3 if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people , then let him offer to the Lord a bull e e without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed . 4 'He shall bring the bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting before the Lord , and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and slay the bull before the Lord . 5 'Then the anointed priest is to take some of the blood of the bull and bring it to the tent of meeting , 6 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the Lord , in front of the veil of the sanctuary . 7 'The priest shall also put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense which is before the Lord in the tent of meeting ; and all the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting . 8 ' He shall remove from it all the fat of the bull of the sin offering : the fat that covers the entrails , and all the fat which is on the entrails , 9 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins , and the lobe of the liver , which he shall remove with the kidneys 10 (just as it is removed from the ox of the sacrifice of peace offerings ), and the priest is to offer them up in smoke on the altar of burnt offering . 11 'But the hide of the bull and all its flesh with its head and its legs and its entrails and its refuse , 12 that is, all the rest of the bull , he is to bring out to a clean place outside e the camp where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire ; where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned .
13 ' Now if the whole congregation of Israel commits error and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly , and they commit any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done , and they become guilty ; 14 when the sin which they have committed becomes known , then the assembly shall offer a bull of the herd for a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting . 15 'Then the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord , and the bull shall be slain before the Lord . 16 'Then the anointed priest is to bring some of the blood of the bull to the tent of meeting ; 17 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord , in front of the veil . 18 'He shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before the Lord in the tent of meeting ; and all the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting . 19 ' He shall remove all its fat from it and offer it up in smoke on the altar . 20 'He shall also do with the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering ; thus he shall do with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven . 21 'Then he is to bring out the bull to a place outside e the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull ; it is the sin offering for the assembly .
22 'When a leader sins and unintentionally does any one of all the things which the Lord his God has commanded not to be done , and he becomes guilty , 23 if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat e , a male without defect . 24 'He shall lay his hand on the head of the male goat and slay it in the place where they slay the burnt offering before the Lord ; it is a sin offering . 25 'Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering ; and the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering . 26 ' All its fat he shall offer up in smoke on the altar as in the case of the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings . Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin , and he will be forgiven .
27 'Now if anyone e of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done , and becomes guilty , 28 if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat , a female without defect , for his sin which he has committed . 29 ' He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slay the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering . 30 'The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering ; and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar . 31 ' Then he shall remove all its fat , just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings ; and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar for a soothing aroma to the Lord . Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven . 32 'But if he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering , he shall bring it, a female without defect . 33 ' He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they slay the burnt offering . 34 'The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering , and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar . 35 'Then he shall remove all its fat , just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings , and the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar , on the offerings by fire to the Lord . Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin which he has committed , and he will be forgiven .
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.