or if he has found what was lost and lies concerning it, and swears falsely—in any one of these things that a man may do in which he sins:
Parallel translations
- WEB or has found that which was lost, and dealt falsely therein, and swearing to a lie; in any of these things that a man does, sinning therein;
- KJV Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein:
- BSB or finds lost property and lies about it and swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that a man might commit—
- NASB or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins regarding any of the things that people do;
- NLT or you find lost property and lie about it, or you lie while swearing to tell the truth, or you commit any other such sin.
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
Keeping lost property and lying under oath about it is sin requiring atonement. Dishonesty in everyday dealings offends God.
Overview
The list continues with retaining found property and swearing falsely to conceal it, ordinary temptations that nonetheless incur real guilt. By naming such common offenses, the law shows that God's holiness reaches into daily commerce and speech. It exposes the heart's bent toward dishonesty and our need for the cleansing only Christ provides.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Exod 23:4“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.
- Lev 19:12“‘You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.
- Exod 22:9–11For every matter of trespass, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any kind of lost thing, about which one says, ‘This is mine,’ the cause of both parties shall come before God. He whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.
- Deut 22:1–4You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep go astray, and hide yourself from them. You shall surely bring them again to your brother.
- Jer 7:9Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known,
- Zech 5:4I will cause it to go out,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears falsely by my name; and it will remain in the middle of his house, and will destroy it with its timber and its stones.”
- Jer 5:2Though they say, ‘As Yahweh lives;’ surely they swear falsely.”
- Mal 3:5I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Prov 30:9lest I be full, deny you, and say, ‘Who is Yahweh?’ or lest I be poor, and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 6:3 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.