bÿyad ramah] “with a raised hand,” v. 30). In the latter case the person, as it were, raises his fist in presumptuous defiance against the Lord. Thus, he “blasphemes” the Lord and has “despised” his word, for which he should be “cut off from among his people” (Num 15:30-31). One could not bring an offering for such a sin. The expression here in Lev 4:2 combines “by straying” with the preposition “from” which fits naturally with “straying” (i.e., “straying from” the Lord’s commandments). For sins committed “by straying” from the commandments (Lev 4 throughout) or other types of transgressions (Lev 5:1-6) there was indeed forgiveness available through the sin offering. See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:94-95.

[4:2]  ² tn This is an emphatic use of the preposition מִן (min; see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 56-57, §325).

[4:2]  ³ tn The “when” clause (כִּי, ki) breaks off here before its resolution, thus creating an open-ended introduction to the following subsections, which are introduced by “if” (אִם [’im] vv. 3, 13, 27, 32). Also, the last part of the verse reads literally, “which must not be done and does from one from them.”

[4:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “strays”; KJV “sin through ignorance.” The verb “strays” here is the verbal form of the noun in the expression “by straying” (see the note on Lev 4:2 above).

[4:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “is concealed from the eyes of”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “escapes the notice of.”

[4:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they do one from all the commandments of the Lord which must not be done” (cf. v. 2).

[4:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the sin which they committed on it becomes known”; KJV “which they have sinned against it.” The Hebrew עָלֶיהָ (’aleha, “on it”) probably refers back to “one of the commandments” in v. 13 (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:243).

[4:22]  ⁸ tn This section begins with the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’asher) which usually means “who” or “which,” but here means “whenever.”

[4:22]  ⁹ tn See the Lev 4:2 note on “straying.”

[4:22]  ¹⁰ 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.”

[4:27]  ¹¹ 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.”

[4:27]  ¹² tn Heb “If one person sins by straying, from the people of the land.” See Lev 4:2 for a note on “straying.”

[4:27]  ¹³ tn Heb “by doing it, one from the commandments of the Lord which must not be done.”

[5:13]  ¹⁴ sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).

[5:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from one from these,” referring to the four kinds of violations of the law delineated in Lev 5:1-4 (see the note on Lev 5:5 above and cf. Lev 4:27).

[5:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).

[5:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and it”; the referent (the remaining portion of the offering) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and it shall be to the priest like the grain offering,” referring to the rest of the grain that was not offered on the altar (cf. the regulations in Lev 2:3, 10).

[5:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root, מַעַל, ma’al); cf. NIV “commits a violation.” The word refers to some kind of overstepping of the boundary between that which is common (i.e., available for common use by common people) and that which is holy (i.e., to be used only for holy purposes because it has been consecrated to the Lord, see further below). See the note on Lev 10:10.

[5:15]  ²⁰ tn See Lev 4:2 above for a note on “straying.”

[5:15]  ²¹ sn Heb “from the holy things of the Lord.” The Hebrew expression here has the same structure as Lev 4:2, “from any of the commandments of the Lord.” The latter introduces the sin offering regulations and the former the guilt offering regulations. The sin offering deals with violations of “any of the commandments,” whereas the guilt offering focuses specifically on violations of regulations regarding “holy things” (i.e., things that have been consecrated to the Lord; see the full discussion in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:320-27).

[5:15]  ²² tn Here the word for “guilt” (אָשָׁם, ’asham) refers to the “penalty” for incurring guilt, the so-called consequential use of אָשָׁם (’asham; see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:303).

[5:15]  ²³ tn Heb “in your valuation, silver of shekels, in the shekel of the sanctuary.” The translation offered here suggests that, instead of a ram, the guilt offering could be presented in the form of money (see, e.g., NRSV; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:326-27). Others still maintain the view that it refers to the value of the ram that was offered (see, e.g., NIV “of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel”; also NAB, NLT; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 72-73, 81).

[5:15]  ²⁴ tn The word for “guilt offering” (sometimes translated “reparation offering”) is the same as “guilt” earlier in the verse (rendered there “[penalty for] guilt”). One can tell which is intended only by the context.

[5:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and which he sinned from the holy thing.”

[5:16]  ²⁶ sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.

[5:16]  ²⁷ tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).

[5:17]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and does one from all of the commandments of the Lord which must not be done.”

[5:17]  ²⁹ tn The words “at the time” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[5:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and he did not know, and he shall be guilty and he shall bear his iniquity” (for the rendering “bear his punishment [for iniquity]”) see the note on Lev 5:1.) This portion of v. 17 is especially difficult. The translation offered here suggests (as in many other English versions) that the offender did not originally know that he had violated the Lord’s commandments, but then came to know it and dealt with it accordingly (cf. the corresponding sin offering section in Lev 5:1-4). Another possibility is that it refers to a situation where a person suspects that he violated something although he does not recollect it. Thus, he brings a guilt offering for his suspected violation (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:331-34, 361-63). See also R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:561-62.

[19:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “Errors who can discern?” This rhetorical question makes the point that perfect moral discernment is impossible to achieve. Consequently it is inevitable that even those with good intentions will sin on occasion.

[19:12]  ³² tn Heb “declare me innocent from hidden [things],” i.e., sins. In this context (see the preceding line) “hidden” sins are not sins committed in secret, but sins which are not recognized as such by the psalmist.

[12:48]  ³³ tn Grk “did not know”; the phrase “his master’s will” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the contemporary English reader.

[12:48]  ³⁴ tn Grk “blows.”

[12:48]  ³⁵ tn Grk “will receive few (blows).”

[12:48]  ³⁶ tn Grk “required from him”; but the words “from him” are redundant in English and have not been translated.

[12:48]  ³⁷ sn Entrusted with much. To be gifted with precious responsibility is something that requires faithfulness.

[12:48]  ³⁸ tn Grk “they will ask even more.”