Discovery BoxLeviticus 4:3 
Context4:3 “‘If the high priest 1 sins so that the people are guilty, 2 on account of the sin he has committed he must present a flawless young bull to the Lord 3 for a sin offering. 4
Leviticus 4:13-14
Context4:13 “‘If the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally 5 and the matter is not noticed by 6 the assembly, and they violate one of the Lord’s commandments, which must not be violated, 7 so they become guilty, 4:14 the assembly must present a young bull for a sin offering when the sin they have committed 8 becomes known. They must bring it before the Meeting Tent,
Leviticus 4:22-23
Context4:22 “‘Whenever 9 a leader, by straying unintentionally, 10 sins and violates one of the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be violated, 11 and he pleads guilty, 4:23 or his sin that he committed 12 is made known to him, 13 he must bring a flawless male goat as his offering. 14
Leviticus 4:28
Context4:28 or his sin that he committed 15 is made known to him, 16 he must bring a flawless female goat 17 as his offering for the sin 18 that he committed.
1 tn Heb “the anointed priest” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the high priest (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).
2 tn Heb “to the guilt of the people”; NRSV “thus bringing guilt on the people.”
3 tn Heb “and he shall offer on his sin which he sinned, a bull, a son of the herd, flawless.”
4 sn The word for “sin offering” (sometimes translated “purification offering”) is the same as the word for “sin” earlier in the verse. One can tell which rendering is intended only by the context. The primary purpose of the “sin offering” (חַטָּאת, khatta’t) was to “purge” (כִּפֶּר, kipper, “to make atonement,” see 4:20, 26, 31, 35, and the notes on Lev 1:4 and esp. Lev 16:20, 33) the sanctuary or its furniture in order to cleanse it from any impurities and/or (re)consecrate it for holy purposes (see, e.g., Lev 8:15; 16:19). By making this atonement the impurities of the person or community were cleansed and the people became clean. See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:93-103.
5 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).
6 tn Heb “is concealed from the eyes of”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “escapes the notice of.”
7 tn Heb “and they do one from all the commandments of the
8 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).
9 tn This section begins with the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’asher) which usually means “who” or “which,” but here means “whenever.”
10 tn See the Lev 4:2 note on “straying.”
11 tn Heb “and does one from all the commandments of the
12 tn Heb “or his sin which he sinned in it is made known to him”; NAB “if he learns of the sin he committed.”
13 tn Lev 4:22b-23a is difficult. The present translation suggests that there are two possible legal situations envisioned, separated by the Hebrew אוֹ (’o, “or”) at the beginning of v. 23. Lev 4:22b refers to any case in which the leader readily admits his guilt (i.e., “pleads guilty”), whereas v. 23a refers to cases where the leader is convicted of his guilt by legal action (“his sin…is made known to him”). See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:95-96; Lev 4:27-28; and esp. the notes on Lev 5:1 below.
14 tn Heb “a he-goat of goats, a male without defect”; cf. NLT “with no physical defects.”
15 tn Heb “or his sin which he sinned is made known to him”; cf. NCV “when that person learns about his sin.”
16 tn Lev 4:27b-28a is essentially the same as 4:22b-23a (see the notes there).
17 tn Heb “a she-goat of goats, a female without defect”; NAB “an unblemished she-goat.”
18 tn Heb “on his sin.”
