He shall tear it open by its wings, without dividing the bird completely. And the priest is to burn it on the altar atop the burning wood. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB He shall tear it by its wings, but shall not divide it apart. The priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
- KJV And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
- NKJV Then he shall split it at its wings, but shall not divide it completely; and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.
- NASB Then he shall tear it by its wings, but shall not sever it. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, on the wood which is on the fire; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord.
- NLT Then, grasping the bird by its wings, the priest will tear the bird open, but without tearing it apart. Then he will burn it as a burnt offering on the wood burning on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The bird is torn open but not divided, then wholly burned as a pleasing aroma to God. The poor man's offering is fully accepted just as the rich man's.
Overview
The instruction not to fully divide the bird allows the small offering to be presented whole, paralleling the larger burnt offerings. The same closing phrase, 'a pleasant aroma to Yahweh,' assures equal acceptance. God receives the humble gift offered in faith as gladly as the costly one, all ultimately pleasing to Him through Christ (Hebrews 13:15-16).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Gen 15:10So Abram brought all these to Him, split each of them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not cut in half.
- Lev 5:8He is to bring them to the priest, who shall first present the one for the sin offering. He is to twist its head at the front of its neck without severing it;
- Rom 4:25He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.
- Heb 13:15–16Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.
- Lev 1:13The entrails and legs must be washed with water, and the priest shall bring all of it and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
- 1 Pet 1:19–21but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.
- Heb 10:6–12In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight.
- Lev 1:9–10The entrails and legs must be washed with water, and the priest shall burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
- John 19:30When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.
- 1 Pet 3:18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- Matt 27:50When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit.
- Ps 16:10For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
- Gen 8:21When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 1:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.