3 if the priest that is anointed sin according to the trespass of the people; then for his sin which he hath sinned shall he present a young bullock without blemish to Jehovah for a sin-offering. 4 And he shall bring the bullock to the entrance of the tent of meeting before Jehovah; and shall lay his hand on the bullock's head, and slaughter the bullock before Jehovah. 5 And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it into the tent of meeting; 6 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before Jehovah before the veil of the sanctuary; 7 and the priest shall put of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense, which is in the tent of meeting, before Jehovah; and he shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering, which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And all the fat of the bullock of the sin-offering shall he take off from it; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is on the inwards, 9 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the net above the liver which he shall take away as far as the kidneys, 10 as it is taken off from the ox of the sacrifice of peace-offering; and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt-offering. 11 And the skin of the bullock, and all its flesh, with its head, and with its legs, and its inwards, and its dung, 12 even the whole bullock shall he carry forth outside the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out shall it be burnt.
13 And if the whole assembly of Israel sin inadvertently, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the congregation, and they do [somewhat against] any of all the commandments of Jehovah [in things] which should not be done, and are guilty; 14 and the sin wherewith they have sinned against it have become known; then the congregation shall present a young bullock for the sin-offering, and shall bring it before the tent of meeting; 15 and the elders of the assembly shall lay their hands on the head of the bullock before Jehovah; and one shall slaughter the bullock before Jehovah. 16 And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood into the tent of meeting; 17 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before Jehovah, before the veil; 18 and he shall put of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before Jehovah which is in the tent of meeting; and he shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering, which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 19 And all its fat shall he take off from it and burn on the altar. 20 And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock of sin-offering: so shall he do with it. And the priest shall make atonement for them; and it shall be forgiven them. 21 And he shall carry forth the bullock outside the camp, and burn it as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin-offering of the congregation.
22 When a prince sinneth and through inadvertence doeth [somewhat against] any of all the commandments of Jehovah his God [in things] which should not be done, and is guilty; 23 if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge, he shall bring his offering, a buck of the goats, a male without blemish. 24 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and slaughter it at the place where they slaughter the burnt-offering before Jehovah: it is a sin-offering. 25 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger, and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and shall pour out its blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering. 26 And he shall burn all its fat on the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him [to cleanse him] from his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
27 And if any one of the people of the land sin through inadvertence, that he do [somewhat against] any of the commandments of Jehovah [in things] which should not be done, and be guilty; 28 if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge, then he shall bring his offering, a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned. 29 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin-offering, and slaughter the sin-offering at the place of the burnt-offering. 30 And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put [it] on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar. 31 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace-offering; and the priest shall burn it on the altar, for a sweet odour to Jehovah; and the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him. 32 And if he bring a sheep for his offering for sin, a female without blemish shall he bring it. 33 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin-offering, and slaughter it for a sin-offering at the place where they slaughter the burnt-offering. 34 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger, and put [it] on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar. 35 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of peace-offering; and the priest shall burn them on the altar, with Jehovah's offerings by fire; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Leviticus 4:3-35
Commentary on Leviticus 4:1-12
(Read Leviticus 4:1-12)
Burnt-offerings, meat-offerings, and peace-offerings, had been offered before the giving of the law upon mount Sinai; and in these the patriarchs had respect to sin, to make atonement for it. But the Jews were now put into a way of making atonement for sin, more particularly by sacrifice, as a shadow of good things to come; yet the substance is Christ, and that one offering of himself, by which he put away sin. The sins for which the sin-offerings were appointed are supposed to be open acts. They are supposed to be sins of commission, things which ought not to have been done. Omissions are sins, and must come into judgment: yet what had been omitted at one time, might be done at another; but a sin committed was past recall. They are supposed to be sins committed through ignorance. The law begins with the case of the anointed priest. It is evident that God never had any infallible priest in his church upon earth, when even the high priest was liable to fall into sins of ignorance. All pretensions to act without error are sure marks of Antichrist. The beast was to be carried without the camp, and there burned to ashes. This was a sign of the duty of repentance, which is the putting away sin as a detestable thing, which our soul hates. The sin-offering is called sin. What they did to that, we must do to our sins; the body of sin must be destroyed, Hebrews 13:11-13.
Commentary on Leviticus 4:13-21
(Read Leviticus 4:13-21)
If the leaders of the people, through mistake, caused them to err, an offering must be brought, that wrath might not come upon the whole congregation. When sacrifices were offered, the persons, on whose behalf they were devoted, were to lay their hands on the heads of the victims, and to confess their sins. The elders were to do so, when the sacrifices were offered for the whole congregation. The load of sin was supposed then to be borne by the guiltless animal. When the offering is completed, it is said, atonement is made, and the sin shall be forgiven. The saving of churches and kingdoms from ruin, is owing to the satisfaction and mediation of Christ.
Commentary on Leviticus 4:22-26
(Read Leviticus 4:22-26)
Those who have power to call others to account, are themselves accountable to the Ruler of rulers. The sin of the ruler, committed through ignorance, must come to his knowledge, either by the check of his own conscience, or by the reproof of his friends; both which even the best and greatest, not only should submit to, but be thankful for. That which I see not, teach thou me, and, Show me wherein I have erred, are prayers we should put up to God every day; that if, through ignorance, we fall into sin, we may not through ignorance abide in it.
Commentary on Leviticus 4:27-35
(Read Leviticus 4:27-35)
Here is the law of the sin-offering for a common person. To be able to plead, when charged with sin, that we did it ignorantly, and through the surprise of temptation, will not bring us off, if we have no interest in that great plea, Christ hath died. The sins of ignorance committed by a common person, needed a sacrifice; the greatest are not above, the meanest are not below Divine justice. None, if offenders, were overlooked. Here rich and poor meet together; they are alike sinners, and welcome to Christ. From all these laws concerning the sin-offerings, we may learn to hate sin, and to watch against it; and to value Christ, the great and true Sin-offering, whose blood cleanses from all sin, which it was not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away. For us to err, with the Bible in our hands, is the effect of pride, sloth, and carelessness. We need to use frequent self-examination, with serious study of the Scriptures, and earnest prayer for the convincing influences of God the Holy Spirit; that we may detect our sins of ignorance, repent, and obtain forgiveness through the blood of Christ.