Leviticus 6 · WEB
The Guilt Offering and Priestly Instructions for Offerings
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Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2"If anyone sins, and commits a trespass against Yahweh, and deals falsely with his neighbor in a matter of deposit, or of bargain, or of robbery, or has oppressed his neighbor,
3or has found that which was lost, and dealt falsely with it, and sworn to a lie; in any of all these things that a man does, sinning by them—
4then it shall be, if he has sinned, and is guilty, he shall restore that which he took by robbery, or the thing which he has gotten by oppression, or the deposit which was committed to him, or the lost thing which he found,
5or any thing about which he has sworn falsely. He shall restore it in full, and shall add a fifth part more to it. He shall return it to him to whom it belongs in the day of his being found guilty.
6He shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh: a ram without defect from the flock, according to your valuation, for a trespass offering, to the priest.
7The priest shall make atonement for him before Yahweh, and he will be forgiven concerning whatever he does to become guilty."
8Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
9"Command Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the law of the burnt offering: the burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning; and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.
10The priest shall put on his linen garment, and he shall put on his linen trousers on his body; and he shall remove the ashes from where the fire has consumed the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.
11Then he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.
12The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning. He shall lay the burnt offering in order on it, and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.
13Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.
14"'This is the law of the grain offering: Aaron's sons shall offer it before Yahweh, before the altar.
15He shall take from there his handful of the fine flour of the grain offering, and of its oil, and all the frankincense which is on the grain offering, and shall burn it on the altar for a pleasant aroma, as its memorial, to Yahweh.
16That which is left of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten without yeast in a holy place. They shall eat it in the court of the Tent of Meeting.
17It shall not be baked with yeast. I have given it as their portion of my offerings made by fire. It is most holy, as the sin offering, and as the trespass offering.
18Every male among the children of Aaron shall eat of it, as their portion forever throughout your generations, from the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. Whoever touches them shall be holy.'"
19Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
20"This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer to Yahweh in the day when he is anointed: the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering perpetually, half of it in the morning, and half of it in the evening.
21It shall be made with oil in a griddle. When it is soaked, you shall bring it in. You shall offer the grain offering in baked pieces, for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
22The anointed priest that will be in his place from among his sons shall offer it. By a statute forever, it shall be wholly burned to Yahweh.
23Every grain offering of a priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten."
24Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
25"Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, 'This is the law of the sin offering: in the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offering shall be killed before Yahweh. It is most holy.
26The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the Tent of Meeting.
27Whatever touches its flesh shall be holy. When any of its blood is sprinkled on a garment, you shall wash that on which it was sprinkled in a holy place.
28But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken; and if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, it shall be scoured, and rinsed in water.
29Every male among the priests shall eat of it. It is most holy.
30No sin offering of which any of the blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place shall be eaten. It shall be burned with fire.
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Summary
Chapter 6 opens with the guilt offering applied to sins against a neighbor — fraud, theft, oppression, and false oaths — requiring full restitution plus twenty percent and a guilt offering sacrifice. God then gives Aaron and his priests detailed instructions for maintaining the offerings: the perpetual fire on the altar must never go out, the burnt offering ashes are removed with care, the grain offering portions for priests are eaten unleavened in the court, the high priest offers a daily grain offering that is wholly burned, and the sin offering is most holy and must be eaten carefully in the court.
Themes
- Sin against a neighbor is simultaneously sin against God and requires both restitution and sacrifice
- The perpetual fire represents ongoing, unceasing worship and consecration to God
- Holiness is contagious — sacred things must be handled with care
- The priests' participation in eating portions of offerings connects them to the atonement process
Key verses
- Lev 6:12-13 — “The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out... Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.”
- Lev 6:26 — “The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the Tent of Meeting.”
- Lev 6:4-5 — “He shall restore that which he took by robbery... He shall restore it in full, and shall add a fifth part more to it.”
Context & background
The instructions in chapter 6 address the priests directly, laying out the daily maintenance of the sacrificial system at the Tabernacle in the Sinai wilderness (modern Egypt). The instruction that the altar fire must never go out was practically significant — fire was difficult to start in the ancient world and the perpetual flame symbolized continuous worship. The section on sins against neighbors (vv. 1-7) is notable for its insistence that wrongs done to people must be materially set right, not merely spiritually resolved. This integration of ethical responsibility and ritual worship is characteristic of Leviticus's vision of holiness.
Cross-references
- Ezek 46:13-15 — Ezekiel's vision of the restored temple includes a daily burnt offering, echoing the perpetual fire
- Heb 7:27 — Christ offered himself "once for all," replacing the daily offerings of the priests
- Lev 5:14-19 — The prior guilt offering instructions for sins against holy things
- Luke 19:8 — Zacchaeus voluntarily gives fourfold restitution, going beyond the Levitical standard
- Num 18:8-19 — Further detail on what portions of offerings belong to the priests