4:13 “‘If the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally 1 and the matter is not noticed by 2 the assembly, and they violate one of the Lord’s commandments, which must not be violated, 3 so they become guilty, 4:14 the assembly must present a young bull for a sin offering when the sin they have committed 4 becomes known. They must bring it before the Meeting Tent, 4:15 the elders of the congregation must lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and someone must slaughter 5 the bull before the Lord.
1 tn Heb “strays”; KJV “sin through ignorance.” The verb “strays” here is the verbal form of the noun in the expression “by straying” (see the note on Lev 4:2 above).
2 tn Heb “is concealed from the eyes of”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “escapes the notice of.”
3 tn Heb “and they do one from all the commandments of the
4 tn Heb “and the sin which they committed on it becomes known”; KJV “which they have sinned against it.” The Hebrew עָלֶיהָ (’aleha, “on it”) probably refers back to “one of the commandments” in v. 13 (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:243).
5 tn Heb “and he shall slaughter.” The singular verb seems to refer to an individual who represents the whole congregation, perhaps one of the elders referred to at the beginning of the verse, or the officiating priest (cf. v. 21). The LXX and Syriac make the verb plural, referring to “the elders of the congregation.”