Leviticus 6: Paying back a neighbor, and the priests' rules for the offerings

In plain English: Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Good to know: In Hebrew Bibles, verses 1 to 7 of this chapter are counted as Leviticus 5:20 to 26, and verse 8 is counted as 6:1. The words are the same; only the numbers differ.

In plain English: "If anyone sins and acts unfaithfully against Yahweh by lying to his neighbor about something left in his care, or a pledge (or: a bargain), or about robbery, or if he has cheated (or: oppressed) his neighbor,

In plain English: or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely, in any of these things a person may do and sin by doing,

In plain English: then, when he has sinned and is guilty, he is to give back what he took by robbery, or what he got by cheating, or what was left in his care, or the lost thing he found,

In plain English: or anything about which he swore falsely. He is to pay it back in full and add a fifth more to it. He is to give it to its owner on the day he is found guilty (literally: on the day of his guilt).

In plain English: He is to bring his trespass offering to Yahweh, to the priest: a ram with no defect from the flock, worth the value you set, as a trespass offering.

In plain English: The priest is to make atonement for him before Yahweh, and he will be forgiven for any of the things he does that make him guilty."

In plain English: Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

In plain English: "Command Aaron and his sons, 'This is the law (or: the instruction) of the burnt offering: the burnt offering is to stay on the hearth of the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar is to be kept burning on it.

The Hebrew word: "Law" is torah, which the dictionary gives as "a precept or statute". Here it is the set of steps for one offering, and the word-by-word meaning in this verse is "legal procedure".

How it is translated: This Bible says "law" in 15 of the 16 verses of Leviticus that use torah, and in 192 of its 213 verses in the whole Bible.

What changes: Read as "instruction" or "teaching", these are the directions for how each offering is to be done. Chapters 6 and 7 give one such torah for each offering, and 7:37 sums them up.

In plain English: The priest is to put on his linen garment, with his linen undergarments on his body. He is to take up the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has burned up on the altar, and put them beside the altar.

In plain English: Then he is to take off his garments, put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

In plain English: The fire on the altar is to be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to burn wood on it, lay the burnt offering in order on it, and burn the fat of the peace offerings on it.

In plain English: Fire is to be kept burning on the altar all the time; it must not go out.

In plain English: This is the law of the meal offering: the sons of Aaron are to offer it before Yahweh, in front of the altar.

In plain English: He is to take a handful of the fine flour of the meal offering and of its oil, with all the frankincense on the meal offering, and burn it on the altar as its memorial portion, a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.

In plain English: Aaron and his sons are to eat what is left of it. It is to be eaten without yeast in a holy place: they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.

In plain English: It must not be baked with yeast. I have given it to them as their share of my offerings made by fire. It is most holy, like the sin offering and the trespass offering.

In plain English: Every male among the descendants of Aaron may eat it, as their share forever, for all your generations, from Yahweh's offerings made by fire. Whoever (or: whatever) touches them will become holy (or: must be holy).'"

The Hebrew word: "Shall be holy" is qadash, to be holy or set apart for God.

What changes: The Hebrew can be read "will become holy": whatever touches these offerings takes on their holiness. It can also be read "must be holy": only someone who is holy may touch them. The same words are used of the altar in Exodus 29:37, of the holy things in Exodus 30:29, and of the sin offering in verse 27.

In plain English: Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

In plain English: "This is the offering that Aaron and his sons are to bring to Yahweh on the day he is anointed: one tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular meal offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening.

In plain English: It is to be made with oil on a griddle. When it is well soaked (or: well mixed), bring it in. Offer the meal offering in broken (or: baked) pieces as a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.

In plain English: The anointed priest from among his sons who takes his place is to offer it. By a rule forever, it is to be burned completely to Yahweh.

In plain English: Every meal offering of a priest is to be burned completely. It must not be eaten."

In plain English: Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

In plain English: "Speak to Aaron and his sons and say, 'This is the law of the sin offering: the sin offering is to be killed before Yahweh in the same place where the burnt offering is killed. It is most holy.

In plain English: The priest who offers it for sin is to eat it. It is to be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.

In plain English: Whatever touches its meat will become holy (or: must be holy). If any of its blood is spattered on a garment, you are to wash the spattered part in a holy place.

In plain English: The clay pot it is boiled in must be broken. If it is boiled in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scrubbed and rinsed with water.

In plain English: Every male among the priests may eat it. It is most holy.

In plain English: But no sin offering whose blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place may be eaten. It is to be burned with fire.