Imamat 16:21

16:21 Aaron is to lay his two hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins, ¹  and thus he is to put them ²  on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man standing ready. ³ 

Imamat 21:15

21:15 He must not profane his children among his people, ⁴  for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”

Imamat 22:9

22:9 They must keep my charge so that they do not incur sin on account of it ⁵  and therefore die ⁶  because they profane it. I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

Imamat 4:22

For the Leader

4:22 “‘Whenever ⁷  a leader, by straying unintentionally, ⁸  sins and violates one of the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be violated, ⁹  and he pleads guilty,

Imamat 18:21

18:21 You must not give any of your children as an offering to Molech, ¹⁰  so that you do not profane ¹¹  the name of your God. I am the Lord!

Imamat 19:12

19:12 You must not swear falsely ¹²  in my name, so that you do not profane ¹³  the name of your God. I am the Lord.

Imamat 21:9

21:9 If a daughter of a priest profanes herself by engaging in prostitution, she is profaning her father. She must be burned to death. ¹⁴ 

Imamat 7:27

7:27 Any person who eats any blood – that person will be cut off from his people.’” ¹⁵ 

Imamat 4:2

4:2 “Tell the Israelites, ‘When a person sins by straying unintentionally ¹⁶  from any of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, and violates any ¹⁷  one of them ¹⁸  –

Imamat 4:13

For the Whole Congregation

4:13 “‘If the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally ¹⁹  and the matter is not noticed by ²⁰  the assembly, and they violate one of the Lord’s commandments, which must not be violated, ²¹  so they become guilty,

Imamat 4:27

For the Common Person

4:27 “‘If an ordinary individual ²²  sins by straying unintentionally ²³  when he violates one of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, ²⁴  and he pleads guilty

Imamat 5:17

Unknown trespass

5:17 “If a person sins and violates any of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated ²⁵  (although he did not know it at the time, ²⁶  but later realizes he is guilty), then he will bear his punishment for iniquity ²⁷ 

Imamat 20:11

20:11 If a man has sexual intercourse with his father’s wife, he has exposed his father’s nakedness. ²⁸  Both of them must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. ²⁹ 

Imamat 21:6

21:6 “‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane ³⁰  the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts, ³¹  the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy. ³² 

Imamat 21:4

21:4 He must not defile himself as a husband among his people so as to profane himself. ³³ 

Imamat 22:15

22:15 They ³⁴  must not profane the holy offerings which the Israelites contribute ³⁵  to the Lord, ³⁶ 

Imamat 20:21

20:21 If a man has sexual intercourse with ³⁷  his brother’s wife, it is indecency. He has exposed his brother’s nakedness; ³⁸  they will be childless.

Imamat 26:25

26:25 I will bring on you an avenging sword, a covenant vengeance. ³⁹  Although ⁴⁰  you will gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you and you will be given into enemy hands. ⁴¹ 

Imamat 10:9

10:9 “Do not drink wine or strong drink, you and your sons with you, when you enter into the Meeting Tent, so that you do not die, which is a perpetual statute throughout your generations, ⁴² 

Imamat 16:1

The Day of Atonement

16:1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons when they approached the presence of the Lord ⁴³  and died,

Imamat 17:3

17:3 “Blood guilt ⁴⁴  will be accounted to any man ⁴⁵  from the house of Israel ⁴⁶  who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat inside the camp or outside the camp, ⁴⁷ 

Imamat 19:8

19:8 and the one who eats it will bear his punishment for iniquity ⁴⁸  because he has profaned ⁴⁹  what is holy to the Lord. ⁵⁰  That person will be cut off from his people. ⁵¹ 

Imamat 20:19-20

20:19 You must not expose the nakedness of your mother’s sister and your father’s sister, for such a person has laid bare his own close relative. ⁵²  They must bear their punishment for iniquity. ⁵³  20:20 If a man has sexual intercourse with his aunt, he has exposed his uncle’s nakedness; they must bear responsibility for their sin, they will die childless.

Imamat 20:23

20:23 You must not walk in the statutes of the nation ⁵⁴  which I am about to drive out before you, because they have done all these things and I am filled with disgust against them.

Imamat 21:12

21:12 He must not go out from the sanctuary and must not profane ⁵⁵  the sanctuary of his God, because the dedication of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the Lord.

Imamat 21:23

21:23 but he must not go into the veil-canopy ⁵⁶  or step forward to the altar because he has a physical flaw. Thus ⁵⁷  he must not profane my holy places, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”

Imamat 22:2

22:2 “Tell Aaron and his sons that they must deal respectfully with the holy offerings ⁵⁸  of the Israelites, which they consecrate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name. ⁵⁹  I am the Lord.

Imamat 22:16

22:16 and so cause them to incur a penalty for guilt ⁶⁰  when they eat their holy offerings, ⁶¹  for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”

Imamat 22:32

22:32 You must not profane my holy name, and I will be sanctified in the midst of the Israelites. I am the Lord who sanctifies you,

Imamat 26:15

26:15 if you reject my statutes and abhor my regulations so that you do not keep ⁶²  all my commandments and you break my covenant –

Imamat 16:2

16:2 and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil-canopy ⁶³  in front of the atonement plate ⁶⁴  that is on the ark so that he may not die, for I will appear in the cloud over the atonement plate.

Imamat 16:16

16:16 So ⁶⁵  he is to make atonement for the holy place from the impurities of the Israelites and from their transgressions with regard to all their sins, ⁶⁶  and thus he is to do for the Meeting Tent which resides with them in the midst of their impurities.

Imamat 20:3

20:3 I myself will set my face ⁶⁷  against that man and cut him off from the midst of his people, ⁶⁸  because he has given some of his children to Molech and thereby defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. ⁶⁹ 

[16:21]  ¹ tn Heb “transgressions to all their sins.”

[16:21]  ² tn Heb “and he shall give them.”

[16:21]  ³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term עִתִּי (’itti) is uncertain. It is apparently related to עֵת (’et, “time”), and could perhaps mean either that he has been properly “appointed” (i.e., designated) for the task (e.g., NIV and NRSV) or “ready” (e.g., NASB and NEB).

[21:15]  ⁴ tc The MT has literally, “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.

[22:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “and they will not lift up on it sin.” The pronoun “it” (masculine) apparently refers to any item of food that belongs to the category of “holy offerings” (see above).

[22:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “and die in it.”

[4:22]  ⁷ tn This section begins with the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’asher) which usually means “who” or “which,” but here means “whenever.”

[4:22]  ⁸ tn See the Lev 4:2 note on “straying.”

[4:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “and does one from all the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be done”; cf. NRSV “ought not to be done”; NIV “does what is forbidden in any of the commands.”

[18:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And from your seed you shall not give to cause to pass over to Molech.” Smr (cf. also the LXX) has “to cause to serve” rather than “to cause to pass over.” For detailed remarks on Molech and Molech worship see N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NCBC), 87-88; P. J. Budd, Leviticus (NCBC), 259-60; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 333-37, and the literature cited there. It could refer to either human sacrifice or a devotion of children to some sort of service of Molech, perhaps of a sexual sort (cf. Lev 20:2-5; 2 Kgs 23:10, etc.). The inclusion of this prohibition against Molech worship here may be due to some sexual connection of this kind, or perhaps simply to the lexical link between זֶרַע (zera’) meaning “seed, semen” in v. 20 but “offspring” in v. 21.

[18:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and you shall not profane.” Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.

[19:12]  ¹² tn Heb “And you shall not swear to the falsehood.”

[19:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “and you shall not profane”; NAB “thus profaning.”

[21:9]  ¹⁴ tn See the note on “burned to death” in 20:14.

[7:27]  ¹⁵ sn See the note on Lev 7:20.

[4:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “And a person, when he sins in straying.” The English translation of “by straying” (בִּשְׁגָגָה [bishgagah] literally, “in going astray; in making an error”) varies greatly, but almost all suggest that this term refers to sins that were committed by mistake or done not knowing that the particular act was sinful (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:228-29). See, e.g., LXX “involuntarily”; Tg. Onq. “by neglect”; KJV “through ignorance”; ASV, RSV, NJPS “unwittingly”; NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “unintentionally”; NAB, NEB “inadvertently”; NCV “by accident.” However, we know from Num 15:27-31 that committing a sin “by straying” is the opposite of committing a sin “defiantly” (i.e., בְּיַד רָמָה [bÿyad ramah] “with a raised hand,” v. 30). In the latter case the person, as it were, raises his fist in presumptuous defiance against the Lord. Thus, he “blasphemes” the Lord and has “despised” his word, for which he should be “cut off from among his people” (Num 15:30-31). One could not bring an offering for such a sin. The expression here in Lev 4:2 combines “by straying” with the preposition “from” which fits naturally with “straying” (i.e., “straying from” the Lord’s commandments). For sins committed “by straying” from the commandments (Lev 4 throughout) or other types of transgressions (Lev 5:1-6) there was indeed forgiveness available through the sin offering. See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:94-95.

[4:2]  ¹⁷ tn This is an emphatic use of the preposition מִן (min; see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 56-57, §325).

[4:2]  ¹⁸ tn The “when” clause (כִּי, ki) breaks off here before its resolution, thus creating an open-ended introduction to the following subsections, which are introduced by “if” (אִם [’im] vv. 3, 13, 27, 32). Also, the last part of the verse reads literally, “which must not be done and does from one from them.”

[4:13]  ¹⁹ 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).

[4:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “is concealed from the eyes of”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “escapes the notice of.”

[4:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “and they do one from all the commandments of the Lord which must not be done” (cf. v. 2).

[4:27]  ²² tn Heb “an individual from the people of the land”; cf. NASB “anyone of the common people” (KJV, ASV both similar); NAB “a private person.”

[4:27]  ²³ tn Heb “If one person sins by straying, from the people of the land.” See Lev 4:2 for a note on “straying.”

[4:27]  ²⁴ tn Heb “by doing it, one from the commandments of the Lord which must not be done.”

[5:17]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and does one from all of the commandments of the Lord which must not be done.”

[5:17]  ²⁶ tn The words “at the time” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[5:17]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and he did not know, and he shall be guilty and he shall bear his iniquity” (for the rendering “bear his punishment [for iniquity]”) see the note on Lev 5:1.) This portion of v. 17 is especially difficult. The translation offered here suggests (as in many other English versions) that the offender did not originally know that he had violated the Lord’s commandments, but then came to know it and dealt with it accordingly (cf. the corresponding sin offering section in Lev 5:1-4). Another possibility is that it refers to a situation where a person suspects that he violated something although he does not recollect it. Thus, he brings a guilt offering for his suspected violation (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:331-34, 361-63). See also R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:561-62.

[20:11]  ²⁸ sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.

[20:11]  ²⁹ tn See the note on v. 9 above.

[21:6]  ³⁰ sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.

[21:6]  ³¹ sn Regarding the Hebrew term for “gifts,” see the note on Lev 1:9 above (cf. also 3:11 and 16 in combination with the word for “food” that follows in the next phrase here).

[21:6]  ³² tc Smr and all early versions have the plural adjective “holy” rather than the MT singular noun “holiness.”

[21:4]  ³³ tn Heb “He shall not defile himself a husband in his peoples, to profane himself.” The meaning of the line is disputed, but it appears to prohibit a priest from burying any relative by marriage (as opposed to the blood relatives of vv. 2-3), including his wife (compare B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 142-43 with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 343, 348).

[22:15]  ³⁴ tn Contextually, “They” could refer either to the people (v. 14a; cf. NRSV “No one”) or the priests (v. 14b; cf. NIV “The priests”), but the latter seems more likely (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 356, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 150). The priests were responsible to see that the portions of the offerings that were to be consumed by the priests as prebends did not become accessible to the people. Mistakes in this matter (cf. v. 14) would bring “guilt” on the people, requiring punishment (v. 16).

[22:15]  ³⁵ tn The Hebrew verb הֵרִים (herim, rendered “contribute” here) is commonly used for setting aside portions of an offering (see, e.g., Lev 4:8-10 and R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 4:335-36).

[22:15]  ³⁶ tn Heb “the holy offerings of the sons of Israel which they contribute to the Lord.” The subject “they” here refers to the Israelites (“the sons of Israel”) which is the most immediate antecedent. To make this clear, the present translation has “the holy offerings which the Israelites contribute to the Lord.”

[20:21]  ³⁷ tn Heb “takes.” The verb “to take” in this context means “to engage in sexual intercourse.”

[20:21]  ³⁸ sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.

[26:25]  ³⁹ tn Heb “vengeance of covenant”; cf. NAB “the avenger of my covenant.”

[26:25]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) has a concessive force in this context.

[26:25]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “in hand of enemy,” but Tg. Ps.-J. and Tg. Neof. have “in the hands of your enemies” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 454).

[10:9]  ⁴² tn Heb “a perpetual statute for your generations”; NAB “a perpetual ordinance”; NRSV “a statute forever”; NLT “a permanent law.” The Hebrew grammar here suggests that the last portion of v. 9 functions as both a conclusion to v. 9 and an introduction to vv. 10-11. It is a pivot clause, as it were. Thus, it was a “perpetual statute” to not drink alcoholic beverages when ministering in the tabernacle, but it was also a “perpetual statue” to distinguish between holy and profane and unclean and clean (v. 10) as well as to teach the children of Israel all such statutes (v. 11).

[16:1]  ⁴³ tn Heb “in their drawing near to the faces of the Lord.” The rendering here relies on the use of this expression for the very “presence” of God in Exod 33:14-15 and in the Lev 9:24-10:2 passage, where the Nadab and Abihu catastrophe referred to here is narrated.

[17:3]  ⁴⁴ tn The complex wording of vv. 3-4 requires stating “blood guilt” at the beginning of v. 3 even though it is not mentioned until the middle of v. 4. The Hebrew text has simply “blood,” but in this case it refers to the illegitimate shedding of animal blood, similar to the shedding of the blood of an innocent human being (Deut 19:10, etc.). In order for it to be legitimate the animal must be slaughtered at the tabernacle and its blood handled by the priests in the prescribed way (see, e.g., Lev 1:5; 3:2, 17; 4:5-7; 7:26-27, etc.; cf. vv. 10-16 below for more details).

[17:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “Man man.” The reduplication is way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 15:2; 22:18, etc.). See the note on Lev 15:2.

[17:3]  ⁴⁶ tn The original LXX adds “or the sojourners who sojourn in your midst” (cf. Lev 16:29, etc., and note esp. 17:8, 10, and 13 below).

[17:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “or who slaughters from outside to the camp.”

[19:8]  ⁴⁸ tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.

[19:8]  ⁴⁹ sn Regarding “profaned,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.

[19:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “the holiness of the Lord.”

[19:8]  ⁵¹ sn On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.

[20:19]  ⁵² tn Heb “his flesh.”

[20:19]  ⁵³ tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.

[20:23]  ⁵⁴ tc One medieval Hebrew ms, Smr, and all the major ancient versions have the plural “nations.” Some English versions retain the singular (e.g., KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV); others have the plural “nations” (e.g., NAB, NIV) and still others translate as “people” (e.g., TEV, NLT).

[21:12]  ⁵⁵ sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.

[21:23]  ⁵⁶ sn See the note on Lev 16:2 for the rendering “veil-canopy.”

[21:23]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.

[22:2]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “holy things,” which means the “holy offerings” in this context, as the following verses show. The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “from the holy things of the sons of Israel, and they shall not profane my holy name, which they are consecrating to me.” The latter (relative) clause applies to the “the holy things of the sons of Israel” (the first clause), not the Lord’s name (i.e., the immediately preceding clause). The clause order in the translation has been rearranged to indicate this.

[22:16]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “iniquity of guilt”; NASB “cause them to bear punishment for guilt.” The Hebrew word עָוֹן (’avon, “iniquity”) can designate either acts of iniquity or the penalty (i.e., punishment) for such acts.

[22:16]  ⁶¹ sn That is, when the lay people eat portions of offerings that should have been eaten only by priests and those who belonged to priestly households.

[26:15]  ⁶² tn Heb “to not do.”

[16:2]  ⁶³ tn Heb “into the holy place from house to the veil-canopy.” In this instance, the Hebrew term “the holy place” refers to “the most holy place” (lit. “holy of holies”), since it is the area “inside the veil-canopy” (cf. Exod 26:33-34). The Hebrew term פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet) is usually translated “veil” or “curtain,” but it seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place, and thus formed more of a canopy than simply a curtain (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:687-89).

[16:2]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “to the faces of the atonement plate.” The exact meaning of the Hebrew term כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet) here rendered “atonement plate” is much debated. The traditional “mercy seat” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) does not suit the cognate relationship between this term and the Piel verb כִּפֶּר (kipper, “to make atonement, to make expiation”). The translation of the word should also reflect the fact that the most important atonement procedures on the Day of Atonement were performed in relation to it. Since the Lord would “appear in the cloud over the atonement plate,” and since it was so closely associated with the ark of the covenant (the ark being his “footstool”; cf. 1 Chr 28:2 and Ps 132:7-8), one could take it to be the place of his throne at which he accepts atonement. See J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:1014; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 234-35; and R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:691, 699. Cf. NIV “the atonement cover”; NCV “the lid on the Ark”; NLT “the Ark’s cover – the place of atonement.”

[16:16]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative or even inferential force here.

[16:16]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “to all their sins.”

[20:3]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “And I, I shall give my faces.”

[20:3]  ⁶⁸ sn On the “cut off” penalty see the notes on Lev 7:20 and 17:4.

[20:3]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “for the sake of defiling my sanctuary and to profane my holy name.”