Leviticus 5:15

“If someone acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s holy things, he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD: an unblemished ram from the flock, of proper value in silver shekels according to the sanctuary shekel; it is a guilt offering.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The Lord commands Moses to instruct the Israelites on the procedure for handling unintentional violations of sacred items. This directive is embedded in a legal sequence detailing the requirements for guilt offerings.

The words — The text employs תִמְעֹל (tim.'Ol) and מַ֔עַל (Ma.'al), meaning "act unfaithfully" and "unfaithfulness," to define the breach. It also uses בִּ/שְׁגָגָ֔ה (bi/sh.ga.Gah), literally "by inadvertence," to specify that the transgression was unintentional.

The thread — The same guilt offering protocol continues in Leviticus 5:16, which adds a restitution requirement of the full value plus a fifth. Parallel sacrificial and restitution mandates appear in Exodus 30:13, Leviticus 4:2, and Ezra 10:19.

Why it lands — The text requires the offender to present an unblemished ram of precise silver weight to the priest for atonement. It demands material compensation and ritual compliance as the necessary condition for forgiveness.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

נֶ֚פֶשׁNe.feshanyone כִּֽי־ki-if תִמְעֹ֣לtim.'Olit will act unfaithfully מַ֔עַלMa.'alunfaithfulness וְחָֽטְאָה֙ve./cha.te.'Ahand/ it will sin בִּשְׁגָגָ֔הbi/sh.ga.Gahby/ inadvertence מִקָּדְשֵׁ֖יmi./ka.de.Sheifrom/ [the] holy things of יְהוָ֑הYah.wehYahweh וְהֵבִיא֩ve./he.Vi'and/ he will bring אֶת־'et-<obj.>אֲשָׁמ֨וֹ'a.sha.M/oguilt offering/ his לַֽיהוָ֜הla./Yah.wehto/ Yahweh אַ֧יִל'A.yila ram תָּמִ֣יםta.Mimunblemished מִן־min-from הַצֹּ֗אןha./Tzonthe/ flock בְּעֶרְכְּךָ֛be./'er.ke./Khaby/ valuation/ your כֶּֽסֶף־ke.sef-silver of שְׁקָלִ֥יםshe.ka.Limshekels בְּשֶֽׁקֶל־be./she.kel-by/ [the] shekel of הַקֹּ֖דֶשׁha./Ko.deshthe/ holy place לְאָשָֽׁם׃le./'a.Shamto/ a guilt offering

King James Version

If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the Lord; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering:

Cross-references

Exodus 30:13 Everyone who crosses over to those counted must pay a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD.
Leviticus 4:2 “Tell the Israelites to do as follows with one who sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s commandments and does what is forbidden by them:
Ezra 10:19 They pledged to send their wives away, and for their guilt they presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering.
Leviticus 6:6 Then he must bring to the priest his guilt offering to the LORD: an unblemished ram of proper value from the flock.
Leviticus 7:1 “Now this is the law of the guilt offering, which is most holy:
Leviticus 7:6 Every male among the priests may eat of it. It must be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.
Leviticus 22:1 Then the LORD said to Moses,
Leviticus 27:9 If he vows an animal that may be brought as an offering to the LORD, any such animal given to the LORD shall be holy.
Deuteronomy 15:19 You must set apart to the LORD your God every firstborn male produced by your herds and flocks. You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work, nor are you to shear the firstborn of your flock.
Leviticus 5:1 “If someone sins by failing to testify when he hears a public charge about something he has witnessed, whether he has seen it or learned of it, he shall bear the iniquity.