For Sins against the Lord’s People
6 [a]The Lord spoke to Moses, 2 “If any of you sin against the Lord by failing to do your duty, if you lie to your neighbor about something you were supposed to take care of or if you lie about something stolen or seized from your neighbor, you are sinning and will be guilty. 3 If you find something that someone lost and lie about it under oath, or commit any other sin like this, 4 you are sinning and will be guilty. Return what you stole or seized, what you were supposed to take care of, the lost item you found, 5 or whatever it was that you swore falsely about. Pay it back in full plus one-fifth more. Give it back to its owner on the day you bring your guilt offering. 6 Then bring the Lord your guilt offering, a ram that has no defects or its value in money. Bring it to the priest. 7 So the priest will make peace with the Lord. Then you will be forgiven for whatever you did that made you guilty.”
Instructions for Taking Care of the Fire
8 The Lord spoke to Moses, 9 “Command Aaron and his sons: These are the instructions for the burnt offering that stays on the altar overnight while the altar fire is kept burning.
10 “The priest must put on his linen clothes, including his linen undergarments. Then he will remove the ashes left on the altar from the fire that consumed the burnt offering and will put them next to the altar. 11 Then he will take off these clothes and put on some others. He will take the ashes to a clean place outside the camp. 12 The fire must always be burning on the altar. It must never go out. The priest will burn wood on it every morning. He will lay the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offering. 13 The fire must always be burning on the altar. It must never go out.
The Grain Offering from the People
14 “These are the instructions for the grain offering. Aaron’s sons must bring it into the Lord’s presence in front of the altar. 15 One of them will remove a handful of flour from the grain offering, together with the olive oil and all the incense. He will burn it on the altar as a reminder. It is a soothing aroma to the Lord. 16 Aaron and his sons will eat the rest of it. They will eat unleavened bread in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. 17 Don’t use yeast in baking the bread. I have given it to them as their share from the offerings by fire made to me. It is very holy like the offering for sin and the guilt offering. 18 Every male descendant of Aaron may eat it. It is a permanent law for generations to come regarding the offering by fire to the Lord. Everyone who touches it will become holy.”
Special Grain Offerings from the Priests
19 The Lord spoke to Moses, 20 “This is the offering that Aaron and his sons must bring to the Lord on the day he is anointed—eight cups of flour. They must do this every day. He must offer half of it in the morning and half in the evening. 21 Prepare it in a frying pan with olive oil, mixing it well. Offer baked pieces of the grain offering as a soothing aroma to the Lord. 22 Aaron’s son who is anointed to take his place as priest will prepare it. This is a permanent law of the Lord: It must be completely burned. 23 Every grain offering made by a priest must be completely burned. It must not be eaten.”
Instructions for the Offering for Sin
24 The Lord spoke to Moses, 25 “Tell Aaron and his sons: These are the instructions for the offering for sin. The offering for sin must be slaughtered in the Lord’s presence in the same place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. It is very holy. 26 The priest who makes the offering for sin will eat it in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. 27 Anything that touches its meat will be holy. If blood gets on someone’s clothes, he must wash them in a holy place. 28 Any piece of pottery in which the offering for sin is cooked must be broken into pieces. Any copper kettle in which the offering for sin is cooked must be scoured and rinsed with water. 29 Any male among the priests may eat the offering for sin. It is very holy. 30 Any offering for sin must not be eaten if some of the blood was brought into the holy place in the tent of meeting to make peace with the Lord. It must be burned.”
Footnotes
- 6:1 Leviticus 6:1–30 in English Bibles is Leviticus 5:20–6:23 in the Hebrew Bible.