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Leviticus 6

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1
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
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If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour; ​
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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:
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Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found,
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Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering. ​
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And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest:
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And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein. ​

Laws for the Offerings: The Burnt Offering 8–13

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And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ​
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Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. ​
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And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. ​
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And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place.
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And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. ​
13
The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out. ​

Laws for the Offerings: The Grain Offering 14–18

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And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD, before the altar.
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And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the LORD.
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And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it. ​
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It shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering. ​
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All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the LORD made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy.

The Offering of the Anointed Priest 19–23

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And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
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This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto the LORD in the day when he is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meat offering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night. ​
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In a pan it shall be made with oil; and when it is baken, thou shalt bring it in: and the baken pieces of the meat offering shalt thou offer for a sweet savour unto the LORD.
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And the priest of his sons that is anointed in his stead shall offer it: it is a statute for ever unto the LORD; it shall be wholly burnt.
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For every meat offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten. ​

Laws for the Offerings: The Sin Offering 24–30

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And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
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Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD: it is most holy. ​
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The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.
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Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy: and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou shalt wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the holy place. ​
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But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brasen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water.
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All the males among the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy.
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And no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile withal in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Leviticus 6

Verse 2

lie unto his neighbour — The wrong done to a neighbour is called a trespass 'against the LORD' (maal, the unfaithfulness of 5:15). Four cases follow: a deposit (piqqadon), 'fellowship' (tesumeth yad, a pledge put in the hand), 'a thing taken away by violence' (gazel), and deceit (ashaq, to press upon). Lev 19:11: 'neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.'

Verse 5

restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part — 'Principal' is rosh, literally the 'head', the main sum; the fifth part (chamishi) is added and paid 'in the day of his trespass offering'. The same rule governs harm done in the holy things (5:16) and the confessed wrong of Num 5:7. Zacchaeus goes further: 'I restore him fourfold' (Luke 19:8).

Verse 7

it shall be forgiven him for any thing — The priest makes atonement (kaphar) 'before the LORD' once the wrong is restored (v.5) and the ram brought (v.6), and the pardon covers 'any thing of all that he hath done'. Christ gives the same order for the altar: 'first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift' (Matt 5:24).

Verse 8

And the LORD spake unto Moses — A new speech begins. Lev 1:2 was addressed to 'the children of Israel' who bring the offerings; this section gives the priests their law for each: the burnt offering (v.9), the meat offering (v.14), the sin offering (v.25), then the trespass and peace offerings (7:1, 11). Lev 7:37 sums them up.

Verse 9

the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning — Olah, the burnt offering, is 'that which goes up'. 'Burning' is moqedah, a hearth or fuel, a word found only here: the offering lies on the hearth through the night. It continues the daily lambs, 'two lambs of the first year… day by day, for a continual burnt offering' (Num 28:3).

Verse 10

his linen garment, and his linen breeches — Mad is the garment and miknas the breeches, made 'to cover their nakedness' (Ex 28:42–43); the Day of Atonement has the same miknas, breeches (16:4). The priest lifts the ashes 'which the fire hath consumed' and sets them beside the altar; in v.11 he changes his garments to carry them 'without the camp unto a clean place'.

Verse 12

the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it — The fire was first kindled by the LORD: 'there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat' (9:24). The priest feeds it with wood every morning so that it is not put out (kabah, quenched), and lays the burnt offering 'in order' (arak), burning the fat of the peace offerings on it (3:5).

Verse 13

shall ever be burning — 'Ever' is tamid, continually, which is the word of the 'continual burnt offering' (Ex 29:42), of the lamp kept burning (27:20) and of the showbread (25:30). The command of v.12 is repeated in its plainest form: 'it shall never go out'.

Verse 16

in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle — The priests' share of the grain offering (2:3) is eaten 'with unleavened bread' (matstsah) in the court, as Moses repeated after Nadab and Abihu (10:12–13). Paul says of this ministry that 'they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar' (1 Cor 9:13).

Verse 17

it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering — The portion is not 'baken with leaven' (chamets). 'Portion' is cheleq, a share which the LORD gives from 'my offerings made by fire', and the grain offering is 'most holy' like the sin offering (v.25) and the trespass offering (7:1). Num 18:9–10 gives it to the priests, to be eaten 'in the most holy place'.

Verse 20

the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour — A tenth of an ephah is an omer (Ex 16:36). It is offered 'perpetual' (tamid), half in the morning and half at night, 'in the day when he is anointed'. Verse 22 names the priest 'of his sons that is anointed in his stead' who is to offer it, and it is 'wholly burnt' (v.23).

Verse 23

wholly burnt — Kalil, complete or whole, the word of 'whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar' (Deut 33:10) and of the lamb that Samuel 'offered… wholly unto the LORD' (1 Sam 7:9). The priests eat the grain offerings of the people (v.16), but not their own.

Verse 25

In the place where the burnt offering is killed — That place is 'the side of the altar northward' (1:11), and the sin offering (chattat) is killed there too (4:24, 29). 'It is most holy' (qodesh). The priest who offers it eats it in the court (v.26), unless its blood has been brought into the tent (v.30).

Verse 27

Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy — Naga, to touch. The same is said of the altar in Ex 29:37. Blood spattered (nazah) on a garment is to be washed (kabas) 'in the holy place'. Haggai asks the priests whether holy flesh borne in a garment's skirt makes bread holy, and they answer 'No' (Hag 2:12).

Verse 30

no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle — Where the blood is carried in (4:5–7), the flesh is burned 'without the camp' (4:12, 21), not eaten; where it is not, the priests eat it (v.26; 10:18). Hebrews applies it: such beasts are 'burned without the camp', and 'Jesus also… suffered without the gate' (Heb 13:11–12).