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Leviticus 6

Leviticus 6 joins restitution for wronged neighbors with exact instructions for priests who handle YHWH’s holy offerings.

YHWH speaks to Moses about someone who has cheated a neighbor, requiring repayment with an added fifth and a ram for a trespass offering. He then gives instructions for Aaron and his sons at the altar. The priests must keep the fire burning, remove ashes, and handle the offerings according to their holiness. Some portions provide food for the priests; others must be burned in full, with rules governing blood, garments, and cooking vessels.

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2“If anyone sins, and commits a trespass against the LORD, 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 lied about it, and swearing to a lie—in any of these things that a man sins in his actions—
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 the LORD: a ram without defect from the flock, according to your estimation, for a trespass offering, to the priest.
7The priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he will be forgiven concerning whatever he does to become guilty.”
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 upon 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.
11He shall take 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; and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning. He shall lay the burnt offering in order upon it, and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.
14“‘This is the law of the meal offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD, before the altar.
15He shall take from there his handful of the fine flour of the meal offering, and of its oil, and all the frankincense which is on the meal offering, and shall burn it on the altar for a pleasant aroma, as its memorial portion, to the LORD.
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 are the sin offering and 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 the LORD made by fire. Whoever touches them shall be holy.’”
20“This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer to the LORD in the day when he is anointed: one tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a meal 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 meal offering in baked pieces for a pleasant aroma to the LORD.
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 the LORD.
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 the LORD. 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 shall touch its flesh shall be holy. When there is any of its blood 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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Key verses
Leviticus 6:2Wronging a neighbor is called a trespass against YHWH, placing dishonest dealings under God’s authority.
Leviticus 6:16The remaining meal offering feeds Aaron and his sons, while its holiness governs where and how they eat.
Leviticus 6:30Blood brought into the sanctuary marks a boundary: the associated sin offering must be burned rather than eaten.
Where this chapter reaches

Exodus and Numbers share Leviticus 6’s concern for priestly service, altar offerings, and portions set apart for priests. Hebrews draws on the same sacrificial distinction found in verse 30: offerings whose blood enters the sanctuary are excluded from the priests’ food.

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After reading the whole chapter

What does the required repayment add to your understanding of seeking forgiveness after harming someone?

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What do the repeated rules about holy food and places show you about the priests’ work?

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Questions people ask about Leviticus 6

What does Leviticus 6 require someone to repay?

Verses 1–7 address property taken through robbery, oppression, dishonest handling of deposits, or keeping lost goods while lying about them. The guilty person must return the full amount to its owner and add one fifth, or twenty percent. A ram for a trespass offering is also required.

Why must the altar fire keep burning in Leviticus 6?

The fire serves the altar’s ongoing sacrificial work. The burnt offering remains on the hearth through the night, and the priest adds wood each morning and arranges the offerings. The command that the fire must never go out is repeated, though this chapter gives no further symbolic explanation.

What is the meal offering in Leviticus 6?

The meal offering is a grain offering made with fine flour, oil, and frankincense. A memorial portion is burned for YHWH, and Aaron’s sons eat the remainder without yeast in the holy court. The chapter distinguishes a priest’s own meal offering, which must be burned in full.

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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).