“If a person commits a trespass, and sins unintentionally in regard to the holy things of the Lord, then he shall bring to the Lord as his trespass offering a ram without blemish from the flocks, with your valuation in shekels of silver according to the shekel of the sanctuary, as a trespass offering.
Parallel translations
- WEB “If anyone commits a trespass, and sins unwittingly, in the holy things of Yahweh; then he shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh, a ram without defect from the flock, according to your estimation in silver by shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering.
- KJV If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering:
- BSB “If someone acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s holy things, he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD: an unblemished ram from the flock, of proper value in silver shekels according to the sanctuary shekel; it is a guilt offering.
- NASB “If a person acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against the Lord’s holy things, then he shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord: a ram without defect from the flock, according to your assessment in silver by shekels, in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, as a guilt offering.
- NLT “If one of you commits a sin by unintentionally defiling the Lord’s sacred property, you must bring a guilt offering to the Lord. The offering must be your own ram with no defects, or you may buy one of equal value with silver, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel.
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
Unintentional offenses against holy things require a ram and a valued trespass offering. Even unknowing wrongs against God's holiness demand atonement.
Overview
The guilt offering addresses trespass in 'the holy things,' such as withholding due offerings or tithes, even when done in ignorance. A ram of assessed value was required, reflecting the seriousness of robbing God of what is His. This sharpens our sense that we owe God everything and fall short, a debt finally satisfied by Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 23
- Exod 30:13They shall give this, everyone who passes over to those who are counted, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs ); half a shekel for an offering to Yahweh.
- Ezra 10:19They gave their hand that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their guilt.
- Lev 4:2“Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If anyone sins unintentionally, in any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and does any one of them:
- Lev 7:6Every male among the priests may eat of it. It shall be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy.
- Deut 15:19–20You shall dedicate all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock to Yahweh your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.
- Lev 6:6He shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh, a ram without defect from the flock, according to your estimation, for a trespass offering, to the priest.
- Lev 27:9–33“‘If it is an animal, of which men offer an offering to Yahweh, all that any man gives of such to Yahweh becomes holy.
- Lev 22:1–16Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
- Lev 7:1“‘This is the law of the trespass offering. It is most holy.
- Lev 26:17–18I will set my face against you, and you will be struck before your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you; and you will flee when no one pursues you.
- Num 18:9–32This shall be yours of the most holy things from the fire: every offering of theirs, even every meal offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render to me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons.
- Lev 5:1–2“‘If anyone sins, in that he hears the voice of adjuration, he being a witness, whether he has seen or known, if he doesn’t report it, then he shall bear his iniquity.
- Lev 26:23–27“‘If by these things you won’t be reformed to me, but will walk contrary to me;
- Lev 5:18He shall bring a ram without defect from of the flock, according to your estimation, for a trespass offering, to the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning the thing in which he sinned and didn’t know it, and he will be forgiven.
- Lev 10:17–18“Why haven’t you eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since it is most holy, and he has given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before Yahweh?
- Lev 24:5–9“You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenths of an ephah shall be in one cake.
- Deut 12:26Only your holy things which you have, and your vows, you shall take, and go to the place which Yahweh shall choose.
- Deut 12:5–12But to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, you shall seek his habitation, and there you shall come.
- Lev 26:2–8“‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am Yahweh.
- Num 5:8But if the man has no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made to Yahweh shall be the priest’s; besides the ram of the atonement, by which atonement shall be made for him.
- Lev 5:16He shall make restitution for that which he has done wrong in the holy thing, and shall add a fifth part to it, and give it to the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and he will be forgiven.
- Lev 26:12–13I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you will be my people.
- Deut 26:1–15It shall be, when you have come in to the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, possess it, and dwell in it,
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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 5:15 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.