Preface: Four different groups of men are examined here and what was required of them, by way of a ceremonial cleansing, for committing an unknown sin.

The Bible Summary of Leviticus 4 (in 140 characters or less): If anyone sins unintentionally they should slaughter a bull, a goat or a lamb. The priest shall burn it to the LORD to make atonement.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Leviticus. This will be the most extensive examination of Leviticus 4, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 4:

Introduction

         vv.     1–2           Inadvertent Sins of the People

         vv.     3–12         The Priest Makes an Offering for Himself

         vv.    13–21         Sin Offerings for the Nation

         vv.    22–26         Sin Offerings for Civil Leaders

         vv.    27–35         Sin Offerings for the People

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Leviticus 4 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Leviticus 4 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Leviticus 4

         Introduction         The Prequel of Leviticus 4

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Leviticus 4

         Introduction         The Places of Leviticus 4

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Leviticus 4

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 4

         Introduction         Outlines of Leviticus 4 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 4 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Leviticus 1–5)

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Leviticus 4)

         Introduction 

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         v.      18              What Does the Horn Represent in Scripture (by Lan Dough)

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         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Leviticus 4 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Leviticus 4

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Leviticus 4

         Summary            Shmoop Summary of Leviticus 4

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Leviticus 4

         Summary 

         Addendum          Footnote for Leviticus 4:1 (from the Christian Community Bible)

         Addendum          Anointing (note from the American English Bible)

         Addendum          Perfect Priests (note from the American English Bible)

         Addendum          Gathering (at the Synagogue) (from the American English Bible)

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Leviticus 4

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Leviticus 4

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Leviticus 4

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Leviticus 4

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An Introduction to Leviticus 4

I ntroduction: Leviticus 4 continues the Christology which is presented in the first third of Leviticus. Jesus Christ would die for our sins, and Leviticus deals with this from the standpoint of offering animal sacrifices. This particular chapter focuses on unknown sins.

We not only have the many aspects of the offering made by the Lord, but, in this passage, we also deal with the nature of the sins committed. We actually commit some sins which we do not realize are sins. This chapter tells us that those sins must be paid for as well. All manner of sin must be dealt with; and we understand this to be done with the perfect sacrifice of the Lord.

What I find fascinating is, there are a number of sins named in the Mosaic Law which are not addressed in the realm of crime. One should take careful note in this and other chapters that there are things which are sinful, wrong, or unclean; but God does not prescribe an actual punishment (and many of us, due to our own upbringing and culture, would see the Mosaic Law as being rather harsh).

My reading of the Mosaic Law suggests that the people of Israel did not, when this information was given to them, appreciate that this was a full Christology. That is, I don’t know that they understood that all of these animal sacrifices looked forward to the coming Messiah; nor do I believe that they understood that there was a relationship between the sacrifice of these animals and the sacrifice of the Christ (Messiah in the Hebrew).

Now, after the crucifixion, many of the Jews should have recognized, “We have been offering up animal sacrifices for hundreds of years—animals without spot and without blemish—and Jesus was just offered up on the cross, a man without spot or blemish.” I don’t doubt that some men understood this and that many Jews were converted as a result. But this certainly was not a universal recognition.

Years later, we can read this in the Old Testament and fully appreciate the connection between the Messiah and the animals be offered in sacrifice.

So that we might have a better understanding of what these animal sacrifices were all about, the Book of Hebrews (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) (Folder) provides for us a complete tie-in between the Old Testament and the Lord Who gave Himself for us.

Why was the Bible so mysterious here? Why did it not state somewhere, the animal sacrifices that you are offering—that is the Messiah! But the Bible never says this. Why? Because Satan also reads the Bible. Not only does he try to distort it, but Satan also tried to understand it as well. Satan entered Judas in order to make certain that he did everything right in order for Jesus to be taken and crucified. Why would Satan do this if he understood that Jesus’ spiritual death would save mankind (whoever believed) and also condemn Satan? Because Satan did not understand it. He did not make the connection.

Introduction: Leviticus 4 brings up the issue of unknown sins, which is, in itself, a fascinating concept. The more doctrine that you know, the more you are cognizant of a variety of sins which many believers are unaware. For instance, some believers might become a conscientious objector or admire someone who is a conscientious objector, because they do not realize that is a sin. Others may be involved in sex outside of marriage (presumably because they are in love) or believe that a homosexual union is as valid before God as a heterosexual marriage, and this is due to their lack of knowledge. Not only does God tell us that "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge", but ignorance of sin is no excuse. We cannot become Christians and then ignore God's Word and do whatever we want; this will place us under serious discipline. It does not matter one whit whether we commit these sins in ignorance or with full knowledge of what it is that we are doing. These sins were paid for by our Lord on the cross and this must be symbolized by the death of a sacrifice.

A major difference between this chapter and the previous three is that the sacrifices offered in the other chapters were voluntary. They represented fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ after salvation, which is an option to all believers (as opposed to a life of discipline). However, the sacrifices herein contained are mandatory offerings.

Timeline for Leviticus

There is very little narrative in the book of Leviticus; so this information may have been given to Moses in a few days or, at most, a few weeks; and Moses both wrote these things down and informed the people. Because of information previously studied in the introduction, we are not 100% certain if all of this material was given to Moses while in the newly erected Tabernacle. I would lean towards that being the case.

As I have done previously, since this chapters is what God is saying to Moses, I will begin and end the chapter with quotation marks. I will not insert a new set of quotation marks for each new paragraph.

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Inadvertent Sins of the People

There were many disagreement as to where to put a period in the first 3–5 verses. I tend to mostly depend upon Young and Rotherham for this, but there was more disagreement in this passage than I was expecting. What appears to be the case is, the first two verses introduce the entire chapter; and what follows are specific instances and how they are to be dealt with.

Therefore, there was no good way to divide up the first four verses. Most translations continued v. 2 into v. 3. The problem with maintaining that approach is, v. 3 begins a new section. This overall chapter is all about committing inadvertent sins and how to ceremonially atone for those sins (vv. 1–2). The introduction is then followed by four categories of people: (1) the priestly class; (2) the entire congregation of Israel; (3) a ruler (might be a judge; might be a king); (4) individual Israelites. Properly speaking, the first two verses simply introduce this particular subject and the rest of the chapter discusses the four groups and the individual sacrifices which each group must follow. Because inadvertent sinning is mentioned with all four groups, some simply divide this chapter into four sections (without an introduction).

There were a couple of places in this translation which gave me problems.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Leviticus.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so speaks Y^ehowah unto Moses, to say, “Speak unto sons of Israel to say, a soul that sins in error from any of [the] commandments of Y^ehowah, which were not to be doing, and he has made from one from them.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  And Adonoy spoke to Moshe, saying:

Speak to Bnei Yisroel, saying; if a person unwittingly transgresses any commandment of Adonoy which should [is] not [fitting to] be done and commits one of these sins. Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: Speak with the sons of Israel, saying: When a man hath sinned inadvertently against any of the commandments of the Lord (in doing) what ought not to be done, and he hath done it against any one of them:...

Updated Douay-Rheims         And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Say to the children of Israel: The soul that sinnes through ignorance, and does any thing concerning any of the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded not to be done:...

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Mar-Yah spoke to Mosha, saying,

"Speak to the B'nai Yisrael, saying, 'If anyone sins unintentionally, in any of the things which Mar-Yah has commanded not to be done, and does any one of them:...

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     And LORD JEHOVAH spoke with Moshe and said to him: "Speak with the children of Israel and say to them: 'The soul, when it will sin in forgetfulness of any of the commandments of LORD JEHOVAH that are not done, and will do one of them:...

Samaritan Pentateuch           And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD [concerning things] which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:...

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin unwillingly before the Lord, in any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which he ought not to do, and shall do some of them;...

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And the Lord said to Moses, 

Say to the children of Israel: These are the offerings of anyone who does wrong through error, doing any of the things which by the Lord's order are not to be done:...

Easy English                          Offerings for sins that people did not really want to do

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Israel's people, “A man may sin, when he did not really want to sin against the Lord. This is what that person must do.

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  The Lord spoke to Moses. The Lord said,

“Tell the people of Israel: If any person sins by accident and does any of the things the Lord said must not be done, then that person must do these things:...

Good News Bible (TEV)         The LORD commanded Moses to tell the people of Israel that anyone who sinned and broke any of the LORD's commands without intending to, would have to observe the following rules...

The Message                         The Absolution-Offering

God spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites, When a person sins unintentionally by straying from any of God’s commands, breaking what must not be broken, if it’s the anointed priest who sins and so brings guilt on the people, he is to bring a bull without defect to God as an Absolution-Offering for the sin he has committed. A portion of v. 3 is included for context.

Names of God Bible               Offerings for Unintentional Wrongdoing

Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Tell the Israelites: If a person unintentionally does something wrong—even one thing that is forbidden by any of Yahweh’s commands—this is what he must do.

NIRV                                      Rules for Sin Offerings

The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘Suppose someone sins without meaning to. And that person does something the Lord commands us not to do.

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             Leviticus 4

How to sacrifice for a sin offering

When a priest sins

The LORD told Moses: Tell this to the people of Israel: Here’s what you need to do if you accidentally [1] break one of the LORD’s laws.

¹4:2 This begs for a question: What if a person sins on purpose? There’s a different to-do list for that. It might begin with making restitution, and with paying extra. There’s also an animal sacrifice for what was often called a guilt offering. See Leviticus 6.

Contemporary English V.       The LORD told Moses to say to the community of Israel: Offer a sacrifice to ask forgiveness when you sin by accidentally doing something I have told you not to do.

The Living Bible                     Then the Lord gave these further instructions to Moses:

“Tell the people of Israel that these are the laws concerning anyone who unintentionally breaks any of my commandments.

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    Gifts Given When a Person Sins without Meaning To

The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘If a person sins without meaning to, by not obeying what the Lord has told us to do, these are the rules he must follow.

New Living Translation           Procedures for the Sin Offering

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. This is how you are to deal with those who sin unintentionally by doing anything that violates one of the Lord’s commands.

Unfolding Bible (simplified)    Then Yahweh told Moses to say this to the Israelite people, "This is what anyone must do if he sins without intending to sin, that is, if he does something that breaks any of Yahweh's commands..

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Then the Lord said to Moses,

‘Speak to the children of IsraEl and tell them this:...

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           The purification offering

The Lord said to Moses, Say to the Israelites: Do the following whenever someone sins unintentionally against any of the Lord’s commands, doing something that shouldn’t be done:... Even though v. 2 end with a colon, the next verse is a new paragraph in the CEB. That is the case in many translations. This includes the AEB directly above and the CSB below.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       And now the Lord spoke to Moses again, making known his will to the sons of Israel: It may be that a man has transgressed through inadvertence, disobeyed, without thinking to disobey, some one of the Lord’s precepts.

Translation for Translators                                                    The sin offering

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Say this to the Israeli people: This is what must be done if someone sins without intending to sin, doing something that is forbidden in any of Yahweh’s commands.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Christian Standard Bible        The Sin Offering

Then the Lord spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites: When someone sins unintentionally against any of the Lord’s commands and does anything prohibited by them—...

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                The Law of Involuntary Sins.

Then the EVER-LIVING spoke to Moses saying;... V. 2 begins a new sections in the FF Bible, so it will be placed with the next passage for context.

International Standard V        Personal Sin Offerings

The Lord spoke to Moses:

“Speak to the Israelis and tell them, ‘If a person inadvertently sins with respect to any of the Lord’s commands that should not be violated, but nevertheless he disobeys one of them, or if the anointed priest sins, thereby bringing guilt on the people, let him bring a young bull [Lit. a bull, a son of a bull] without defect as a sin offering to the Lord for his sin that he had committed. V. 3 is included for context.

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,  

"Tell the people of Israel, 'When anyone sins without wanting to sin, doing any of the things that Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and if he does something that is prohibited, the following must be done.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the sons of Israel, saying:
A soul which will sin by mistake of any of Yahweh's commandments, which he will not perform, and he shall perform one of these.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Offering for an unintentional sin

Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

“Speak to the people of Israel and say: Anyone may sin without intending to do so against any of the commandments of Yahweh and do one of the forbidden things; in such a case:...

The footnote for v. 1 will be placed in the Addendum.

The Heritage Bible                 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a soul sins through ignorance against the whole of the commandments of Jehovah, which ought not to be done, and shall do against one of these,... Jms 2;10

New American Bible(2011)    Purification Offerings.

The LORD said to Moses:

^a Tell the Israelites: When a person inadvertently* does wrong by violating any one of the LORD’s prohibitions— ...

* [4:2] Inadvertently: the concern in this chapter, and much of chap. 5, is wrongs done unintentionally. Intentional (“high-handed”) sins are punished with being “cut off” from the people (Nm 15:30–31). See note on Lv 7:20. LORD’s prohibitions: not included in the faults figured here is failure to perform positive commandments. Failing to perform positive commands, however, still renders the individual liable to other punishment (e.g., failing to observe the Passover, Nm 9:13). Cf. Nm 15:22–31.

a. [4:2] Lv 6:17–23; Nm 15:22–31.

The Catholic Bible                  Chapter 4^[a]

Sin Offerings.^[b] The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the children of Israel and say: If anyone unknowingly sins against one of the commandments of the Lord, doing one of the things he was not supposed to do,...

[a] Anyone who sinned unintentionally became unclean. To atone for the defect a sacrifice was offered; this rule held for everyone, but the offering varied according to the character of the guilty party. A sin of the high priest, who was leader of the people of God, especially after the Exile, rested on the entire community; consequently, the expiation for it was celebrated in a solemn fashion. The blood rite, the expiatory value of which will be seen further on (ch. 17), was the central point of the sacrifice; for the sins of the high priest as well as for the sins of the community, the blood was poured out inside the sanctuary. What remained of the victim was consumed by fire outside the encampment; the priests, being themselves sinners, had no right to eat of this sacred offering, since the sacrifice was for the entire community (v. 12). This type of sacrifice makes clear the ritual aspect of the fault, that is, it reflects a more primitive and less interior concept of sin.

[b] Whereas burnt offerings, cereal offerings, and peace offerings were voluntary acts of worship, atonement for sins committed unintentionally was mandatory and usually involved faults concerning worship. As soon as one became aware of such a fault, one was required to bring a sin offering to the Lord. For those who were unaware of a fault, an annual Day of Atonement provided reconciliation for sins that had not been atoned for.

New Jerusalem Bible             Yahweh spoke to Moses and said:

'Speak to the Israelites and say: "If anyone sins inadvertently against any of Yahweh's commandments and does anything prohibited by them,...

Revised English Bible–1989   THE LORD told Moses

to say to the Israelites, When anyone sins inadvertently by doing anything forbidden by any of the LORD's commandments:...

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           (v) Adonai said to Moshe, “Tell the people of Isra’el: ‘If anyone sins inadvertently against any of the mitzvot of Adonai concerning things which should not be done, if he does any one of them, then, if it is the anointed cohen who sinned and thus brought guilt on the people, he is to offer Adonai a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he committed. He must bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before Adonai, lay his hand on the bull’s head and slaughter the bull in the presence of Adonai. Vv. 3–4 are included for context.

Hebraic Roots Bible               And YAHWEH spoke to Moses, saying,

Speak to the sons of Israel saying, When a person sins against any of the commands of YAHWEH through ignorance, which is not to be done, and shall do any one of them;...

Israeli Authorized Version      .And YY spake unto Moshe, saying, Speak unto the children of Yisrael, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of The Commandments of YY concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:...

Kaplan Translation                 [12. Sin Offerings for the High Priest]

God spoke to Moses with instructions to speak to the Israelites and tell them the following: [This is the law] if an individual commits an inadvertent sin by violating 4

prohibitory commandments of God. The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Leviticus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

The Scriptures–2009              And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying, 

“Speak to the children of Yisra’ěl, saying, ‘When a being sins by mistake against any of the commands of יהוה, which are not to be done, and shall do any of them:...

Tree of Life Version                Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: 

“Speak to Bnei-Yisrael, saying: If anyone sins unintentionally in any of Adonai’s mitzvot that are not to be done, and commits any one of them —or if the anointed kohen sins so as to bring guilt on the people—then let him offer for his sin which he has committed, a young bull without blemish to Adonai for a sin offering. V. 3 is included for context.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            AND JESUS SPOKE TO MOSES, SAYING,

“SPEAK TO THE CHILDREN OF JESRAEL, SAYING, ‘IF A SOUL SHALL SIN UNWILLINGLY BEFORE JESUS, IN ANY OF THE COMMANDMENTS OF JESUS CONCERNING THINGS WHICH HE OUGHT NOT TO DO, AND SHALL DO SOME OF THEM;...

Awful Scroll Bible                   Sustains To Become was to speak to Moses, to the intent:

Be speaking to the sons of Isra-el, to the intent: A breather was to be made clean of his error, that against the commandment of Sustains To Become even was he to effect it, indeed is to have done any of these same:...

Concordant Literal Version    Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.

Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, When a soul sins inadvertently, departing from any of Yahweh's instructions of what should not be done, yet does any of them.

exeGeses companion Bible   PRIESTAL INADVERTENT ERRING QORBANS

And Yah Veh words to Mosheh, saying,

Word to the sons of Yisra El, saying,

When a soul sins through inadvertent error

against any of the misvoth of Yah Veh

which ought not to be worked

- and works one of them:...

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

Speak unto the Bnei Yisroel, saying, If a nefesh shall sin through ignorance (unintentionally) against any of the mitzvot of Hashem concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them;...

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                The Law of Sin Offerings

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, ‘If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them—...

The Expanded Bible              The Sin Offering

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the ·people [^L sons; children] of Israel this: ‘When a person sins ·by accident [unintentionally; inadvertently; ^C in contrast to a deliberate sin; Num. 15:22–31] ·and does some things the Lord has commanded not to be done [^L in any of the Lord’s commandments/regulations], ·that person must do these things [^L and does any one of them]:...

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-12

For a Priest

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, if a soul shall sin through ignorance, in an unintentional offense, against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them; (the sacrifices enumerated till now were free-will offerings and could be brought even when there was no specific occasion, whenever the heart of the individual prompted him to seek the Lord's fellowship in sacrifice, prayer, and sacrificial meal; but there were times and occasions when certain sacrifices had to be made, as when an unintentional trespass had occurred. This included all sins of weakness, not only such as had been committed in ignorance, haste, and negligence, but also such in which the weakness of the flesh had overcome the good intention of the believer);...

Lexham English Bible            Laws for Sin Offerings

Then [Or “And”] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the Israelites, [Literally “sons/children of Israel”] saying, ‘If a person [Or “a soul”] sins by an unintentional wrong from any of Yahweh’s commands that should not be violated, [Literally “done”] and he violates [Literally “does”] any of them [Literally “from one from them”; see NET]—...

Syndein/Thieme                     {Leviticus Chapter 4 - Three Non-Sweet Savor/Smell Offerings (Sweet Savor Offerings - Represents Divine Viewpoint - Burnt Offerings (Ch 1), Gift Offerings (Ch 2), and Peace Offering (Ch 3) ) - Now Chapter 4 the Sin Offering - Rebound With Emphasis on the Unknown Sins of the Believer - Unknown Sins in Chapter 4 are Broken Down by Categories of People Who Do the Sinning }

And Jehovah/God spoke/'communicated doctrine categorically' {dabar - Piel/intensive stem - dabar means 'to set up in a row'/'to present categorically' - the stem is intensive because Divine Viewpoint - the Mind of God/Christ was presented} unto Moses, saying {'amar - means to 'bring to light' - from the Mind of God to the mind of Moses to writing the first 5 books of the bible and to speak to transfer into the minds of the people}, " 'Communicate doctrine categorically'/Speak {dabar - Piel/intensive imperative/command} unto the children of Israel, saying {'amar - Qal stem - means to teach when in the Qal stem},

'If a soul {nephesh - doctrine must be stored categorically in the soul of the believer} shall sin through ignorance {chata' sh@gagah - sin through ignorance means lack of knowledge of doctrine mentality does not realize this is a sin so it is not confessed - unknown sins} - which ought not to be done - against any of the commandments of Jehovah/God and shall do against any of them . . ..

The Voice                               The Eternal One then spoke to Moses.

Eternal One: Moses, go, talk with the Israelites, and tell them that if someone unwittingly commits a sin that violates any of the directives I have given, this is what you should do.

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Speak to the children of Israel, saying: If a person sins unintentionally [by committing one] of all the commandments of the Lord, which may not be committed, and he commits [part] of one of them.

NET Bible®                             Sin Offering Regulations

Then the Lord spoke to Moses:¹ “Tell the Israelites, ‘When a person sins by straying unintentionally² from any of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, and violates any³ one of them⁴ – ...

^1sn The quotation introduced here extends from Lev 4:2 through 5:13, and encompasses all the sin offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 1:1 above, and 5:14 and 6:1 [5:20 HT] below.

^2tn Heb “And a person, when he sins in straying.” The English translation of “by straying” (בִּשְגָגָה [bishgagah] literally, “in going astray; in making an error”) varies greatly, but almost all suggest that this term refers to sins that were committed by mistake or done not knowing that the particular act was sinful (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:228-29). See, e.g., LXX “involuntarily”; Tg. Onq. “by neglect”; KJV “through ignorance”; ASV, RSV, NJPS “unwittingly”; NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “unintentionally”; NAB, NEB “inadvertently”; NCV “by accident.” However, we know from Num 15:27-31 that committing a sin “by straying” is the opposite of committing a sin “defiantly” (i.e., בְּיַד רָמָה [bÿyad ramah] “with a raised hand,” v. 30). In the latter case the person, as it were, raises his fist in presumptuous defiance against the Lord. Thus, he “blasphemes” the Lord and has “despised” his word, for which he should be “cut off from among his people” (Num 15:30-31). One could not bring an offering for such a sin. The expression here in Lev 4:2 combines “by straying” with the preposition “from” which fits naturally with “straying” (i.e., “straying from” the Lord’s commandments). For sins committed “by straying” from the commandments (Lev 4 throughout) or other types of transgressions (Lev 5:1-6) there was indeed forgiveness available through the sin offering. See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:94-95.

^3tn This is an emphatic use of the preposition מִן (min; see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 56-57, §325).

^4tn The “when” clause (כִּי, ki) breaks off here before its resolution, thus creating an open-ended introduction to the following subsections, which are introduced by “if” (אִם [’im] vv. 3, 13, 27, 32). Also, the last part of the verse reads literally, “which must not be done and does from one from them.”

Rotherham’s Emphasized B.          § 2. Of various kinds of Offences, and the Offerings appointed for them.

Chapter 4.

And Yahweh spake unto Moses saying:

Speak thou unto the sons of Israel saying-

≤When ||any person|| shall sin by mistake departing from any of the commandments of Yahweh, as to things which should not be done, and shall do any one of them≥-

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Bond Slave Version               And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a soul will sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and will do against any of them:...

C. Thompson LXX (updated) Again the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say, When any person sinnes unwittingly before the Lord, and does any of those things, which by any of the commandments of the Lord he ought not to do;...

Context Group Version          And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, If any one shall disgrace unwittingly, in any of the things which YHWH has commanded not to be done, and shall do any one of them:...

Literal Standard Version        And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, When a person sins through ignorance against any of the commands of YHWH [regarding things] which are not to be done, and has done [something] against one of these— if the priest who is anointed sins according to the guilt of the people, then he has brought near for his sin which he has sinned a bullock, a son of the herd, a perfect one, to YHWH, for a sin-offering, and he has brought in the bullock to the opening of the Tent of Meeting before YHWH, and has laid his hand on the head of the bullock, and has slaughtered the bullock before YHWH. Vv. 1–4 in the LSV.

Modern Literal Version 2020  And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, If a soul will sin unintentionally, in any of the things which Jehovah has commanded not to be done and will do any one of them, if the anointed priest will sin so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer for his sin, which he has sinned, a young bull without blemish to Jehovah for a sin-offering. V. 3 is included for context.

New European Version          Sins of Ignorance

Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If anyone sins unintentionally, in any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and does any one of them:...

Niobi Study Bible                   The Sin Offering
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, "Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, `If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them,...

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and YHWH spoke to Mosheh saying, speak to the sons of Yisra'eyl saying, a soul that will fail with an error from any of the directives of YHWH, which were not done, and he will do from one of them.

A Voice in the Wilderness      And Jehovah spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying: If a soul sins unintentionally against any of the commandments of Jehovah in anything which ought not to be done, and does any of them,...

Young’s Updated LT             And Jehovah speaks unto Moses, saying, “Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, When a person does sin through ignorance against any of the commands of Jehovah regarding things which are not to be done, and has done something against one of these—...

The gist of this passage:     This is the introductory verse to this chapter, which is about offering sacrifices for unknown sins.

1-2

Translation: Y^ehowah spoke unto Moses, saying,...

We don’t know if these are a set of laws given at different times; or whether we are just continuing forward with the previous 3 chapters.

Leviticus 4:1 Y^ehowah spoke unto Moses, saying,... (Kukis mostly literal translation)

God continues speaking directly to Moses.

Translation: ...“Speak to the sons of Israel saying [these things:]...

All of these things that Moses is being taught, he is to turn around and teach these same things to the sons of Israel. These various rites—which are fairly complex—are integral to Y^ehowah worship.

Translation: ...[any] soul who sins inadvertently beyond all the commandments of Y^ehowah [beyond what he knows],...

I think that the general understanding of this passage is known; but the exact translation, I found to be quite difficult.

Here, the idea is, there are those who sin unknowingly or inadvertently. You may think, “Isn’t that the way that Christians sin?” No, absolutely not! Most of the time that we sin, we know that it is a sin and we just go ahead and do it anyway. However, now and there are sins that a person commits, that he does not realize is a sin.

This key point helps us to understand what is being said here. If we don’t know what the sin is, how is a person able to come to the priest and say, “Listen, I just committed a sin.” The whole point of it is, they don’t know that it is a sin. However, even though people commit sins and don’t realize that they did, those are still sins and they are still offensive to God.

Because of the propaganda that we have received for the past 20+ years, mostly out of Hollywood, most people don’t think that homosexual acts are sins—but they are. This is true for many unbelievers; and it is even true of some believers. Therefore, it is very possible that a person with homosexual tendencies can come to the cross, and have no idea that his homosexual acts are offensive to God. Likewise, there are some believers who are saved, but they have no idea that these acts that they have committed or continue to commit, are sinful.

For such sins, a rebound offering is necessarily. These are sins that Jesus died for on the cross. And these sins cause problems in the lives of those who commit them.

For these reasons, such sins must be addressed in the Mosaic Law.

But the question arises, how do we know that we have sinned if we don’t know that we have sinned? Or, in other words, how does the believer know he needs to offer up a sacrifice for an unknown sin if he doesn’t know it? The short answer to the question is, he does not know, so he makes such offerings on a regular basis.

Translation: ...which [commandments] were not to be broken [lit., done];...

For portions of this passage, I took my best shot at a good translation. For instance here, the verb takes a feminine plural subject and the only feminine plural subject is commandments. I don’t believe that the person is accused of doing the commandments, but of violating them; hence the translation.

I think that I have the understanding down; but there are places here and there where I question my translation.

These are sins which break various commandments and laws of God; and they must be dealt with. As noted, these are violations which are unknown to the one commiting the violation. However, regarding God’s laws, ignorance is not an excuse.

Translation: ...yet [lit., and] he has violated [lit., done] [at least] one of them.

This short section was very difficult to figure out.

I believe that the idea is, whatever commandment is violated, it can be a single commandment and even that is something which must be atoned for.

Leviticus 4:2 ...“Speak to the sons of Israel saying [these things:] [any] soul who sins inadvertently beyond all the commandments of Y^ehowah [beyond what he knows], which [commandments] were not to be broken [lit., done]; yet [lit., and] he has violated [lit., done] [at least] one of them. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Two words should be examined here. Y^ehowah is delivering to Israel the Law where everything that they need to know about transgressing against God can be found. Because they have a portion of the Law and will soon have the Law in its entirety, we can now have the word sh^egâgâh (שְגָגָה) [pronounced sh'gaw-GAWH], found in this passage for the first time in God's Word. This is a noun which modifies either the word sin (Leviticus 5:15 Numbers 15:27) or a particular sin (Numbers 35:11, 15). Unknowingly is a good translation, but not exactly fit several passages, such as Numbers 35:11, 15 Joshua 20:3, 9. When we speak of unintentional manslaughter (as the passages named do), a good translation is unwittingly, unintentionally. However, we should stick with unknowingly when dealing with committing sins when we do not realize that they are sins. You may wonder why I have taken this stance when my preference is to go with a consistent and accurate translation whenever possible. This is because when it comes to committing a sin, we intend to commit that sin, whether we recognize that it is a sin or not. Our volition is involved. Some force of evil does not cause us to sin against our own volition. What is unintentional, at times, are the results of the sin. Some people, because of premarital sex, become involved in an horrible abusive marriage where both the husband and the wife are unhappy and the children are caused daily grief do to their parent's behavior. At the time of committing sex outside of marriage, their intention was some self-satisfaction, either sexual or emotional; or it was a pay back or a reward. In any case, the results were unintentional, although the sin which precipitated the results was very intentional (even if the people involved did not realize that premarital sex is wrong in all instances). The point that I am trying to make in the translation of this word is that volition should not be removed from the picture in all instances by using the word unintentional except with regards to some of the results being unintentional.

The second word worth examining is châţâʾ (חָטָא) [pronounced khaw-TAW], the word for sin, which we have seen very little of until now. This word only occurs five times in Genesis (Gen. 20:9 39:9 40:1 43:9 44:32), which covers a period of time of over 2000 years; and only three times in Exodus prior to Exodus 32 (Exodus 5:16 9:27 10:16). After the Law, we find this word much more often—three times in Exodus 32 to describe the transgression of the Jews against God in the constructing of the golden calf (vv. 30–33), over fifteen times in Leviticus (a shorter book than Exodus or Genesis) and several times thereafter. It is not that there were not some laws of God which were understood and which could be transgressed. Job understood that there were certain laws of God, as did his friends, although they did not always agree on what these laws were or who had transgressed them. The most popular translation of this word is sin, however transgress, miss, miss the mark, err are also reasonable translations. However, it would be nice to update this word to a modern vocabulary, which will be difficult to do in this era of nonjudgmental everyone needs self-esteem mind set. When an object is given in context (such as, this particular verse), deviate, stray from, go astray from or transgress might be acceptable translations. When it comes to committing an act of sin, commit a transgression is wordy, but reasonable. Two other wordy, but good translations would be subvert [God's Law], transgress [the Law].

This verse deals with people who are believers, who are ignorant of a portion of God's Word, and have transgressed against God. They have unknowingly (but not unintentionally) deviated from the commandments of God. Examples of these transgressions are given in Leviticus 5:15–18 22:14.

On the other end of the spectrum we have those who stand in defiance of God. But the person who acts defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the Y^ehowah; and that person will be cut off from among his people, because he has despised the Word of Y^ehowah and has broken His commandment, that person will be completely cut off; his iniquity on him (Numbers 5:30–31). This is an act which is greater than knowingly sinning; this is a person who stands up against God and sins to spite God's commandments.

——————————

The Priest Makes an Offering for Himself

Vv. 1–2 are an introduction to the entire chapter. What follows are four sections, each referring to a different group of people who sin unknowingly.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        If the priest, the anointed [one], sinned for an offense of the people and he has been caused to encounter a sin that he was sinning, a bull, s son of a herd complete to Y^ehowah for a sin [offering]. And he has brought near the bull unto an opening of a Tent of Appointment to faces of Y^ehowah. And he has rested his hand upon a head of the bull and he has slaughtered the bull to faces of Y^ehowah.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  If the anointed kohein [gadol] should sin to bring guilt on the people, he shall bring for his sin which he committed a young, unblemished bullock to [before] Adonoy, as a sin-offering.

He shall bring the bullock to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before Adonoy. He shall lay his hand on the head of the bullock and slaughter the bullock before Adonoy.

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   ...if the high priest who is consecrated with oil hath sinned, as when he hath offered a sin offering for the people not according to the rite, he shall bring for his sin a young bullock unblemished before the Lord for a sin offering. He shall bring in the bullock to the gate of the tabernacle of ordinance, to the presence of the Lord, and lay his right hand upon the head of the bullock, and the slayer shall kill the bullock before the Lord.

Updated Douay-Rheims         If the priest that is anointed will sin, making the people to offend, he will offer to the Lord for his sin a calf without blemish. And he will bring it to the door of the testimony before the Lord: and will put his hand upon the head thereof, and will sacrifice it to the Lord.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        ...if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer for his sin, which he has sinned, a young bull without blemish to Mar-Yah for a sin offering. He shall bring the bull to the door of the Tabernacle before Mar-Yah; and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull, and kill the bull before Mar-Yah.

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     If the Priest who is anointed shall sin with the offense of the people, he shall offer a bull, son of an ox, without defect, for the sin that he sinned, to LORD JEHOVAH for his sin. And he shall bring a bull to the door of the Time Tent before LORD JEHOVAH and he shall set his hand on the head of the bull and he shall kill the bull before LORD JEHOVAH.

Samaritan Pentateuch           If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.

And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       ...if the anointed priest should sin so as to cause the people to sin, then shall he bring for his sin, which he has sinned, an unblemished calf of the herd to the Lord for his sin.

And he shall bring the calf to the door of the tabernacle of witness before the Lord, and he shall put his hand on the head of the calf before the Lord, and shall slay the calf in the presence of the Lord.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             If the chief priest by doing wrong becomes a cause of sin to the people, then let him give to the Lord for the sin which he has done, an ox, without any mark, for a sin-offering. 

And he is to take the ox to the door of the Tent of meeting before the Lord; and put his hand on its head and put it to death before the Lord.

Easy English                          The man may be a priest that you have anointed. If that is true, his sins will cause the people to sin. He must bring a young bull as a gift to the Lord. The priest must bring the young bull to the door of the Lord's Tent of Meeting. He must put his hand on the animal's head. And then he must kill it in front of the Lord.

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  ...“If the anointed priest [23] makes a mistake in a way that leaves the people guilty for their sin, then the priest must make an offering to the Lord for his sin. The priest must offer a young bull that has nothing wrong with it. He must offer the young bull to the Lord as a sin offering. The anointed priest must bring the bull to the entrance of the Meeting Tent [24] in front of the Lord. He must put his hand on the bull’s head and kill the bull in front of the Lord.

Good News Bible (TEV)         If it is the High Priest who sins and so brings guilt on the people, he shall present a young bull without any defects and sacrifice it to the LORD for his sin.  He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent, put his hand on its head, and kill it there in the LORD's presence.

The Message                         ...if it’s the anointed priest who sins and so brings guilt on the people, he is to bring a bull without defect to God as an Absolution-Offering for the sin he has committed. Have him bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting in the presence of God, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter the bull before God.

Names of God Bible               Offerings for Wrongdoing by the Chief Priest

“If the anointed priest does something wrong and brings guilt on the people, he must bring a bull that has no defects as an offering for sin to Yahweh. He must bring the bull into Yahweh’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He will place his hand on the bull’s head. He will then slaughter the bull in Yahweh’s presence.

NIRV                                      “ ‘Suppose it is the anointed priest who sins. And suppose he brings guilt on the people. Then he must bring a young bull to the Lord. It must not have any flaws. He must bring it as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He must bring the bull to the entrance to the tent of meeting in the sight of the Lord. He must place his hand on its head. He must kill it there in the sight of the Lord.

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             If you’re the high priest and you break the law, you infect all the people with your guilt. To remove this guilt, you need to sacrifice a healthy bull to the LORD—a bull that has nothing wrong with it.

Bring the bull near the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Rest a hand on the bull’s head. Then kill the bull in that sacred place of the LORD.

Contemporary English V.       When the high priest sins, he makes everyone else guilty too. And so, he must sacrifice a young bull that has nothing wrong with it. The priest will lead the bull to the entrance of the sacred tent, lay his hand on its head, and kill it there.

The Living Bible                     If a priest sins unintentionally and so brings guilt upon the people, he must offer a young bull without defect as a sin offering to the Lord. He shall bring it to the door of the Tabernacle, and shall lay his hand upon its head and kill it there before Jehovah.

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    If the chosen religious leader sins and so brings guilt on the people, let him give to the Lord a bull that is perfect. It is a sin gift for the sin he has done. He will bring the bull to the door of the meeting tent before the Lord. He will lay his hand on the head of the bull, and kill the bull before the Lord.

New Living Translation           “If the high priest [Hebrew the anointed priest; also in 4:5, 16.] sins, bringing guilt upon the entire community, he must give a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He must present to the Lord a young bull with no defects. He must bring the bull to the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle [Hebrew Tent of Meeting; also in 4:5, 7, 14, 16, 18.], lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter it before the Lord.

Unfolding Bible (simplified)    If the high priest sins and that causes all the people to be guilty, he must bring to Yahweh a young bull that has no defects. That will be an offering for the sin that he has committed.  He must bring the bull to the entrance to the sacred tent. He must lay his hands on its head. Then he must slaughter it in front of Yahweh and catch some of the blood in a bowl.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          If a person [The Greek word psyche...means something that breathes] sins against Jehovah in a way that He says you must not do in any of the Commandments, but he does it unintentionally, or if the Anointed Priest sins and that causes the people to sin; the person must bring [an offering] for his sin… [he must bring] a perfect calf from his herd to Jehovah, [to cover] his sin.

He must bring the calf before Jehovah at the entrance to the Tent of Proofs, put his hand on its head, and they must slaughter it in Jehovah’s presence. A portion of v. 2 is included for context.

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           If it is the anointed priest who has sinned, making the people guilty of sin, he must present to the Lord a flawless bull from the herd as a purification offering [Or sin offering (Heb hatta’t, which recurs frequently in Leviticus)] for the sin he has committed. 4 He will bring the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the meeting tent and press his hand on the bull’s head. Then he will slaughter the bull before the Lord.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Such a transgression, if it be committed by the high priest then in office, brings guilt upon the whole people, and he must make amends for it by offering to the Lord a young bullock without blemish. He will bring it into the Lord’s presence, at the door of the tabernacle, and, laying his hands on its head, will immolate it to the Lord.

Translation for Translators     'If the Supreme [MTY] Priest sins, and that causes all the people to be guilty, he must bring to Yahweh a young bull that has no defects. That will be an offering for the sin that he has committed. He must bring the bull to the entrance to the Sacred Tent. He must lay his hands on its head. Then he must slaughter it in front of Yahweh and drain some of the blood into a bowl.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                Sins of a Priest.

"Speak to the children of Israel, to command;

"The soul that sins by ignorance in any of the commands of the EVER-LIVING, through not having done, or doing it unconsciously;— If a consecrated priest shall sin to the injury of the People;—then he shall offer for the sin which he has sinned a perfect bullock from the fold, to the EVER-LIVING for his sin. And he shall bring the ox to the door of the Hall of Assembly before the EVER-LIVING, and lay his hand upon the head of the ox, and slay the ox before the EVER-LIVING. V. 2 is included for context.

International Standard V        Personal Sin Offerings

The Lord spoke to Moses:

“Speak to the Israelis and tell them, ‘If a person inadvertently sins with respect to any of the Lord’s commands that should not be violated, but nevertheless he disobeys one of them, or if the anointed priest sins, thereby bringing guilt on the people, let him bring a young bull [Lit. a bull, a son of a bull] without defect as a sin offering to the Lord for his sin that he had committed.

“‘He is to bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, into the Lord’s presence, where he is to lay his hand on the head of the bull and slaughter it in the Lord’s presence. Vv. 1–2 are included for context.

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    If it is the high priest who sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer for his sin which he has committed a young bull without blemish to Yahweh as a sin offering.  He must bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before Yahweh, lay his hand on its head, and kill the bull before Yahweh.

Wikipedia Bible Project          If the anointed priest will sin, blamed by the people, and he sacrificed for his sin which he has sinned a plain male bull cattle for Yahweh, for sins. And he brought the bull to the opening of the tent of events before Yahweh, and he rested his hand on the head of the bull, and he slaughtered the bull before Yahweh.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  If the one who sins is the anointed priest, his sin defiles the people. Then, for the sin which he has committed, he is to offer to Yahweh a young bull, an animal from the herd without any defect, as a sacrifice for sin. He is to bring the bull before Yahweh at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and lay his hand on its head and kill it before Yahweh.

The Heritage Bible                          If the priest who is anointed sins, resulting in guilt upon the people, then let him bring for his sin, which he has sinned, a young bullock, a son of the herd, without blemish, to Jehovah for a sin offering. Heb 5:3; 7:27

And he shall bring the bullock to the door of the tent of appointed meeting before the face of Jehovah, and shall take hold with his hand on the bullock’s head, and kill the bullock before the face of Jehovah.

New American Bible(2011)    For the Anointed Priest.

If it is the anointed priest* who thus does wrong and thereby makes the people guilty, he shall offer to the LORD an unblemished bull of the herd as a purification offering for the wrong he committed. Bringing the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting, before the LORD, he shall lay his hand on its head^b and slaughter it before the LORD.

* [4:3] The anointed priest: the chapter presents four cases of inadvertent wrong, arranged in descending order according to the status of the wrongdoer: high priest (vv. 3–12), entire community (vv. 13–21), tribal leader (vv. 22–26), and general populace (vv. 27–35). The higher one’s position, the more deeply the sin affects the sanctuary (vv. 5–7, 17–18 versus vv. 25, 29, 34). See note on 16:6. Purification offering: the Hebrew verb ḥiṭṭē’ means “remove sin, purify” (Lv 8:15; Ez 43:20–23; 45:18–19; cf. Ex 29:36). The offering cleansed the various places to which the blood was applied or the rooms in which it was sprinkled.

b. [4:4] Lv 1:4.

New Jerusalem Bible             ...if the one who sins is the anointed priest, thus making the people guilty, then for the sin which he has committed he must offer Yahweh a young bull, an unblemished animal from the herd, as a sacrifice for sin.

He will bring the bull before Yahweh at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, will lay his hand on its head and slaughter it before Yahweh.

Revised English Bible–1989   If it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then for the sin he has committed he must present to the LORD a young bull without blemish as a purification-offering. He must bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, lay his hand on its head, and slaughter it before the LORD.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Hebraic Roots Bible               And YAHWEH spoke to Moses, saying,

Speak to the sons of Israel saying, When a person sins against any of the commands of YAHWEH through ignorance, which is not to be done, and shall do any one of them; if the priest who is anointed sins, resulting in guilt to the people, then he shall bring near for his sin which he has sinned a bull, a son of the herd, without blemish, to YAHWEH for a sin offering. And he shall bring the bull into the opening of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the face of YAHWEH. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and shall slaughter the bull before the face of YAHWEH. Vv. 1–2 are included for context.

Israeli Authorized Version      If the kohen that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto YY for a sin offering. And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before YY ; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before YY.

Kaplan Translation                 If the anointed priest" commits an [inadvertent] violation, bringing guilt to his people, the sacrifice for his violation shall be an unblemished young bull" as a sin offering to God. He shall bring the bull before God to the entrance of the Communion Tent, and press his hands on the bull’s head. He shall then slaughter the bull before God.

4:3 certain specified. Where the penalty is being “cut off” ( kareth) (Kerithoth 2a; Yad, Shegagoth 1:1).

4:3 anointed priest. The High Priest ( Horayoth 12b). See Exodus 29:7, 30:30.

— young bull. In its second year {Yad, Maaseh HaKorbanoth 1:14). According to others, a three year old (Parah 1:1).

The Scriptures–2009              ‘If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then he shall bring to יהוה for his sin which he has sinned a young bull, a perfect one, as a sin offering, and he shall bring the bull to the door of the Tent of Appointment before יהוה, and shall lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slay the bull before יהוה.

Tree of Life Version                “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael, saying: If anyone sins unintentionally in any of Adonai’s mitzvot that are not to be done, and commits any one of them —or if the anointed kohen sins so as to bring guilt on the people—then let him offer for his sin which he has committed, a young bull without blemish to Adonai for a sin offering.  He is to bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before Adonai, lay his hand on the head of the bull, and slaughter it before Adonai. V. 2 is included for context.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            IF THE ANOINTED PRIEST SIN SO AS TO CAUSE THE PEOPLE TO SIN, THEN SHALL HE BRING FOR HIS SIN, WHICH HE HAS SINNED, AN UNBLEMISHED CALF OF THE HERD TO JESUS FOR HIS SIN.

AND HE SHALL BRING THE CALF TO THE DOOR OF THE TABERNACLE OF WITNESS BEFORE JESUS, AND HE SHALL PUT HIS HAND ON THE HEAD OF THE CALF BEFORE JESUS, AND SHALL SLAY THE CALF IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS.

Awful Scroll Bible                   A priest who is anointed, was to be made clean - is he to bring guilt on the people? - even is he to have brought near to be made clean, of that he is to have missed the mark, of the large cattle, a young bull, consummate, to Sustains To Become even for his miss of the mark.

He is to have brought near the young bull, to the opening of the tent of the appointed place, turned before Sustains To Become and he is to have rested his hands upon the young bull's head, and is to have slaughtered the young bull, turned before Sustains To Become.

Concordant Literal Version    Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.

Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, When a soul sins inadvertently, departing from any of Yahweh's instructions of what should not be done, yet does any of them.

If the anointed priest should sin so as to bring guilt on the people, then he shall bring near for his sin with which he has sinned a flawless young bull calf of the herd, to Yahweh as a sin offering.

He will bring the young bull to the opening of the tent of appointment before Yahweh and support his hand on the head of the young bull and slay the young bull before Yahweh.

exeGeses companion Bible   ...if the priest who is anointed

sins according to the guilt of the people;

then he oblates for the sin he sinned,

a bullock son of the oxen integrious to Yah Veh for his sin.

And he brings the bullock

to the opening of the tent of the congregation

at the face of Yah Veh;

and props his hand on the head of the bullock

and slaughters the bullock at the face of Yah Veh.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           If the Kohen HaMoshiach [anointed priest, i.e. Kohen Gadol; see Ps 110:4 on the Moshiach Kohen] do sin, bringing guilt upon the people; then let him bring for his chattat (sin), which he hath sinned, a young bull tamim (without blemish) unto Hashem for a chattat (sin offering).

And he shall bring the young bull unto the entrance of the Ohel Mo'ed before Hashem; and shall lay his hand upon the young bull's head, and slaughter (shachat) the young bull before Hashem.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Expanded Bible              “‘If the ·appointed [^L anointed] priest sins so that he brings guilt on the people, then he must offer a young bull to the Lord, ·one that has nothing wrong with it [unblemished], as a ·sin [or purification; ^C the offering would purify the offerer of the effects of sin] offering for the sin he has done. He will bring the bull to the entrance of the Meeting Tent in front of the Lord, ·put [lay] his hand on its head [1:4], and ·kill [slaughter] it before the Lord.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    ...if the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people, the reference here very probably being to the high priest, who was in a special sense the anointed of the Lord among the priests; if this high priest in his official capacity, as the representative of the people, should become guilty of such an unintentional sin, then let him bring for his sin which he hath sinned a young bullock without blemish unto the Lord for a sin-offering, the most conspicuous sacrificial animal because of the priest's high position.

And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, where all the sacrificial animals were officially delivered, before the Lord, and shall lay his hand up on the bullock's head, in the gesture signifying the transmission of his own guilt upon the substitute victim, and kill the bullock before the Lord, the animal taking the place of the guilty man.

Lexham English Bible            Laws for Sin Offerings

Then [Or “And”] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the Israelites, [Literally “sons/children of Israel”] saying, ‘If a person [Or “a soul”] sins by an unintentional wrong from any of Yahweh’s commands that should not be violated, [Literally “done”] and he violates [Literally “does”] any of them [Literally “from one from them”; see NET]— if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, [Literally “to the guilt of the people”] then, [Or “and”] concerning the sin that he has committed, [Literally “sinned”] he shall bring a young bull [Literally “a bull, a son of cattle”] without defect for Yahweh as a sin offering.

He shall bring [Or “And he shall bring”] the bull to the tent of assembly’s entrance before Yahweh, place [Or “And place”] his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter the bull before Yahweh. Vv. 1–2 are included for context.

Syndein/Thieme                     {Verses 3-12: Categories of People Who Commit Unknown Sins - the Priests}

". . . if the priest who is anointed {he would be from the tribe of Levi} does sin {from verse 1 we know this is an unknown sin in view so would do this offering periodically to show he understands the principal of rebound} - according to the sin of the people - then let him bring for his sin, which he has sinned, a young bull without blemish unto Jehovah/God for a sin offering.' "

{Note: The Levitical Priests were prominent. So when they sinned it affected many. Therefore the bull was offered because it was the highly prized/expensive offering.}

"And he {the priest who committed an unknown sin} shall bring the bull unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before Jehovah/God; {where the Brazen Laver is located. This allows thousands to view the ritual and learn even the priests are human and sin and must rebound directly to God} and shall lay his hand upon the bull's head {no sins are named because these are unknown sins}, and kill the bull before Jehovah/God."

{Note: In the next Chapter (5:5) you will see a confession is made. Here we have unknown sins which the Priests then are therefore unable to confess!}

{Note: There are two things at the door - the Brazen Altar and the Brazen Laver. The altar speaks of the cross where our sins were judged. The laver, a large brass basin for washing, speaks of rebound - confession of our sins to God - I John 1:9.}

The Voice                               Eternal One: If the person anointed as priest commits a sin, he brings guilt on the people and they suffer the consequences. So the priest must offer the most valuable animal—an unblemished, young bull—to Me as a purification offering for sin. He must bring the bull to the entrance of the congregation tent, place his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter it in My presence.

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           If the anointed kohen sins, bringing guilt to the people, then he shall bring for his sin which he has committed, an unblemished young bull as a sin offering to the Lord.

And he shall bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord, and he shall lean his hand [forcefully] upon the bull's head and slaughter the bull before the Lord.

NET Bible®                             For the Priest

“‘If the high priest⁵ sins so that the people are guilty,⁶ on account of the sin he has committed he must present a flawless young bull to the Lord⁷ for a sin offering.⁸ He must bring the bull to the entrance of the Meeting Tent before the Lord, lay his hand on the head of the bull, and slaughter the bull before the Lord.

^5tn Heb “the anointed priest” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the high priest (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

^6tn Heb “to the guilt of the people”; NRSV “thus bringing guilt on the people.”

^7tn Heb “and he shall offer on his sin which he sinned, a bull, a son of the herd, flawless.”

^8sn The word for “sin offering” (sometimes translated “purification offering”) is the same as the word for “sin” earlier in the verse. One can tell which rendering is intended only by the context. The primary purpose of the “sin offering” (חַטָּאת, khatta’t) was to “purge” (כִּפֶּר, kipper, “to make atonement,” see 4:20, 26, 31, 35, and the notes on Lev 1:4 and esp. Lev 16:20, 33) the sanctuary or its furniture in order to cleanse it from any impurities and/or (re)consecrate it for holy purposes (see, e.g., Lev 8:15; 16:19). By making this atonement the impurities of the person or community were cleansed and the people became clean. See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:93-103.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B.                                                i. Offences by the Priests.

≤If ||the anointed priest|| shall sin so as to bring guilt upon the people≥ then shall he bring near for his sin which he hath committed a choice young bullock without defect unto Yahweh as a sin-bearer.^g

And he shall bring in the bullock unto the entrance of the tent of meeting before Yahweh,-and shall lean his hand upon the head of the bullock, and shall slay the bullock before Yahweh.

^g See O.T. Ap. "Sin=sin offering=sin-bearer."

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Bond Slave Version               If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he has sinned, a young bullock without blemish to the LORD for a sin offering. And he will bring the bullock to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and will lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD.

C. Thompson LXX (updated) ...if for instance the chief priest who has been anointed, sin; on the account of his causing the people to sin, he shall, for the sin which he has committed, bring a young bull without blemish from the herd before the Lord for his sin offering; and having brought the young bull to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony before the Lord he shall lay his hand on the head of the young bull before the Lord and slay the bull in the presence of the Lord;...

Context Group Version          ...if the anointed priest shall disgrace so as to bring wickedness on the people, then let him offer for his disgrace, which he has disgraced [God], a young bull without blemish to YHWH for a purification-offering. And he shall bring the bull to the door of the tent of meeting before YHWH; and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull, and kill the bull before YHWH.

Legacy Standard Bible           The Statutes of Sin Offerings

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, [Lit commands of Yahweh which are not to be done] and he does any one of them, if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him bring near to Yahweh a bull from the herd without blemish as a sin offering for the sin he has committed [Lit sinned]. Then he shall bring the bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting before Yahweh, and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and slaughter the bull before Yahweh. Vv. 1–2 are included for context.

Literal Standard Version        ...if the priest who is anointed sins according to the guilt of the people, then he has brought near for his sin which he has sinned a bullock, a son of the herd, a perfect one, to YHWH, for a sin-offering, and he has brought in the bullock to the opening of the Tent of Meeting before YHWH, and has laid his hand on the head of the bullock, and has slaughtered the bullock before YHWH.

Modern Literal Version 2020  ...if the anointed priest will sin so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer for his sin, which he has sinned, a young bull without blemish to Jehovah for a sin-offering. And he will bring the bull to the door of the tent of meeting before Jehovah. And he will lay his hand upon the head of the bull and kill the bull before Jehovah

Niobi Study Bible                   ...if the priest who is anointed shall sin, bringing the sin upon the people, then let him bring for his sin which he has sinned a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering. And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD, and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head and kill the bullock before the LORD.

Revised Mechanical Trans.    If the smeared administrator will fail, it will be guiltiness of the people, and he will bring near, for his failure because he failed, a bull son, a whole cattle to YHWH for the failure, and he will bring the bull to the opening of the appointed tent, to the face of YHWH, and he will support his hand upon the head of the bull, and he will slay the bull to the face of YHWH,...

A Voice in the Wilderness      ...if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt upon the people, then let him present unto Jehovah for his sin which he has sinned a young bull that is whole, as a sin offering. He shall bring the bull to the door of the tent of meeting before Jehovah, lay his hand on the bull's head, and kill the bull before Jehovah.

Young’s Updated LT             “If the priest who is anointed does sin according to the guilt of the people, then he has brought near for his sin which he has sinned a bullock, a son of the herd, a perfect one, to Jehovah, for a sin-offering, and he has brought in the bullock unto the opening of the tent of meeting before Jehovah, and has laid his hand on the head of the bullock, and has slaughtered the bullock before Jehovah....

The gist of this passage:     The priest is to offer up a bull as a sacrifice.

3-4

Translation: If the priest—the anointed [one]—has [been made] sin for the guilt of the people [then the sinner will be atoned for].

if the one committing the infraction is not aware of it, someone still has to deal with that sin. So this falls upon the priest, who has been anointed by God, to handle the guilt of the people.

Clearly committing even an unknown sin is a very big deal.

Translation: He has been made to encounter his sin which he sinned...

Again, the translation is difficult. Furthermore, the words here can refer to sin, sin-bearer or sin-offering.