Leviticus 5:18

5:18 and must bring a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels, ¹  for a guilt offering to the priest. So the priest will make atonement ²  on his behalf for his error which he committed ³  (although he himself had not known it) and he will be forgiven. ⁴ 

Leviticus 5:2

5:2 Or when there is ⁵  a person who touches anything ceremonially ⁶  unclean, whether the carcass of an unclean wild animal, or the carcass of an unclean domesticated animal, or the carcass of an unclean creeping thing, even if he did not realize it, ⁷  but he himself has become unclean and is guilty; ⁸ 

Leviticus 6:7

6:7 So the priest will make atonement ⁹  on his behalf before the Lord and he will be forgiven ¹⁰  for whatever he has done to become guilty.” ¹¹ 

Leviticus 6:2

6:2 “When a person sins and commits a trespass ¹²  against the Lord by deceiving his fellow citizen ¹³  in regard to something held in trust, or a pledge, or something stolen, or by extorting something from his fellow citizen, ¹⁴ 

Leviticus 1:9

1:9 Finally, the one presenting the offering ¹⁵  must wash its entrails and its legs in water and the priest must offer all of it up in smoke on the altar ¹⁶  – it is ¹⁷  a burnt offering, a gift ¹⁸  of a soothing aroma to the Lord.

Psalms 19:12

19:12 Who can know all his errors? ¹⁹ 

Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of. ²⁰ 

Psalms 95:10

95:10 For forty years I was continually disgusted ²¹  with that generation,

and I said, ‘These people desire to go astray; ²² 

they do not obey my commands.’ ²³ 

Isaiah 3:12

3:12 Oppressors treat my ²⁴  people cruelly;

creditors rule over them. ²⁵ 

My people’s leaders mislead them;

they give you confusing directions. ²⁶ 

Isaiah 9:16

9:16 The leaders of this nation were misleading people,

and the people being led were destroyed. ²⁷ 

Isaiah 28:7

28:7 Even these men ²⁸  stagger because of wine,

they stumble around because of beer –

priests and prophets stagger because of beer,

they are confused ²⁹  because of wine,

they stumble around because of beer;

they stagger while seeing prophetic visions, ³⁰ 

they totter while making legal decisions. ³¹ 

Isaiah 29:14

29:14 Therefore I will again do an amazing thing for these people –

an absolutely extraordinary deed. ³² 

Wise men will have nothing to say,

the sages will have no explanations.” ³³ 

Hosea 4:12

4:12 They consult their wooden idols,

and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle.

The wind of prostitution blows them astray;

they commit spiritual adultery ³⁴  against their God.

Amos 2:14

2:14 Fast runners will find no place to hide; ³⁵ 

strong men will have no strength left; ³⁶ 

warriors will not be able to save their lives.

[5:18]  ¹ tn The statement here is condensed. See the full expression in 5:15 and the note there.

[5:18]  ² sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.

[5:18]  ³ tn Heb “on his straying which he strayed.” See the note on Lev 4:2.

[5:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV and NASB both similar).

[5:2]  ⁵ tc The insertion of the words “when there is” is a reflection of the few Hebrew mss, Smr, and LXX that have כִּי (ki, “when, if”; cf. vv. 3 and esp. 4) rather than the MT’s אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “who”). Many English versions render this as a conditional clause (“if”).

[5:2]  ⁶ tn The word “ceremonially” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that the uncleanness involved is ritual or ceremonial in nature.

[5:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and it is hidden from him,” meaning that the person who contracted the ceremonial uncleanness was not aware at the time what had happened, but later found out that he had become ceremonially unclean. This same phrase occurs again in both vv. 3 and 4.

[5:2]  ⁸ sn Lev 5:2-3 are parallel laws of uncleanness (contracted from animals and people, respectively), and both seem to assume that the contraction of uncleanness was originally unknown to the person (vv. 2 and 3) but became known to him or her at a later time (v. 3; i.e., “has come to know” in v. 3 is to be assumed for v. 2 as well). Uncleanness itself did not make a person “guilty” unless he or she failed to handle it according to the normal purification regulations (see, e.g., “wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening,” Lev 15:5 NIV; cf. Lev 11:39-40; 15:5-12, 16-24; Num 19, etc.). The problem here in Lev 5:2-3 is that, because the person had not been aware of his or her uncleanness, he or she had incurred guilt for not carrying out these regular procedures, and it would now be too late for that. Thus, the unclean person needs to bring a sin offering to atone for the contamination caused by his or her neglect of the purity regulations.

[6:7]  ⁹ sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.

[6:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).

[6:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “on one from all which he does to become guilty in it”; NAB “whatever guilt he may have incurred.”

[6:2]  ¹² tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root מַעַל, ma’al). See the note on 5:15.

[6:2]  ¹³ tn Or “neighbor” (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NASB “companion”; TEV “a fellow-Israelite.”

[6:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “has extorted his neighbor”; ASV “oppressed”; NRSV “defrauded.”

[1:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Finally, he”; the referent (the offerer) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Once again, the MT assigns the preparation of the offering (here the entrails and legs) to the offerer because it did not bring him into direct contact with the altar, but reserves the actual placing of the sacrifice on the altar for the officiating priest (cf. the notes on vv. 5a and 6a).

[1:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “toward the altar,” but the so-called locative ה (hey) attached to the word for “altar” can indicate the place where something is or happens (GKC 250 §90.d and GKC 373-74 §118.g; cf. also J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:161). This is a standard way of expressing “on/at the altar” with the verb “to offer up in smoke” (Hiphil of קָטַר [qatar]; cf. also Exod 29:13, 18, 25; Lev 1:9, 13, 15, 17; 2:2, etc.).

[1:9]  ¹⁷ tc A few Hebrew mss and possibly the Leningrad B19a ms itself (the basis of the BHS Hebrew text of the MT), under an apparent erasure, plus Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Tg. Ps.-J. suggest that Hebrew הוּא (hu’, translated as “it is”) should be added here as in vv. 13 and 17. Whether or not the text should be changed, the meaning is the same as in vv. 13 and 17, so it has been included in the translation here.

[1:9]  ¹⁸ sn The standard English translation of “gift” (אִשֶּׁה, ’isheh) is “an offering [made] by fire” (cf. KJV, ASV). It is based on a supposed etymological relationship to the Hebrew word for “fire” (אֵשׁ, ’esh) and is still maintained in many versions (e.g., NIV, RSV, NRSV, NLT; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 7-8). For various reasons, including the fact that some offerings referred to by this term are not burned on the altar (see, e.g., Lev 24:9), it is probably better to understand the term to mean “gift” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 22) or “food gift” (“food offering” in NEB and TEV; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:161-62). See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:540-49 for a complete discussion.

[19:12]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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.

[95:10]  ²¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite or an imperfect. If the latter, it emphasizes the ongoing nature of the condition in the past. The translation reflects this interpretation of the verbal form.

[95:10]  ²² tn Heb “a people, wanderers of heart [are] they.”

[95:10]  ²³ tn Heb “and they do not know my ways.” In this context the Lord’s “ways” are his commands, viewed as a pathway from which his people, likened to wayward sheep (see v. 7), wander.

[3:12]  ²⁴ sn This may refer to the prophet or to the Lord.

[3:12]  ²⁵ tc The Hebrew text appears to read literally, “My people, his oppressors, he deals severely, and women rule over them.” The correct text and precise meaning of the verse are debated. The translation above assumes (1) an emendation of נֹגְשָׂיו (nogÿsayv, “his oppressors”) to נֹגְשִׂים (nogÿshim, “oppressors”) by moving the mem (ם) on the following form to the end of the word and dropping the vav (ו) as virtually dittographic; (2) an emendation of מְעוֹלֵל (mÿ’olel, a singular participle that does not agree with the preceding plural subject) to עֹלְלוּ (’olÿlu), a third plural Poel perfect from עָלַל (’alal, “deal severely”; note that the following form begins with a vav [ו]; the text may be haplographic or misdivided); and (3) an emendation (with support from the LXX) of נָשִׁים (nashim, “women”) to נֹשִׁים (noshim, “creditors”; a participle from נָשַׁא, nasa’). Another option is to emend מְעוֹלֵל to עוֹלְלִים (’olÿlim, “children”) and read, “My people’s oppressors are children; women rule over them.” In this case the point is the same as in v. 4; the leadership void left by the judgment will be filled by those incompetent to lead the community – children and women. (The text reflects the ancient Israelite patriarchal mindset.)

[3:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and the way of your paths they confuse.” The verb בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”; HALOT 135 s.v. I בלע) is a homonym of the more common בָּלַע (“swallow”; see HALOT 134 s.v. בלע).

[9:16]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and the ones being led were swallowed up.” Instead of taking מְבֻלָּעִים (mÿbulla’im) from בָּלַע (bala’, “to swallow”), HALOT 134 s.v. בלע proposes a rare homonymic root בלע (“confuse”) here.

[28:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “these.” The demonstrative pronoun anticipates “priests and prophets” two lines later.

[28:7]  ²⁹ tn According to HALOT 135 s.v. III בלע, the verb form is derived from בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”), not the more common בָּלַע (“swallow”). See earlier notes at 3:12 and 9:16.

[28:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “in the seeing.”

[28:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “[in] giving a decision.”

[29:14]  ³² tn Heb “Therefore I will again do something amazing with these people, an amazing deed, an amazing thing.” This probably refers to the amazing transformation predicted in vv. 17-24, which will follow the purifying judgment implied in vv. 15-16.

[29:14]  ³³ tn Heb “the wisdom of their wise ones will perish, the discernment of their discerning ones will keep hidden.”

[4:12]  ³⁴ tn Heb “adultery.” The adjective “spiritual” is supplied in the translation to clarify that apostasy is meant here.

[2:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and a place of refuge will perish from the swift.”

[2:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “the strong will not increase his strength.”