Limitless Word
“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When anyone of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or the flock.
Leviticus 1:2 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When anyone of you offers an offering to Yahweh, you shall offer your offering of the livestock, from the herd and from the flock.
  • KJV Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.
  • BSB “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the LORD, you may bring as your offering an animal from the herd or the flock.
  • NKJV “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock.
  • NLT “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you present an animal as an offering to the Lord, you may take it from your herd of cattle or your flock of sheep and goats.

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

Offerings are to come from the worshiper's own herd or flock, a costly gift from what God has provided. True worship gives back to God from what He has first given.

Overview

The sacrificial system requires domesticated, valuable animals, ensuring that worship costs the worshiper something real. The phrase 'when anyone of you offers' shows these laws apply to ordinary Israelites, not only priests. The principle that an acceptable offering is costly anticipates the supremely costly gift of Christ, the spotless Lamb God Himself provided (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Lev 22:18–19“Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘Whoever is of the house of Israel, or of the foreigners in Israel, who offers his offering, whether it is any of their vows, or any of their freewill offerings, which they offer to Yahweh for a burnt offering;
  • Rom 12:6Having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, if prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith;
  • Gen 4:5but he didn’t respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell.
  • Eph 5:2Walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance.
  • Gen 4:3As time passed, Cain brought an offering to Yahweh from the fruit of the ground.
  • 1 Chr 16:29Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come before him. Worship Yahweh in holy array.
  • Rom 12:1Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Leviticus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Leviticus 1:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LeviticusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 1:2 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.