Preface: Leviticus 5 contains examples of inadvertent sins and the sacrifices which must be offered to cover them.

The Bible Summary of Leviticus 5 (in 140 characters or less): When anyone sins with an oath or becomes unclean they should confess it and bring a sin offering. A guilt offering should be a ram.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Leviticus. This will be the most extensive examination of Leviticus 5, 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 5:

Introduction

         vv.     1–4           Four Areas of Guilt

         vv.     5–13         The Trespass Offering

         vv.    14–19         The Guilt Offering and Restitution

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Leviticus 5 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Leviticus 5 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Leviticus 5

         Introduction         The Prequel of Leviticus 5

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Leviticus 5

         Introduction         The Places of Leviticus 5

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Leviticus 5

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 5

         Introduction         Outlines of Leviticus 5 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 5 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Leviticus 1–5)

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Leviticus 5)

         Introduction 

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         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Leviticus 5 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Leviticus 5

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Leviticus 5

         Summary            Shmoop Summary of Leviticus 5

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Leviticus 5

         Summary 

         Addendum          Swearing (from American English Bible)

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Leviticus 5

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Leviticus 5

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Leviticus 5

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Leviticus 5

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An Introduction to Leviticus 5

I ntroduction: Leviticus 5 appears to center upon dealing with ceremonial uncleanness. The sins committed here are those committed inadvertently. The sacrifices required are listed, but there is much less explanation than found in previous chapters.

There are times in this chapter where I am not sure I fully understood what is being said, or the point being made. However, lucky for us, we are not under the Mosaic Law. We do not read these chapters carefully and then decide, such and such an act made me unclean; I need to offer a sacrifice to God because of it.

I believe that most of the transgressions referred to in this chapter are relatively minor; but any sort of uncleanness, no matter how slight, separates us from God.

Seven times in this chapter, the word for guilt offering or trespass offering is use.

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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Four Areas of Guilt

It appears to me that this extended thought runs for 6 verses, but I did not want to put that many verses together. Therefore, I broke it down to vv. 1–4 and 5–6.

In discussing these verses, I found myself resorting to the use of the 2^nd person, as if you, the reader, are the one who has become unclean through any of these acts. It became too difficult to distinguish between two 3^rd persons, as is found in the text of Leviticus 5.

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 a soul that sins and hears a sound of an oath and he [is] a witness or he has seen or he has known; though he does not make known, and he lifts up his iniquity. Or a soul which touches in all a word unclean or a carcass of an animal unclean or a carcass of a beast unclean or a carcass of swarming [things] unclean; and he has been concealed from him and he [is] unclean and he has been guilty. Or that he touches in an uncleanness of man to all his uncleanness who makes unclean in her; and he has been concealed from him and he has known and he has been guilty. Or a soul that swears to speak rashly in [two] lips, to do evil or to do well, to all that he speaks rashly the man in an oath; and he was concealed from him and he has known and he has been guilty to one from these things.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  If a person sins, and heard an oath [demanding his testimony] [in a case where] he is a witness; [for] he either saw or knew [something relevant], if he does not testify, he will bear [the burden of] his iniquity.

Or, if a person touches anything impure either the carcass of an impure wild animal, or the carcass of an impure animal of pasture, or the carcass of an impure creeping animal; and this [impurity] was concealed from him, he is impure and incurs guilt.

Or, if he touches the impurities of man whatever that impurity may be that causes impurity and this [impurity] was concealed from him; [when] he realizes [he is impure], he incurs guilt.

Or, if a person swears, orally expressing to do harm [that he will do something which is to his detriment] or to do good [that he will do something that is to his benefit]. Regarding all a person will expresses in an oath and [that oath] was concealed from himself, when he realizes [his sin] and he incurs guilt, for any one of these [aforementioned sins]. Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   When a man shall have sinned, and heard the voice of the oath of execration, or have been himself a witness, or shall have seen that cue of the world hath transgressed against the words of an oath, or shall have known that his companion hath sworn or imprecated vainly, if he show it not, he shall bear his sin. Or if a man touch anything, unclean, whether the carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of an unclean reptile, and it be hidden from him, and he, being unclean, shall touch any consecrated thing, he is guilty. Or if he touch the uncleanness of a man, even whatever uncleanness that defileth him, and it be hidden from him, and he touch anything consecrated, after that it is discovered by him, and he knoweth that he is defiled and not clean, he shall be guilty. Or if a man shall swear to make declaration with his lips to do evil or good [JERUSALEM. To do evil or good] upon any matter upon which a man may affirm, whether of the present or the future, that he can make declaration by oath, and he falsify therein, and it be hidden from him, but afterward it be discovered to him and he know that he hath falsified, and he repent not; though he hath become guilty in any one of these, if he shall have (thus) sinned in any one of these four things, but afterwards repent, he shall make confession of the sin by which be hath sinned. I think I have too many verses here.

Updated Douay-Rheims         If any one sin, and hear the voice of one swearing, and is a witness either because he himself has seen, or is privy to it: if he do not utter it, he will bear his iniquity.

Whoever touches any unclean thing, either that which has been killed by a beast, or died of itself, or any other creeping thing: and forgets his uncleanness, he is guilty, and has offended.

And if he touch any thing of the uncleanness of man, according to any uncleanness wherewith he is wont to be defiled: and having forgotten it, come afterwards to know it, he will be guilty of an offence.

The person that swears, and utters with his lips, that he would do either evil or good, and binds the same with an oath, and his word: and having forgotten it afterwards understands his offence,...

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        "'If anyone sins, in that he hears the voice of adjuration, he being a witness, whether he has seen or known, if he does not report it, then he shall bear his iniquity.

"'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.

"'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.

"'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 shall be guilty of one of these.

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     "And when the soul will sin and will hear the voice of an oath and he witnessed or saw or knew, unless he will tell, he will bear his sin. Or the soul that touches anything defiled or a body of an unclean animal or the body of an unclean ox or the body of a defiled creeper and is careless of it, and he is defiled and has sinned. Or if he will touch the defilement of a man with any defilement of which he is defiled in himself and he will disregard it and he knows that he has sinned. Or the soul, when he will swear in an offering of the lips to do evil or to do good in anything that the man has designated in an oath, and he will neglect it, and he knows that he has sinned in one of these things.

Samaritan Pentateuch           And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and [is] a witness, whether he hath seen or known [of it]; if he do not utter [it], then he shall bear his iniquity.

Or if a soul that touch any unclean thing, whether [it be] a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and [if] it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty.

Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness [it be] that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth [of it], then he shall be guilty.

Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with [his] lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever [it be] that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth [of it], then he shall be guilty in one of these.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and he is a witness or has seen or been conscious, if he do not report it, he shall bear his iniquity. 

That soul which shall touch any unclean thing, or carcase, or that which is unclean being taken of beasts, or the dead bodies of abominable reptiles which are unclean, or carcases of unclean cattle, 

or should touch the uncleanness of a man, or whatever kind, which he may touch and be defiled by, and it should have escaped him, but afterwards he should know, —then he shall have transgressed. 

That unrighteous soul, which determines with his lips to do evil or to do good according to whatsoever a man may determine with an oath, and it shall have escaped his notice, and he shall afterwards know it, and so he should sin in some one of these things:...

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And if anyone does wrong by saying nothing when he is put under oath as a witness of something he has seen or had knowledge of, then he will be responsible: 

If anyone becomes unclean through touching unconsciously some unclean thing, such as the dead body of an unclean beast or of unclean cattle or of any unclean animal which goes flat on the earth, he will be responsible: 

Or if he becomes unclean through touching unconsciously any unclean thing of man, whatever it may be, when it is made clear to him he will be responsible: 

Or if anyone, without thought, takes an oath to do evil or to do good, whatever he says without thought, with an oath, having no knowledge of what he is doing; when it becomes clear to him, he will be responsible for any of these things.

Easy English                          Sins for which people must give an offering

A person may know about something that is wrong. He may not speak about it at a public meeting. That person is sinning.

God has said that some animals and insects are not clean. A person may touch a dead animal or an insect like that. If he does, he is doing something wrong. It is a sin even if he did not really want to touch it.

A person may touch something that another person has made bad. If he does, he is doing something wrong. He might not know that it is bad, but he is still doing a wrong thing.

A person is doing a wrong thing if he says any careless promise. The promise might be good or bad. People will tell him that he has not obeyed God's rules. Then he will know that he has sinned.

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  “A person might hear a warning. Or a person might see or hear something that he should tell to other people. If that person does not tell what he saw or heard, then that person is guilty of doing wrong.

Or a person might touch something unclean. [41] It might be the dead body of a tame animal, or it might be the dead body of an unclean animal. That person might not know that he touched those things, but he will still be guilty of doing wrong.

There are many things that come from a person that make a person unclean. A person might touch any of these things from another person, but not know about it. When that person learns that he has touched something unclean, he will be guilty.

Or a person might make a quick promise to do something—it makes no difference if it is bad or good. People make many kinds of quick promises. A person might make such a promise and forget it. [42] When he remembers [43] his promise, then he will be guilty, because he didn’t keep his promise.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Sin offerings are required in the following cases. If you are officially summoned to give evidence in court and do not give information about something you have seen or heard, you must suffer the consequences. 

If you unintentionally touch anything ritually unclean, such as a dead animal, you are unclean and guilty as soon as you realize what you have done. 

If you unintentionally touch anything of human origin that is unclean, whatever it may be, you are guilty as soon as you realize what you have done. 

If you make a careless vow, no matter what it is about, you are guilty as soon as you realize what you have done.

The Message                         “If you sin by not stepping up and offering yourself as a witness to something you’ve heard or seen in cases of wrongdoing, you’ll be held responsible.

“Or if you touch anything ritually unclean, like the carcass of an unclean animal, wild or domestic, or a dead reptile, and you weren’t aware of it at the time, but you’re contaminated and you’re guilty;

“Or if you touch human uncleanness, any sort of ritually contaminating uncleanness, and you’re not aware of it at the time, but later you realize it and you’re guilty;

“Or if you impulsively swear to do something, whether good or bad—some rash oath that just pops out—and you aren’t aware of what you’ve done at the time, but later you come to realize it and you’re guilty in any of these cases...

Names of God Bible               Sins Which Require an Offering for Sin

The Lord continued, “Now, if you are a witness under oath and won’t tell what you saw or what you know, you are sinning and will be punished.

“If you touch anything unclean[a]—the unclean dead body of a wild or tame animal or the body of an unclean, swarming creature—and then ignore what you did, you are unclean and will be guilty.

“If you become unclean by touching human uncleanness of any kind and then ignore it (although you know what you did), you will be guilty.

“If you hastily take a vow about what you will or will not do (as some people do) and then ignore it (although you know what you said), you will be guilty.

NIRV                                      “ ‘Suppose someone has been called as a witness to something they have seen or learned about. Then if they do not tell what they know, they have sinned. And they will be held responsible for it.

“ ‘Or suppose someone touches something not “clean.” It could be the dead bodies of wild animals or of livestock. Or it could be the dead bodies of creatures that move along the ground. Even though those people are not aware that they touched them, they have become “unclean.” And they are guilty. Or suppose they touch something “unclean” that comes from a human being. It could be anything that would make them “unclean.” Suppose they are not aware that they touched it. When they find out about it, they will be guilty. Or suppose someone makes a promise to do something without thinking it through. It does not matter what they promised. It does not matter whether they made the promise without thinking about it carefully. And suppose they are not aware that they did not think it through. When they find out about it, they will be guilty.

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

Casual English Bible             Leviticus 5

How to get forgiven for accidental sins

You’re guilty when you don’t know it

If you defy an order to testify in a legal dispute about what you did or didn’t see, you’re guilty. You’ve sinned, and you’ll suffer the consequences. If you touch something you’re not supposed to touch, such as a dead wild animal, dead livestock, or dead critters that once crawled on the ground, you’ve become ritually unclean [1] even if you don’t realize it. You’re guilty.

If you touch any part of a person that is ritually unclean, [2] you’re unclean even if you don’t realize it. You’re guilty. If you mouth off with a foolish promise to do something you don’t intend to do, whether it’s for good or bad, you’re guilty of sinning even if you didn’t realize it at first. If you come to your senses and realize you did wrong, you’re still guilty.

¹5:2 A person ritually unclean was not supposed to touch another person or go to the worship center because they ritually defiled whatever they touched. Israelites were able to get ritually clean again by following a set of procedures that included bathing, washing their clothes, getting sprinkled with “water of purification” (Numbers 19), and waiting for a stretch of time, often seven days.

²5:3 This refers to bodily fluids such as semen or menstrual discharge (Leviticus 15:16, 25).

Contemporary English V.       If you refuse to testify in court about something you saw or know has happened, you have sinned and can be punished. You are guilty and unfit to worship me, if you accidentally touch the dead body of any kind of unclean animal. You are guilty if you find out that you have accidentally touched any waste that comes from a human body. You are guilty the moment you realize that you have made a hasty promise to do something good or bad.

The Living Bible                     “Anyone refusing to give testimony concerning what he knows about a crime is guilty.

“Anyone touching anything ceremonially unclean—such as the dead body of an animal forbidden for food, wild or domesticated, or the dead body of some forbidden insect—is guilty, even though he wasn’t aware of touching it. Or if he touches human discharge of any kind, he becomes guilty as soon as he realizes that he has touched it.

“If anyone makes a rash vow, whether the vow is good or bad, when he realizes what a foolish vow he has taken, he is guilty.

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    ‘If a person sins by saying nothing when he is told in court to tell what he knows or what he has seen, he will become guilty. If a person touches anything that is unclean, the dead body of a wild animal, or of cattle, or of anything that moves on the earth that is unclean, even without knowing it, then he will be unclean and will be guilty. Or if he touches a human who is unclean for whatever reason, without knowing it, when he learns about it, he will be guilty. If a person without thinking swears he will do something, whether bad or good, any foolish promise a person may swear, when he learns about it, he will be guilty.

New Living Translation           Sins Requiring a Sin Offering

“If you are called to testify about something you have seen or that you know about, it is sinful to refuse to testify, and you will be punished for your sin.

“Or suppose you unknowingly touch something that is ceremonially unclean, such as the carcass of an unclean animal. When you realize what you have done, you must admit your defilement and your guilt. This is true whether it is a wild animal, a domestic animal, or an animal that scurries along the ground.

“Or suppose you unknowingly touch something that makes a person unclean. When you realize what you have done, you must admit your guilt.

“Or suppose you make a foolish vow of any kind, whether its purpose is for good or for bad. When you realize its foolishness, you must admit your guilt..

Unfolding Bible (simplified)    If a judge orders any of you to tell in court something that you have seen or something that you heard someone say, but if you refuse to say what you know to be true, you must pay a penalty for refusing to tell what you know.  

If you accidentally touch something which God considers impure such as the carcass of a wild animal or the carcass of your animals that has died, or of an animal that crawls along the ground, you must pay a penalty.  

If you touch anything that has made anyone else unacceptable to God, even if you did not intend to touch it, when you realize what you have done, you must pay a penalty.  

If you carelessly make a solemn promise to do something that is either good or that is bad, when you realize that you cannot do it, you must pay a penalty.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          ‘And if a person sins by witnessing, seeing, or knowing of someone that has sworn an oath [of vengeance] against another and fails to report it, he is guilty of a sin.

And whoever touches anything that is dirty, such as the filth of animals, or dead things [such as] a dead unclean animal or [the rotting] body of cattle, or whoever touches any kind of filth from a man that would make him unclean – even if he doesn’t realize it, but comes to know about it later – he has sinned.

Or if some unrighteous person has decided to use his lips to swear an oath to do evil or good – even if a person doesn’t realize it, but comes to know of it [later] – he has sinned by doing this.

The two notes on soul and righteousness are extensive, so these are links to the AEB website. Swearing an oath is a shorter note and, therefore, placed in the Addendum.

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           Unintentional sin

If you sin:

by not providing information after hearing a public solemn pledge even though you are a witness, knowing something, or having seen something so that you become liable to punishment;

or by touching some unclean thing—the dead body of an unclean wild animal, unclean livestock, or unclean swarming creature—but the fact goes unknown so that you become unclean and guilty of sin;

or by touching human uncleanness—any uncleanness that makes one unclean—and the fact goes unknown, but you later learn of it and become guilty of sin;

or by carelessly swearing to do something, whether bad or good—whatever one might swear carelessly—and the fact goes unknown, but you later learn of it and become guilty of sin concerning one of these things—...

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Here is a sin men commit; a man hears the call that puts him under oath, and can bear witness of what he has seen or known, yet witness he bears none; he must pay the penalty.[1]

A man may have touched what has been killed by a wild beast or has fallen dead, or the carcase of a reptile,[2] or some other unclean thing, unaware of his defilement at the time; yet he has incurred guilt by the fault. Or he has touched some defilement of the human body; there are many such; he may be unaware of it till afterwards, but he has incurred guilt. Or he has taken an oath, pronounced with the lips, to do this or that;[3] he has given his pledged word, and then forgotten that he gave it, but remembers it afterwards.

[1] If the text has been correctly preserved, it looks as if this verse must belong to some other context. The offence it contemplates is evidently deliberate, like those at the beginning of chapter 6, whereas the faults mentioned in 5.2-4 are the results of inadvertence, and classed as such (cf. 4.27 above and 5.15 below).

[2] ‘Or the carcase of a reptile’; literally, in the Latin version, ‘or any other reptile’. In the Hebrew text, it is a question of touching the carcase of any unclean beast or reptile.

Translation for Translators     Yahweh also said to tell the people, “If a judge orders any of you to tell in court something that you have seen or something that you heard someone say, if you refuse to say what you know is true, you must ◂pay a penalty/be punished► [MTY] for refusing to tell what you know.

If you accidentally touch something which God considers impure [DOU], such as the carcass of a wild animal or the carcass of a bull or cow, or of an animal that scurries across the ground, you must ◂pay a penalty/be punished►.

If you touch any human feces, even if you do not intend to do that, when you realize what you have done, you must ◂pay a penalty/be punished►.

If you carelessly make a solemn promise to do something that is good or that is bad, when you realize what you have done, you must ◂pay a penalty/be punished►.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Berean Study Bible                 If someone sins by failing to testify when he hears a public charge about something he has witnessed, whether he has seen it or learned of it, he shall bear the iniquity. 

Or if a person touches anything unclean—whether the carcass of any unclean wild animal or livestock or crawling creature—even if he is unaware of it, he is unclean and guilty. 

Or if he touches human uncleanness—anything by which one becomes unclean—even if he is unaware of it, when he realizes it, he is guilty. 

Or if someone swears thoughtlessly with his lips to do anything good or evil—in whatever matter a man may rashly pronounce an oath—even if he is unaware of it, when he later realizes it, he will be guilty.

Christian Standard Bible        Cases Requiring Sin Offerings

“When someone sins in any of these ways:

If he has seen, heard, or known about something he has witnessed, and did not respond to a public call to testify, he will bear his iniquity.

Or if someone touches anything unclean—a carcass of an unclean wild animal, or unclean livestock, or an unclean swarming creature—without being aware of it, he is unclean and incurs guilt.

Or if he touches human uncleanness—any uncleanness by which one can become defiled—without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt.

Or if someone swears rashly to do what is good or evil—concerning anything a person may speak rashly in an oath—without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt in such an instance.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                The Law of Expiation for Perjury.

"When a person who is a witness sins when he has taken the declaration of an oath, about an event he saw, or knew, if he does not relate it, he shall bear his crime.

Or a person who has touched anything unclean, or a corpse that is unclean; or carcase of an unclean beast; or an unclean reptile; and it was unknown to him; he is unclean and guilty;

or if he touches uncleanness of blood, or any uncleanness that may defile him, and he did not know it, yet he is guilty;

or a person listening to a libel injurious to his neighbour, or who delights in anything which injures the man by being reported, and hides it, when he knew it, then he is guilty by it;...

International Standard V        Laws of Public Testimony

“If someone sins because he has failed to testify after receiving notice [Lit. after having heard] to testify as a witness regarding what he has observed or learned, he is to be held responsible.” [Lit. guilty]

Offerings for Uncleanness

“When a person has touched a ceremonially unclean thing inadvertently, [Lit. thing and it was hidden from him; and so throughout the chapter] such as the carcass of an unclean animal, or some unclean creeping thing, he will be unclean and guilty nevertheless.

“When he inadvertently touches the uncleanness of a human being, whatever his uncleanness that made him unclean may be, when he himself comes to know about it, he will be guilty.

When a person has sworn inadvertently by what he has said, whether for evil or good, whatever it was that the person spoke, when he comes to understand what he said, he will incur guilt by one of these things.

Urim-Thummim Version         And if a person sins by remaining silent when he is adjured to give evidence as a witness, whether he has seen or known the thing, then he will bear his depravity. Or if a person touch any unclean thing, whether its a carcass of an unclean animal or a carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and if it is concealed from him then he will be unclean and guilty. Or if he touches the uncleanness of man (whatever filthiness it is that a man will be defiled by) and it is concealed from him, yet when he learns of it he will then be guilty. Or when a person adjures, speaking wrongfully with the lips to do evil, or to do good, even anything that man utters wrongfully with an oath, and it has been concealed from him, when he has known the matter then he has been guilty of one of these.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And a soul which will sin, and heard the cursed voice, and he is a witness, or he has seen, or known, if he will not say so, and he carried his wrong.

Or a soul which touches of anything impure, or of the corpse of an impure animal or of the corpse of an impure beast, or of the corpse of an impure vermin, and ignores it, and he is impure and guilty.

Or if he will touch in the impurity of man, in all his impurity which he will putrify in, and ignores it, and he knows and is guilty.

Or a soul which swears to enunciate the evil with his lips, or to improve, to all that man enunciates in oath, and ignores, and he knew and is guilty, to one of these.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Some cases requiring sacrifice for sin

Sacrifice for sin is required in the following cases:

A man should have come forward to give evidence in court when officially summoned; but he did not speak and give information about something he had seen or heard; and so he is guilty.

Or else he accidentally touches some thing unclean, whatever it may be —the dead body of an unclean animal, wild or tame; or the dead body of one of the unclean beings that swarm—and so without realizing it, he becomes unclean, and guilty.

Or else he accidentally touches some human uncleanness, whatever it may be, and contact with it makes him unclean; so he becomes guilty as soon as he realizes what he has done.

                                                        Or else a man makes a careless vow to do either evil or good in any of those matters on which a man may swear unthinkingly; he does not notice it, then, but when he realizes it later, he becomes guilty. Pro 29:24 11—16

The Heritage Bible                          And if a soul sins, and hears the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known by seeing it, if he does not declare it, then he shall bear his iniquity.

Or if a soul touch anything unclean, or the carcass of an unclean living thing, or a carcass of unclean animal, or the carcass of unclean swarming things, and if it is hidden from him, he also shall be unclean, and guilty.

Or if he touches the uncleanness of man, whatever uncleanness by which he is unclean, and it is hidden from him, when he knows by seeing, then he is guilty.

Or if a soul swears, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatever it is that a man pronounces with an oath, and it is hidden from him, when he knows by seeing, then he is guilty in one of these.

New American Bible(2011)    Special Cases for Purification Offerings.*

If a person, either having seen or come to know something, does wrong by refusing as a witness under oath to give information,^a that individual shall bear the penalty; or if someone, without being aware of it, touches any unclean thing, such as the carcass of an unclean wild animal, or an unclean domestic animal, or an unclean swarming creature,* and thus is unclean and guilty;^b or if someone, without being aware of it, touches some human uncleanness,^c whatever kind of uncleanness this may be, and then subsequently becomes aware of guilt; or if someone, without being aware of it, rashly utters an oath with bad or good intent,^d whatever kind of oath this may be, and then subsequently becomes aware of guilt in regard to any of these matters— ...

* [5:1–13] This differs from the prescriptions for purification offerings in chap. 4 by listing four specific wrongs for which a purification offering is brought and allowing the substitution of birds and grain offerings in the case of poverty.

* [5:2] Swarming creature: a rather imprecise categorization that includes various small creatures in the seas, such as fish that go about in large groups or swarms (Gn 1:20; Lv 11:10); or, similarly, various winged insects that mass in the skies (Lv 11:20; Dt 14:19); and, finally, various small creatures that move in swarms on land, whether crawlers, quadrupeds, or of the multilegged variety (Lv 11:41–42). According to 11:29–30, even various rodents and lizards can be included in this category.

a. [5:1] Jgs 17:2–3; Prv 29:24.

b. [5:2] Lv 11:1–45; 15:31; 17:15–16.

c. [5:3] Lv 12:4; 13:35–36; 15:2–12, 19–27; Nm 19:14–22.

d. [5:4] Nm 30:3; Jgs 11:30–36; 1 Sm 14:24–30; Mk 6:23–26; Acts 23:12.

The Catholic Bible                  Other Ways to Atone. “If anyone sins in that he heard a call to testify and he is a witness, having seen or heard of the matter, and he does not make it known, then he shall bear his guilt. Or if anyone touches any unclean thing, whether it be the carcass of an unclean animal or the carcass of unclean cattle or the carcass of any unclean creeping thing, even if he did not know it, he shall be unclean and be held guilty. Or if he touches human uncleanness,^[a] of whatever type of uncleanness one might touch and become unclean, and he did not know it, when he comes to know of it he shall be guilty. Or if someone rashly lets an oath slip from his lips, to do evil or to do good, in anything by which a person who swears a rash oath, and he does not realize it, when he comes to know it, he shall be guilty for any one of these things.

[a] Human uncleanness: a large part of Israelite ritual is based on the notions of pure and impure that affected the fitness of the person to enter the sanctuary for worship.

They are cultic rather than ethical determinations. In the New Testament, Jesus’ interpretation of cleanliness went beyond the rigidity imposed by the Pharisees on exterior performance to address the person’s interior disposition.

New Jerusalem Bible             ' "If someone sins in any of these following cases: "He should have come forward to give evidence when he heard the formal adjuration, having seen the incident or known the facts; but he has not spoken out, and so bears the consequences of his guilt; "or someone touches something unclean, whatever it may be -- the dead body of an unclean animal, wild or tame, or of one of the unclean reptiles -- and without realising it becomes unclean, he becomes answerable for it; "or he touches some human uncleanness, whatever it may be, contact with which makes him unclean; he does not notice it, then, realising it later, he becomes answerable for it; "or someone lets slip an oath to do something either evil or good, in any of those matters on which someone may let slip an oath; he does not notice it, then, realising it later, he becomes answerable for it;...

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) When any of you sin in that you have heard a public adjuration to testify and—though able to testify as one who has seen or learned of the matter—do not speak up, you are subject to punishment. Or when any of you touch any unclean thing—whether the carcass of an unclean beast or the carcass of unclean livestock or the carcass of an unclean swarming thing—and are unaware of it, you have become unclean, and are guilty. Or when you touch human uncleanness—any uncleanness by which one can become unclean—and are unaware of it, when you come to know it, you shall be guilty. Or when any of you utter aloud a rash oath for a bad or a good purpose, whatever people utter in an oath, and are unaware of it, when you come to know it, you shall in any of these be guilty.

Revised English Bible–1989   IF a person sins in that he hears a solemn adjuration to give evidence as a witness to something he has seen or heard, but does not declare what he knows, he must bear the consequences; or if a person touches anything ritually unclean, such as the dead body of an unclean animal, whether wild or domestic, or of an unclean swarming creature, and it is unremembered by him, and then being unclean he realizes his guilt; or if he touches any human uncleanness of whatever kind, and it is unremembered by him, and becoming aware of it he realizes his guilt; or if a person utters an oath to bring about evil or good, in any matter in which such a person may swear a rash oath, and it is unremembered by him, and becoming aware of it he realizes his guilt in such cases:...

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           “‘If a person who is a witness, sworn to testify, sins by refusing to tell what he has seen or heard about the matter, he must bear the consequences. If a person touches something unclean, whether the carcass of an unclean wild animal, a domestic animal or a reptile, he is guilty, even though he may not be aware that he is unclean. If he touches some human uncleanness, no matter what the source of his uncleanness is, and is unaware of it, then, when he learns of it, he is guilty. If someone allows to slip from his mouth an oath to do evil or to do good, and he doesn’t remember that he clearly spoke this oath, then, no matter what it was about, when he learns of it, he is guilty.

Kaplan Translation                 [17. The Adjustable Guilt Offering]

[This is the law] if a person sins [in any of the following ways]: If he is bound by an oath [to give evidence in court], where he was a witness who saw or knew [something], and he does not testify, he must bear his guilt.

[The same is true] if a person touches anything ritually unclean, whether it is any dead non-kosher animal, wild or domestic, or any dead unclean creeping animal, and then commits a violation while forgetting that he was unclean. Similarly, if he comes in contact with any ritual uncleanliness stemming from a human being, which renders him unclean, and then forgets about it, he may later discover that he has committed a violation.

[This is also true] if a person makes a verbal oath to do good or bad, no matter what is expressed in the oath, and then forgets about it. In any of these cases, the person is considered guilty as soon as he realizes what he has done. The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Leviticus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions. [Kukis: At one time, there was an excellent version of the Kaplan translation online. This is no longer the case. I have found an okay one, but it appears to lack the notes.]

5:1 bound. Or, “accepts an oath;” literally “hears a dread oath” (see Sifra; Shevuoth 30a; Yad, Shevuoth 1:12).

— oath. Alah in Hebrew, a dread oath. See Genesis 24:41.

5:2 creeping animal. Shtretz in Hebrew. See below, 11:29, 30.

commits a violation. By eating anything sanctified or going Into a sanctified area (Rashi; Yad, Shegagoth 10:5).

5:4 verbal . . . (Rashi; Radak, Sherashim). Bata in Hebrew.

— no matter. . . This can also include an oath about something that already happened { Shevuoth 26a; Rashi).

— forgets about it. And then violates the oath ( Yad , Shevuoth 3:8). Specifically, “he is not aware that it incurs such a penalty” ( Shevuoth 26a; Yad, Shevuoth 3:7).

The Scriptures–2009              ‘And when a being sins in that he has heard the voice of swearing, and is a witness, or has seen, or has known, but does not reveal it, he shall bear his crookedness. 

‘Or when a being touches any unclean matter, or the carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping creatures, and it has been hidden from him, he is unclean and guilty. 

‘Or when he touches uncleanness of man, any of his uncleanness by which he is unclean, and it has been hidden from him, when he shall know it, then he shall be guilty. 

‘Or when a being swears, speaking rashly with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man swears rashly with an oath, and it has been hidden from him, when he shall know it, then he shall be guilty of one of these.

Tree of Life Version                “If a soul sins—after hearing a charge of an oath, and he is a witness whether he has seen or otherwise known—if he fails to report it, then he will bear his guilt. 

“Or if a person 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, though it is hidden from him, still he is unclean and he will be guilty. 

“Or if he touches some human uncleanness, whatever his filth is by which he is unclean, though it is hidden from him, when he knows of it, then he will be guilty. 

“Or if a person swears rashly with his lips to do evil or to do good—about anything that one might utter rashly by an oath, though it is hidden from him, when he realizes it, then he will be guilty of one of these.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            AND IF A SOUL SIN IN HEARING THE VOICE OF A CONFESSION, OR HE IS A WITNESS OR HAS SEEN OR KNEW [of the matter], IF HE DOES NOT TESTIFY OF IT, HE SHALL BEAR HIS INIQUITY. †(Obligation to report crimes.)

THAT SOUL WHICH SHALL TOUCH ANY UNCLEAN THING, OR CARCASS OR THAT WHICH IS UNCLEAN BEING TAKEN OF BEASTS, OR THE DEAD BODIES OF ABOMINABLE REPTILES WHICH ARE UNCLEAN, OR CARCASSES OF UNCLEAN CATTLE,

OR SHOULD TOUCH THE UNCLEANNESS OF A MAN, OR WHATEVER KIND, WHICH HE MAY TOUCH AND BE DEFILED BY, AND IT SHOULD HAVE ESCAPED HIM, BUT AFTERWARDS HE SHOULD KNOW, THEN HE SHALL HAVE TRANSGRESSED.

THAT UNRIGHTEOUS SOUL, WHICH DETERMINES WITH HIS LIPS TO DO EVIL OR TO DO GOOD ACCORDING TO WHATSOEVER A MAN MAY DETERMINE WITH AN OATH, AND IT SHALL HAVE ESCAPED HIS NOTICE, AND HE SHALL AFTERWARDS KNOW IT, AND SO HE SHOULD SIN IN SOME ONE OF THESE THINGS:,,.

Awful Scroll Bible                   A breather was to be made clean from, even was he to hear the frivolity of he cursing, and he is a witness, whether he is to have perceived it or is to have known of it - was he to report it? - he is to have bore up his iniquity.

Was a breather to touch that unclean, concerning the carcass of an unclean living thing, the carcass of an unclean dumb beast, or the carcass of an unclean swarmer, and it is to have been hidden that he is unclean - even is he to have been guilty? -

even was he to touch an unclean of mankind, an uncleanness that was to defile him, and it is to have been hidden from him? - When he is to come to know it, he is to have become guilty.

Was a breather to swear, being hasty with his lips, to fracture or to do well, even was he of mankind to be hasty in an oath, and it is to have been hidden from him, when he is to have come to know it, he is to have become guilty.

Concordant Literal Version    When a soul sins in that he heard the public voice of imprecation to testify, and he was a witness, whether he saw it or knew about it, if he should not profess then he will bear his depravity;"

or when a soul touches any unclean thing, whether the carcass of an unclean animal or the carcass of an unclean domestic beast or the carcass of an unclean swarmer, even if it is obscured from him he has become unclean and has incurred guilt;"

or when he touches human uncleanness, any of its uncleanness by which he would be unclean, even if it is obscured from him, when he himself realizes it, then he is guilty;"

or when a soul swears, talking rashly with the lips to do evil or to do good as to anything of which a human talks rashly in an oath, even if it is obscured from him, when he himself realizes it, then he is guilty as to any one of these.

exeGeses companion Bible   And when another soul sins

- and he hears or witnesses the voice of oathing

- if he sees or knows thereof - and if he tells not

he bears his perversity.

Or if a soul touches any word of foulness,

or a carcase of a live being of foulness,

or a carcase of animals of foulness,

or a carcase of teemers of foulness

- and if it be concealed from him;

he also fouls and guilts.

Or if he touches human foulness,

whatever foulness it be that he be fouled thereby

and it is concealed from him

- when he knows thereof, he guilts.

Or if a soul oath,

pronouncing with his lips to vilify or to well-please

- whatever a human pronounces with an oath

and it is concealed from him

- when he knows thereof, he guilts in one of these.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And if a nefesh sin, after he hears a public adjuration to give testimony, and he is an ed (witness), whether he hath seen or known of it; if he does not utter it, then he shall bear his avon (iniquity).

Or if a nefesh touch anything tamei (unclean), whether it be a nivlat chayyah teme'ah (carcass of an unclean beast), or a nivlat behemah teme'ah (carcass of unclean livestock), or the nivlat sheretz tamei (carcass of unclean creeping things), and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be tamei, and guilty.

Or if he touch the tumat adam (uncleanness of man), whatsoever tumah it be that a man shall be made unclean therewith, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.

Or if a nefesh swear, rashly pronouncing with his lips to do harah, or to do hatov, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with a shevuah (oath), and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                The Law of Guilt Offerings

‘If anyone sins after he hears a ^[a]public adjuration (solemn command to testify) when he is a witness, whether he has seen or [otherwise] known [something]—if he fails to report it, then he will bear his guilt and be held responsible. Or if someone touches any [ceremonially] unclean thing—whether the carcass of an unclean wild animal or the carcass of an unclean domestic animal or the carcass of unclean creeping things—even if he is unaware of it, he has become unclean, and he will be guilty. Or if he touches human uncleanness—whatever kind it may be—and he becomes unclean, but he is unaware of it, when he recognizes it, he will be guilty. Or if anyone swears [an oath] thoughtlessly or impulsively ^[b]aloud that he will do either evil or good, in whatever manner a person may speak thoughtlessly or impulsively with an oath, but he is unaware of it, when he recognizes it, he will be guilty in one of these.

[a] Lit voice of an oath. This refers to a public announcement calling for witnesses to testify.

[b] Lit with his lips

The Expanded Bible              Special Types of Accidental Sins

“‘If a person ·is ordered to tell in court [^L hears a public oath and he has been a witness of] what he has seen or what he knows and he does not ·tell the court [^L make it known], he is guilty of sin.

“‘Or someone might touch something unclean, such as the dead body of an unclean wild animal or an unclean farm animal or an unclean crawling animal [11:24–28, 32–40]. Even if he does not know that he touched it, he will still be unclean and guilty of sin.

“‘Someone might touch human uncleanness—anything that makes someone unclean—and not know it. But when he learns about it, he will be guilty.

“‘Or someone might make a promise before the Lord ·without thinking [rashly]. It might be a [rash] promise to do something bad or something good; it might be about anything. Even if he forgets about it, when he remembers, he will be guilty [Deuteronomy 23:22–23; Eccl. 5:4].

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-13

Special Cases of Sin-offerings.

And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity. This is the first of several special cases in which a sin-offering was commanded. In the Jewish forms of trial the judge adjured those present, those summoned for that purpose, to tell the whole truth concerning the case, as they knew it, whether their knowledge was that of eye-witnesses or had been derived from other reliable sources. To feign ignorance at such a time and not to perform one's duty as required of witnesses made a person guilty before God, and unless this guilt was removed, the person in question had to suffer the consequences. Among these are mentioned sickness, childlessness, and even total extirpation of the family.

Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcass of an unclean beast, of some wild animal, or a carcass of unclean cattle, of domestic animals, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, of reptiles, and if it be hidden from him, if he is not aware of it at the time, he also shall be unclean and guilty.

Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, anything which caused a man to be ceremonially unclean, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, that is, when he finds out about the defilement and yet omits the simple forms of purification which were provided in such cases, Leviticus 11:24-40; Leviticus 15:5-8; Numbers 19:22, then he shall be guilty, atonement should be made for the sin which he committed, for the guilt which he heaped upon himself.

Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; this is said of oaths as they are often made in trivial, foolish, unimportant matters, in heedlessness, recklessness, or passion, the person afterward forgetting or neglecting to keep the solemn promises and lightly disregarding the fact that such playing with sacred matters is sinful; when he knoweth of it, when it is brought to his attention and he does nothing to remove the sin, then he shall be guilty in one of these, in one of the three cases here enumerated.

Lexham English Bible            More Laws Regarding Sin Offerings

“ ‘When a person [Or “a soul”] sins in that [Or “and”] he hears the utterance of a curse and he is a witness or he sees or he knows, if he does not make it known, then [Or “and”] he shall bear his guilt.

Or if a person [Or “a soul”] touches anything unclean, whether [Literally “or”] an unclean wild [Implied by the following phrase specifying domestic animals] animal’s dead body or an unclean domestic animal’s dead body or an unclean swarmer’s dead body, but [Or “and”] he is unaware of it, [Literally “it is concealed from him”] he is unclean and he is guilty.

Or when he touches human uncleanness, namely [Literally “for” or “to” (see HALOT 510)] any uncleanness of his by which he might become unclean, but [Or “and”] he is unaware of it, [Literally “it is concealed from him”] and he himself finds out, then [Or “and”] he will be guilty.

Or when a person [Or “a soul”] swears, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips, to do evil or to do good with regard to [Literally “for” or “to” (see HALOT 510)] anything that the person [Literally “the man”] in a sworn oath speaks thoughtlessly, but [Or “and”] he is unaware of it, [Literally “it is concealed from him”] he will be guilty in any of [Literally “for one of”] these.

Syndein/Thieme                      {Leviticus Chapters 5 and 6 - Trespass Offering - Rebound offering with Emphasis on the Known Sins}

{Verses 1-4: Categories of Trespass (known sins)}

"And if a soul {nephesh} sin {chata'} {where is the old sin nature? In the soul! When we sin, it is the soul that sins. And only the soul is ever saved}, and 'hear, listen and obey' {shama`} the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity."

{First Category of Trespass - Touching Spiritually Unclean Things}

"Or if a soul touches/ 'has a contact leading to an association with' {naga`} any unclean thing {see Leviticus 11, 13 and 15 for what these are}, whether it be a carcass of an unclean beast, or a carcass of unclean cattle, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty."

{Second and Third Categories of Trespass - Response and Reaction types}

"Or if he touch the uncleanness of man {reference to the sins of mankind becoming your sins by association response type - you are influenced to sin because your peers are doing it reaction type - someone harms you and you react - hatred, vengeance, etc.}, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knows of it {known sins}, then he shall be guilty."

{Fourth Category of Trespass - the Sins of the Tongue}

"Or if a soul swears/takes a solemn oath' {shaba`} {comes from the word for 'seven' the perfect number - it means to take a solemn oath} , pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good {means it does not matter the object of oath - if he breaks it}, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knows of it {known sins}, then he shall be guilty in one of these."

The Voice                               Eternal One: When anyone sins by hearing a public call to testify about a matter he has seen or knows something about, yet he does not speak up, then he is considered guilty and must be punished. If anyone has physical contact with some impure thing such as the carcass of a ritually unclean wild animal, domestic animal, or even an insect—even if he is unaware of the incident—he has become ritually unclean and must accept the consequences. If anyone has physical contact with some kind of human impurity, regardless of the form of impurity it is—even if he was unaware of it at the time—once he realizes it, he must accept the consequences. If anyone speaks a careless vow to do something bad or something good or any careless vow for that matter—even if he was unaware of it at the time—once he realizes what he has done, he must accept the consequences.

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           If a person sins, whereby he accepts an oath, and he is a witness [to some matter] by seeing or knowing [it], yet he does not testify, he shall bear his transgression;...

...Or if a person touches anything unclean, whether it is the carcass of an unclean wild animal, or the carcass of an unclean domestic animal, or the carcass of an unclean creeping animal, and it was hidden from him, he incurs guilt.

Or if he touches the uncleanness of a human, with any uncleanness through which he may become defiled, and it is hidden from him and [later] he knows, he has incurred guilt;...

...Or if a person swears, expressing with [his] lips to do harm or to do good, whatever a man may express in an oath, and it is hidden from him and [later] he knows, he is guilty in any one of these cases.

NET Bible®                             Additional Sin Offering Regulations

“‘When a person sins¹ in that he hears a public curse against one who fails to testify² and he is a witness (he either saw or knew what had happened³) and he does not make it known,⁴ then he will bear his punishment for iniquity.⁵ Or when there is⁶ a person who touches anything ceremonially⁷ unclean, whether the carcass of an unclean wild animal, or the carcass of an unclean domesticated animal, or the carcass of an unclean creeping thing, even if he did not realize it,⁸ but he himself has become unclean and is guilty;⁹ or when he touches human uncleanness with regard to anything by which he can become unclean,¹⁰ even if he did not realize it, but he himself has later come to know it and is guilty; or when a person swears an oath, speaking thoughtlessly¹¹ with his lips, whether to do evil or to do good, with regard to anything which the individual might speak thoughtlessly in an oath, even if he did not realize it, but he himself has later come to know it and is guilty with regard to one of these oaths^{12 —}...

^1tn Heb “And a person when he sins.” Most English versions translate this as the protasis of a conditional clause: “if a person sins” (NASB, NIV).

^sn The same expression occurs in Lev 4:2 where it introduces sins done “by straying unintentionally from any of the commandments of the Lord which must not be done” (see the notes there). Lev 5:1-13 is an additional section of sin offering regulations directed at violations other than those referred to by this expression in Lev 4:2 (see esp. 5:1-6), and expanding on the offering regulations for the common person in Lev 4:27-35 with concessions to the poor common person (5:7-13).

^2tn The words “against one who fails to testify” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied to make sense of the remark about the “curse” (“imprecation” or “oath”; cf. ASV “adjuration”; NIV “public charge”) for the modern reader. For the interpretation of this verse reflected in the present translation see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:292-97.

^3tn The words “what had happened” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

^4tn Heb “and hears a voice of curse, and he is a witness or he saw or he knew, if he does not declare.”

^5tn Heb “and he shall bear his iniquity.” The rendering “bear the punishment (for the iniquity)” reflects the use of the word “iniquity” to refer to the punishment for iniquity (cf. NRSV, NLT “subject to punishment”). It is sometimes referred to as the consequential use of the term (cf. Lev 5:17; 7:18; 10:17; etc.).

^6tc The insertion of the words “when there is” is a reflection of the few Hebrew mss, Smr, and LXX that have כִּי (ki, “when, if”; cf. vv. 3 and esp. 4) rather than the MT’s אֲשֶר (’asher, “who”). Many English versions render this as a conditional clause (“if”).

^7tn The word “ceremonially” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that the uncleanness involved is ritual or ceremonial in nature.

^8tn Heb “and it is hidden from him,” meaning that the person who contracted the ceremonial uncleanness was not aware at the time what had happened, but later found out that he had become ceremonially unclean. This same phrase occurs again in both vv. 3 and 4.

^9sn Lev 5:2-3 are parallel laws of uncleanness (contracted from animals and people, respectively), and both seem to assume that the contraction of uncleanness was originally unknown to the person (vv. 2 and 3) but became known to him or her at a later time (v. 3; i.e., “has come to know” in v. 3 is to be assumed for v. 2 as well). Uncleanness itself did not make a person “guilty” unless he or she failed to handle it according to the normal purification regulations (see, e.g., “wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening,” Lev 15:5 NIV; cf. Lev 11:39-40; 15:5-12, 16-24; Num 19, etc.). The problem here in Lev 5:2-3 is that, because the person had not been aware of his or her uncleanness, he or she had incurred guilt for not carrying out these regular procedures, and it would now be too late for that. Thus, the unclean person needs to bring a sin offering to atone for the contamination caused by his or her neglect of the purity regulations.

^10tn Heb “or if he touches uncleanness of mankind to any of his uncleanness which he becomes unclean in it.”

^11tn Heb “to speak thoughtlessly”; cf. NAB “rashly utters an oath.”

^12tn Heb “and is guilty to one from these,” probably referring here to any of “these” things about which one might swear a thoughtless oath (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 45), with the word “oath” supplied in the translation for clarity. Another possibility is that “to one from these” is a dittography from v. 5 (cf. the note on v. 5a), and that v. 4 ends with “and is guilty” like vv. 2 and 3 (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:300).

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. ≤||Any person||, moreover, whensoever he shall sin in that when he heareth a voice of swearing, ||he himself|| being a witness? either seeing or knowing,-if he do not tell? and so hath to bear his iniquity:-

Or ||any person|| who toucheth anything unclean? whether the carcase of an unclean wild-beast, or the carcase of an unclean tame-beast, or the carcase of an unclean creeping thing,-and it is hidden from him, ||he himself|| being unclean ^e and he becometh aware of his guilt:-

Or whensoever one shall touch the uncleanness of man, as regardeth any uncleanness of his? wherewith one may become unclean,-and it be hidden from him, and then ||he himself|| getting to know it becometh aware of his guilt:-

Or ||any person|| whensoever he shall swear speaking unadvisedly with the lips? to harm or to help, as regardeth anything wherein the son of earth may speak unadvisedly by way of oath and it be hidden from him,-and then ||he himself|| getting to know it, be cometh aware of his guilt as regardeth any one of these things.≥.

^e Gt.: "getting to know it," as in ver. 3.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Charles Thomson OT            And when any person shall sin inadvertently; now should one be adjured and being a witness hath either seen or known, if he do not tell, he will contract that sin; or if any person touch any unclean thing, either a corpse, or the unclean prey of wild beasts, or the carcases of unclean abominations, or the carcases of unclean beasts, or shall touch any impurity of man; any of his impurities by the touching of which one would be defiled, and it escaped his notice and he hath afterwards come to the knowledge of it; or if a person be a transgressor, either pronouncing with his lips to do evil; or to do good according to all that the man might pronounce with an oath and it hath escaped his notice; when he hath come to the knowledge of his having inadvertently sinned in any of these cases,...

Context Group Version          And if any one acts disgracefully, in that he hears the voice of adjuration, he being a witness, whether he has seen or known, if he does not utter [it], then he shall carry his iniquity. Or if any one touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of unclean cattle, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and it was hidden from him, he became unclean, and he shall be declared guilty. Or if he touches the uncleanness of man, whatever his uncleanness is with which he is unclean, and it is hid from him; when he knows of it, then he shall be declared guilty. Or if any one swears rashly with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatever man utters rashly with an oath, and it is hid from him; when he knows of it, then he shall be declared guilty in one of these [things].

English Standard Version      "If anyone sins in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity; or if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean wild animal or a carcass of unclean livestock or a carcass of unclean swarming things, and it is hidden from him and he has become unclean, and he realizes his guilt; or if he touches human uncleanness, of whatever sort the uncleanness may be with which one becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and realizes his guilt; or if anyone utters with his lips a rash oath to do evil or to do good, any sort of rash oath that people swear, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and he realizes his guilt in any of these;...

Legacy Standard Bible           ‘Now if a person sins after he hears a public oath [Lit voice of an oath] to testify when he is a witness, whether he has seen or otherwise known, if he does not tell it, then he will bear his guilt [Or iniquity]. Or a person who touches any unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean beast or the carcass of unclean cattle or a carcass of unclean swarming things—though it is hidden from him, yet he is unclean—will be guilty. Or if he touches human uncleanness, of whatever sort his uncleanness may be with which he becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, and then he comes to know it, he will be guilty. Or if a person swears thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, in whatever matter a man may speak thoughtlessly with a sworn oath, and it is hidden from him, and then he comes to know it, he will be guilty in one of these.

Literal Standard Version        “And when a person sins, and has heard the voice of an oath, and he [is] witness, or has seen, or has known—if he does not declare [it], then he has borne his iniquity. Or when a person comes against anything unclean, or against a carcass of an unclean beast, or against a carcass of unclean livestock, or against a carcass of an unclean teeming creature, and it has been hidden from him, then he [is] unclean and guilty; or when he comes against [the] uncleanness of man, even any of his uncleanness whereby he is unclean, and it has been hidden from him, and he has known, then he has been guilty. Or when a person swears, speaking wrongfully with the lips to do evil, or to do good, even anything which man speaks wrongfully with an oath, and it has been hid from him—when he has known then he has been guilty of one of these;...

Modern Literal Version 2020  And if a soul sins, in that he hears the voice of an oath, he being a witness, whether he has seen or known, if he does not testify, then he will bear his iniquity. Or if a soul touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of unclean cattle, or the carcass of unclean creeping things and it is hidden from him and he is unclean, then he will be guilty. Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatever his uncleanness be with which he is unclean and it is hid from him, when he knows of it, then he will be guilty. Or if a soul swears rashly with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatever it is that a man will utter rashly with an oath and it is hid from him, when he realizes it, then he will be guilty in one of these.

New European Version          The Sacrifices for Sins of Ignorance

‘If anyone sins, in that he hears the a legal call to testify, he being a witness, whether he has seen or known, if he doesn’t speak, then he shall bear his iniquity. 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. 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. 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 shall be guilty of one of these.

New King James Version       The Trespass Offering

‘If a person sins in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of the matter—if he does not tell it, he bears guilt [his iniquity].

‘Or if a person touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and he is unaware of it, he also shall be unclean and guilty. Or if he touches human uncleanness—whatever uncleanness with which a man may be defiled, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty.

‘Or if a personswears [vows], speaking thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters.

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and a soul that will fail and will hear the voice of an oath and he^[716] is a witness, whether he saw or knew, if he will not tell, then he will lift up his twistedness. Or a soul which will touch any word^[717] of dirtiness, or a carcass of a dirty living one, or a carcass of a dirty living^[718] one, or the carcass of a dirty swarmer, and he was out of sight from him, then he is dirty and he will be guilty. Or if he will touch a dirty human, for all of his dirtiness, which he is dirty for, and he will be out of sight from him, and he knew, then he will be guilty. Or a soul that will swear by uttering with lips to make dysfunctional or make well, for all which the human will utter with a swearing, and he be out of sight from him, and he knew, then he will be guilty to one of these...

^716. The gender of the subject changes from feminine to masculine.

^717. This Hebrew word can also mean a “thing.”

^718. A euphemism for a “creature.”

A Voice in the Wilderness      If a soul sins and has heard the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of the matter; if he does not report it, he bears guilt. Or if a soul touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and he is unaware of it, he also shall be unclean and guilty. Or if he touches human uncleanness; whatever uncleanness with which a man may be defiled, and he is unaware of it; when he has found out about it, then he shall be guilty. Or if a soul swears, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man may speak rashly with an oath, and it is concealed from him; when he has found out about it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters.

Young’s Updated LT             “And when a person does sin, and has heard the voice of an oath, and he is witness, or has seen, or has known—if he declare not, then he has borne his iniquity:

“Or when a person comes against any thing unclean, or against a carcase of an unclean beast, or against a carcase of unclean cattle, or against a carcase of an unclean teeming creature, and it has been hidden from him, and he unclean, and guilty;

“Or when he comes against uncleanness of man, even any of his uncleanness whereby he is unclean, and it has been hidden from him, and he has known, and has been guilty:

“Or when a person sweareth, speaking wrongfully with the lips to do evil, or to do good, even anything which man speaks wrongfully with an oath, and it has been hid from him; —when he has known then he has been guilty of one of these;.

The gist of this passage:     Four examples are given of inadvertent sins.

Translation: [Consider] a soul that sins [and is unclean]:...

As with much of Leviticus, we have our own vocabulary here; a vocabulary which is not entirely unique, but one which is concentrated in Leviticus (and often in Numbers as well). We have the common verb for sin (or, to go astray, to miss the mark, to commit a transgression), châţâʾ (חָטָא) [pronounced khaw-TAW] and the subject for this word is nephesh (נֶפֶש) [pronounced NEH-fesh], the word for soul.

Throughout the Law of Moses, there are a considerable number of commandments as well as a considerable number of sins discussed. The critic of Scripture always tries to make the concepts of Scripture (particularly Leviticus) equivalent. That is, there is much discussion of uncleanness (for instance, from eating unclean foods—which is primarily one chapter in Leviticus); as well as certain sins (such as homosexual acts). The typical criticism is, “You say that homosexuality is abhorrent to God; well, what about shellfish? Does not God forbid eating shellfish?” The conclusion to be drawn is, “If you eat shellfish, then you cannot have anything against homosexuality.”

There are varieties of sins, varieties of culpabilities, and varieties of responses required by God. In this chapter, there are animal sacrifices required for uncleanness of different sorts. However, when we come to certain types of sexual sins, capital punishment is required. That sort of difference is a bit more than nuance.

The sins in this chapter focus, for the most part, on some aspect of uncleanness. For that reason, I included the bracketed phrase and is unclean.

Translation: ...he hears a solemn proclamation...

Here we have the common verb for hear in the Qal perfect. This is a completed action. He heard and understood. This is followed by the masculine singular construct of qôwl (קוֹל) [pronounced kohl], the common word for voice or sound (context determines which).

Then we have the most interesting word ʾâlâh (אָלָה) [pronounced aw-LAW], commonly translated oath, curse, or execration. We might also think to translate this as attestation, solemn oath, statement under oath, vow, guarantee, pledge, judicial oath, solemn declaration, solemn promise. We first find this word used in Genesis 24:41, and although most translators use the word oath, even a superficial examination of that context finds that this is not the best rendering of ’âlâh. An oath is something that you make to someone else. This is a solemn promise which the speaker extracts from the listener. Therefore, in this context, it is more of an agreement, a pact, an obligation, a commitment, a verbal contract. The speaker lays out the pact and the listener agrees to it.

There is a word by which the listener swears or gives an oath to the first person, but that is a different Hebrew word altogether. That is the word shebûʿâh (שֶבֻעָה) [pronounced she^b-voo-ĢAH], which is not a synonym for ’âlâh (although they are obviously related words as we find the former in Genesis 24:8 (with its verb cognate in v. 9) and the latter in Genesis 24:4. Obviously cursing has nothing to do with either of these passages. Abraham first makes his servant solemnly agree to not take a wife for Isaac from the Canaanites (Genesis 24:2–3, 7). Abraham's servant was sent to Laban to get a wife for Isaac and if one would not go with him, then the servant would be free of Abraham's solemn obligation which he extracted from his servant. This is the way this one word should be translated: a solemn obligation extracted from or agreed to by the listener (or the second party). This reasonably fits the context of Genesis 26:28 1Kings 8:31. Recall that Israel has already told Y^ehowah that they would do all that he has spoken. Therefore, they had given tacit agreement to His pronouncements of right and wrong. Now for the problem passages: ’âlâh is translated curse in Numbers 5:21, 23, 27 Deuteronomy 29:19–21 30:7 Nehemiah 10:29 Job 31:30. In Numbers, there is another word for curse, which is used; and our word, ’âlâh could be translated a solemn obligation throughout, or the result of a solemn obligation., without doing damage to the gist of the passage (all of these words, including the word for cursing, will be examined again at that time). Deuteronomy 29:19–21 is similar, inasmuch as God has set up a solemn pact or agreement with Israel—the Law—to which Israel has agreed; and in that pact are promises of cursing (or discipline) to those who disobey God's Word. There are promises in the Law which are positive and those which are negative; in Deuteronomy 29, we can bear this in mind and not necessarily translate ’âlâh as a curse. So it seems to be with all the passages where ’âlâh is translated curse.

Someone makes a pledge or a solemn oath of some sort; and the person in context hears it.

I think this is not the same as hearing testimony in court; but I am not ready to rule that out yet.

Translation: ...and he is a witness [of fact];...

So, the person in question hears the sound of a solemn obligation; this is not necessarily a public proclamation. This is God speaking to him through His Word. This is followed with the conjunction and; the 3^rd person personal pronoun, properly translated he [is]; and the word for witness.

The person in question is a witness to the particulars of this oath.

Let me suggest this sort of situation: someone wants a loan for his farm, and he claims to have 20 acres of land devoted to farming, but the witness here knows that there is only an acre of cultivated land.

Translation: ...(or, he saw [it]...

The situation is, the person who hears the oath knows information which is contrary. Perhaps he has seen facts contrary to the oath.

Translation: ...or he knows [something]),...

Or perhaps he is aware of something which is contrary to the oath being made.

Translation: ...though he does not make [it] known...

Now for the person's reaction to his own person wrongdoing. We have the interrogative particle if, the negative, and the 3^rd person singular, Hiphil imperfect of nâgad (נָגַד) [pronounced naw-GAHD], which, although found only in the Hiphil (and a few times in the Hophal), is translated told, shew, professed, declared, expounded. In all of these cases, something is being revealed to someone else, usually verbally. With the negative, the subject keeps this information under his hat. He has sinned, he knows that he has sinned, and he does not reveal it in anyway (as though man is the judge and since no one seemed to catch him, he is going to just let this pass). However, God sees everything that we do and knows everything that we think.

However, the person in question (not the person making the oath, but the one hearing the oath, but not speaking up); he does not make the pertinent information known. He just sits on it.

Translation: ...[because this] is bearing his transgression.

The result of this behavior is the last phrase of v. 1. The conjunction, I believe, acts as the introductory word for the apodosis of a conditional statement; that is, it should be translated then. This is followed by the Qal perfect of nâsâʾ (נָשָׂא) [pronounced naw-SAW] which means bear, carry, lift, take. What he will bear is his own iniquity, guilt or punishment for iniquity. The latter word is ʿâvôwn (עָווֹן) [pronounced ģaw-VOHN], a word which is pretty consistently rendered iniquity in the KJV. If iniquity is too old of a term for you, then trespass, offense, transgression, wrongdoing, or guilt would be reasonable translations. I personally favor choosing between guilt or punishment for wrongdoing, depending upon the context. When ’âvôn is used in conjunction with nâsâ, the person spoken of is bearing the punishment for his iniquity. (this is also found in Leviticus 20:20 22:9 Numbers 14:33 Isaiah 53:4 Ezekiel 23:35, 49 43:20).

His not speaking up means that he is bearing an iniquity or a transgression.

Given the context of the other offenses, we must reasonably assume that the man in question has not committed an actual crime.

Leviticus 5:1 [Consider] a soul that sins [and is unclean]: he hears a solemn proclamation and he is a witness [of fact]; (or, he saw [it] or he knows [something]), though he does not make [it] known [because this] is bearing his transgression. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

In the previous chapter, we dealt with unknown sins which later became known. Someone sinned, realized it after the fact and offered a sacrifice to atone for that sin. In this verse, someone sins, and they realize at the time that they have sinned or they find out later, but they don't do anything about it. Hearing God's voice (in His Word) to the Law which he is a witness to, tells us that this person has come to know definitely that he has committed a sin. We have a conjunction used twice, meaning whether...or... And there are two ways that this person could have come to know that he has transgressed God's Law. He has either seen this fact (indicating that these laws would be disseminated in such a way that they could be read by Israel) or he already knew that he was transgressing God's Law. In the previous chapter, if this were something not known to the transgressor, and he found out, then he offered a sacrifice on his own behalf. However, this transgressor knows, either prior to or after the fact. The purpose of spending all this time with the original language is to ascertain just exactly what this person is guilty of. God has set up a solemn pact to which the transgressor has agreed to but then has broken this pact. He knew about it before he transgressed God's Law or came to find out about it later. However, he clearly knows that he has committed a sin.

Translation: Or [he is] a soul which touches an unclean thing...

This is a list of things which will lead us to a particular type of sacrifice (v. 6 has the trespass offering, which is explained in more detail in subsequent verses).

The act here should gives us a better idea of the level of offense committed. Here, the offender touches something which is unclean.

Translation: ...or an unclean dead animal...

This might be an animal which is dead. None of this has to be particularly sinful. Ranchers dealt with dead animals all of the time (well, regularly, I should say). Sometimes, a person had to come into direct contact with a dead animal in the process of removing it (burying it or moving it).

Translation: ...or an unclean dead beast...

I believe that the difference in animals here is, the first was perhaps a wild animal; the second is perhaps a domesticated animal.

It is possible that, when these two words are put together, that they designate such a distinction.

Translation: ...or the carcass of any unclean thing [lit., of dead (and) unclean swarming creatures];...

The word used here generally references swarming insects, but it has further application as well.

For those who are not fond of those in the insect kingdom, killing a number of insects might be a part of your routine; and you may come into physical contact with them.

Translation: ...and this [lit., he] has been concealed from him...

The person here may not realize the way in which he came into contact with these various creatures. Perhaps he does not realize that this has made him unclean.

This is an odd thing to add, and I may not fully appreciate what this is saying.

Translation: ...and [therefore] he is unclean.

Coming into contact with anything that is unclean makes us unclean as well (I am speaking as if an Israelite from the Age of Israel). Unclean man cannot have any direct contact with a clean God.

Translation: ...(and he is guilty).

I was hoping that once we got started in chapter 5, that we would not become too bogged down; however, even v. 2 will require some exegesis. A word translated will be guilty is not related at all to ‛âvôn. It is the 3^rd person masculine singular, Qal perfect of ʾâsham (אָשַם) [pronounced aw-SHAHM] and it is translated to be guilty or to offend in the Qal stem. Here we are not speaking of a great criminal act or some horrible act of immorality; someone has inadvertently (or possibly on purpose) come in contact with that which is ceremonially unclean. Ceremonially uncleanness is pretty much the same as coming into close contact with the old sin nature. There is not much else that could be read into this. It doesn't say how, except that touch could encompass a wide range of activities, including eating. For this reason, I like the word offensive more than guilty.

Any uncleanness makes a person guilty before God.

Application: The most minor of sins separates us from God. The only solution is rebound (naming your sins to God).

Leviticus 5:2 Or [he is] a soul which touches an unclean thing or an unclean dead animal or an unclean dead beast or the carcass of any unclean thing [lit., of dead (and) unclean swarming creatures]; and this [lit., he] has been concealed from him and [therefore] he is unclean (and he is guilty). (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Translation: Or he has touched an unclean person...

We may come into contact with a person who is unclean (for whatever reason).

Translation: ...so all this person’s uncleanness [lit., his uncleanness] make his soul [lit., her] unclean.

Like much of Leviticus, this was difficult to translate, and I may not cover the justification for the translation of everything here. In regards to the entire realm is the lamêd preposition (in regards to) and the masculine singular construct of kôl (כֹּל) [pronounced kohl] and this word means the whole, all of, the entirety of, all, every. This word occurs too often for the Englishman's Concordance to list its appearances. In fact, its Chaldean equivalent occurs over a hundred times, even though there is only a small portion of the Bible written in Chaldean (Aramaic).

That person’s uncleanness makes you unclean through your contact with him.