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Leviticus 5

Leviticus 5 establishes responsibility for offenses, including those committed without knowledge, and prescribes confession, offerings, and restitution where required.

YHWH gives Moses laws for Israelites who incur guilt through withheld testimony, contact with uncleanness, or rash oaths. Those who become aware of these offenses must confess and bring an offering, with birds or flour allowed when larger offerings are beyond their means. Priests carry out the prescribed rites of atonement. The closing laws address offenses involving YHWH’s holy things and commands, requiring a ram and, for misuse of holy things, repayment with an added fifth.

guilt and confessionsermon or Bible study notes
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1“‘If anyone sins, in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, he being a witness, whether he has seen or known, if he doesn’t report it, then he shall bear his iniquity.
2“‘Or if anyone touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean animal, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and it is hidden from him, and he is unclean, then he shall be guilty.
3“‘Or if he touches the uncleanness of man, whatever his uncleanness is with which he is unclean, and it is hidden from him; when he knows of it, then he shall be guilty.
4“‘Or if anyone swears rashly with his lips to do evil or to do good—whatever it is that a man might utter rashly with an oath, and it is hidden from him—when he knows of it, then he will be guilty of one of these.
5It shall be, when he is guilty of one of these, he shall confess that in which he has sinned;
6and he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has sinned: a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin.
7“‘If he can’t afford a lamb, then he shall bring his trespass offering for that in which he has sinned, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, to the LORD; one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering.
8He shall bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one which is for the sin offering. He shall wring off its head from its neck, but shall not sever it completely.
9He shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering.
10He shall offer the second for a burnt offering, according to the ordinance; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin which he has sinned, and he shall be forgiven.
11“‘But if he can’t afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for that in which he has sinned, one tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it, and he shall not put any frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.
12He shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it as the memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, on the offerings of the LORD made by fire. It is a sin offering.
13The priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin that he has sinned in any of these things, and he will be forgiven; and the rest shall be the priest’s, as the meal offering.’”
15“If anyone commits a trespass, and sins unwittingly regarding the LORD’s holy things, then he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD: a ram without defect from the flock, according to your estimation in silver by shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering.
16He shall make restitution for that which he has done wrong regarding the holy thing, and shall add a fifth part to it, and give it to the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and he will be forgiven.
17“If anyone sins, doing any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, though he didn’t know it, he is still guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.
18He shall bring a ram without defect from of the flock, according to your estimation, for a trespass offering, to the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning the thing in which he sinned and didn’t know it, and he will be forgiven.
19It is a trespass offering. He is certainly guilty before the LORD.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Leviticus 5:1The opening case makes withholding known testimony a matter of guilt, placing responsibility on the witness who remains silent.
Leviticus 5:15This verse introduces offenses against YHWH’s holy things, requiring an unblemished ram even when the offense was unwitting.
Leviticus 5:17Lack of knowledge does not erase guilt before YHWH, whose commands remain binding beyond the offender’s awareness.
Where this chapter reaches

Numbers shares the requirements of confession and repayment with an added fifth, while Exodus also sets out restitution laws and safeguards for holy things. Hebrews shares the themes of priesthood, offerings, and atonement, comparing repeated sacrifices with Christ’s offering of himself.

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After reading the whole chapter

What does the opening law lead you to consider about responsibility for truth you know?

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What do the different offerings reveal about how these laws account for poverty?

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Questions people ask about Leviticus 5

Why does Leviticus 5 say someone is guilty if they didn’t know they sinned?

Verses 17–19 treat a violation of YHWH’s commands as an offense even when the person lacked knowledge. Earlier cases describe guilt becoming known after the act. The chapter distinguishes awareness from responsibility and prescribes an offering through which the priest makes atonement and the offender receives forgiveness.

Why could a poor person offer flour in Leviticus 5?

For the offenses covered in verses 1–13, the required offering depends on what the person can afford. Someone unable to bring a lamb may bring birds; someone unable to afford birds may bring fine flour. The priest burns a portion without oil or frankincense, makes atonement, and forgiveness is promised.

What does adding a fifth mean in Leviticus 5:16?

The offender must repay what was owed regarding the holy thing and add twenty percent of that amount, giving it to the priest. This restitution accompanies the ram offered for atonement. The chapter does not list every possible misuse of holy things, so the precise offense remains unspecified.

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What the Bible says about guilt →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).