Keraia
Leviticus 5

Leviticus 5:5

Sins Requiring a Sin Offering · Leviticus 5:1–13
Read Leviticus 5

Translations

Modern
If someone incurs guilt in one of these ways, he must confess the sin he has committed,
Traditional
And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing:
Literal
And it shall be, when he is guilty in one of these, that he shall confess that he has sinned in it.
Latin
…agat pœnitentiam pro peccato,

Original

Hebrew
English
If someone incurs guilt in one of these ways, he must confess the sin he has committed,

Notes

Leviticus 5:5

  • If someone incurs guilt: Situations needing a sin offering assumed there was guilt that happened by accident or ignorance. Once someone realized they did something wrong, they became guilty and needed to receive atonement. If someone knew they sinned, they must deal with it. To know what was right and not do it was also a sin (see 5:17; James 4:17).

  • confess: Offering a sacrifice for sin without admitting guilt was a pointless ceremony. When presenting the sacrificial animal to the priest, the worshiper probably explained the reason for the offering.

Leviticus 5:1–6

These verses give examples of sins that required a sin offering (Leviticus 4:2). When a person became aware of committing a wrong, the next step to make it right was to admit the guilt and bring a sin offering.

Leviticus 4:1–5:13

The sin offering is called khatta’t in Hebrew, from the root khata’. It means "to lack, fall short, miss, fail." The people made this offering when they unintentionally violated specific commands of God (see also Numbers 15:22–29). The purpose of this offering was to repair a loss or fix a failure (for example, Leviticus 5:1–4).

Although all Christians sin, God will forgive us if we confess them (Galatians 6:1; 1 John 1:8–9). Yet, the Scripture warns against sinning "defiantly" or "deliberately" (Numbers 15:30–31; Hebrews 10:26–29; 6:4–6).

Theme notes and profiles

Ancient Law Codes Atonement Pure Worship

Parallels

Leviticus 4:1–35 Leviticus 6:24–30

Glossary

Biblical Concept of Law Confession Deuteronomy, Book of History of Israel Law of Moses Leviticus, Book of Moses Offerings and Sacrifices Worship

Topics

Confession of Sin: God Requires Defilement: Caused by Touching Carcass of an Unclean Thing Ignorance: Sins of Prayer: Confession In Sin: Forgiveness of Trespass offering: Accompanied by Confession Vows: Unclassified Scriptures Relating To