Imamat 6:1-7

Trespass by Deception and False Oath

6:1 (5:20) ¹  Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ²  6:2 “When a person sins and commits a trespass ³  against the Lord by deceiving his fellow citizen ⁴  in regard to something held in trust, or a pledge, or something stolen, or by extorting something from his fellow citizen, ⁵  6:3 or has found something lost and denies it and swears falsely ⁶  concerning any one of the things that someone might do to sin ⁷  – 6:4 when it happens that he sins and he is found guilty, ⁸  then he must return whatever he had stolen, or whatever he had extorted, or the thing that he had held in trust, ⁹  or the lost thing that he had found, 6:5 or anything about which he swears falsely. ¹⁰  He must restore it in full ¹¹  and add one fifth to it; he must give it to its owner when he is found guilty. ¹²  6:6 Then he must bring his guilt offering to the Lord, a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels, ¹³  for a guilt offering to the priest. 6:7 So the priest will make atonement ¹⁴  on his behalf before the Lord and he will be forgiven ¹⁵  for whatever he has done to become guilty.” ¹⁶ 

Imamat 6:2

6:2 “When a person sins and commits a trespass ¹⁷  against the Lord by deceiving his fellow citizen ¹⁸  in regard to something held in trust, or a pledge, or something stolen, or by extorting something from his fellow citizen, ¹⁹ 

1 Samuel 12:6

12:6 Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors ²⁰  up from the land of Egypt.

Amsal 6:31

6:31 Yet ²¹  if he is caught ²²  he must repay ²³  seven times over,

he might even have to give ²⁴  all the wealth of his house.

Lukas 19:8

19:8 But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give ²⁵  to the poor, and if ²⁶  I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!”

[6:1]  ¹ sn Beginning with 6:1, the verse numbers through 6:30 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 6:1 ET = 5:20 HT, 6:2 ET = 5:21 HT, 6:8 ET = 6:1 HT, etc., through 6:30 ET = 6:23 HT. Beginning with 7:1 the verse numbers in the English text and Hebrew text are again the same.

[6:1]  ² sn This paragraph is Lev 6:1-7 in the English Bible but Lev 5:20-26 in the Hebrew text. The quotation introduced by v. 1 extends from Lev 6:2 (5:21 HT) through 6:7 (5:26 HT), encompassing the third main section of guilt offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 1:1; 4:1; and 5:14 above.

[6:2]  ³ tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root מַעַל, ma’al). See the note on 5:15.

[6:2]  ⁴ tn Or “neighbor” (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NASB “companion”; TEV “a fellow-Israelite.”

[6:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “has extorted his neighbor”; ASV “oppressed”; NRSV “defrauded.”

[6:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “and swears on falsehood”; cf. CEV “deny something while under oath.”

[6:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “on one from all which the man shall do to sin in them.”

[6:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “and it shall happen, when he sins and becomes guilty,” which is both resumptive of the previous (vv. 2-3) and the conclusion to the protasis (cf. “then” introducing the next clause as the apodosis). In this case, “becomes guilty” (cf. NASB, NIV) probably refers to his legal status as one who has been convicted of a crime in court; thus the translation “he is found guilty.” See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:559-61.

[6:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “that had been held in trust with him.”

[6:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “or from all which he swears on it to falsehood.”

[6:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in its head.” This refers “the full amount” in terms of the “principal,” the original item or amount obtained illegally (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:338; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 84).

[6:5]  ¹² tn Heb “to whom it is to him he shall give it in the day of his being guilty.” The present translation is based on the view that he has been found guilty through the legal process (see the note on v. 4 above; cf., e.g., TEV and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 33-34). Others translate the latter part as “in the day he offers his guilt [reparation] offering” (e.g., NIV and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 73, 84), or “in the day he realizes his guilt” (e.g., NRSV and J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:319, 338).

[6:6]  ¹³ tn The words “into silver shekels” are supplied here. See the full expression in Lev 5:15, and compare 5:18. Cf. NRSV “or its equivalent”; NLT “or the animal’s equivalent value in silver.”

[6:7]  ¹⁴ sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.

[6:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).

[6:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “on one from all which he does to become guilty in it”; NAB “whatever guilt he may have incurred.”

[6:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root מַעַל, ma’al). See the note on 5:15.

[6:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “neighbor” (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NASB “companion”; TEV “a fellow-Israelite.”

[6:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “has extorted his neighbor”; ASV “oppressed”; NRSV “defrauded.”

[12:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 8).

[6:31]  ²¹ tn The term “yet” is supplied in the translation.

[6:31]  ²² tn Heb “is found out.” The perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive is equivalent to the imperfect nuances. Here it introduces either a conditional or a temporal clause before the imperfect.

[6:31]  ²³ tn The imperfect tense has an obligatory nuance. The verb in the Piel means “to repay; to make restitution; to recompense”; cf. NCV, TEV, CEV “must pay back.”

[6:31]  ²⁴ tn This final clause in the section is somewhat cryptic. The guilty thief must pay back sevenfold what he stole, even if it means he must use the substance of his whole house. The verb functions as an imperfect of possibility: “he might even give.”

[19:8]  ²⁵ sn Zacchaeus was a penitent man who resolved on the spot to act differently in the face of Jesus’ acceptance of him. In resolving to give half his possessions to the poor, Zacchaeus was not defending himself against the crowd’s charges and claiming to be righteous. Rather as a result of this meeting with Jesus, he was a changed individual. So Jesus could speak of salvation coming that day (v. 9) and of the lost being saved (v. 10).

[19:8]  ²⁶ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text. It virtually confesses fraud.