Preface: The first section is about restitution offerings and it may have been better placed with the previous chapter (as the Hebrew text does). The second section is about the priestly function for burnt offerings and grain offerings (mincah). The third section is about the priest’s portion in the grain offerings and sin offerings.

The Bible Summary of Leviticus 6 (in 140 characters or less): When anyone cheats a neighbour they should make restitution and bring a guilt offering. The fire on the altar shall never go out.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Leviticus. This will be the most extensive examination of Leviticus 6, 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 6:

Introduction

         vv.     1–7           The Restitution Offering

         vv.     8–30         The Priests and Their Handling of the Various Categories of Offerings

         vv.         8–13        The Burnt Offering

         vv.        14–18        The Mincah (Grain) Offering

         vv.        19–23        The Qorban (Oblation) Offering when a Priest is Anointed

         vv.        24–30        The Sin Offering

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         The Types of Offerings (from Seedbed)

         Introduction         The Classification of Offerings (Anna Olyshko)

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Leviticus 6 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Leviticus 6 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Leviticus 6

         Introduction         The Prequel of Leviticus 6

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Leviticus 6

         Introduction         The Places of Leviticus 6

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Leviticus 6

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 6

         Introduction         Outlines of Leviticus 6 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 6 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Leviticus 6–10)

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Leviticus 6)

         Introduction 

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         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Leviticus 6 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Leviticus 6

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Leviticus 6

         Summary            Shmoop Summary of Leviticus 6

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Leviticus 6

         Summary 

         Addendum          Tent of Proofs (from the 2001 Translation)

         Addendum          Anointing (from the 2001 Translation)

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Leviticus 6

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Leviticus 6

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Leviticus 6

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Leviticus 6:8–30

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Leviticus 6

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An Introduction to Leviticus 6

I ntroduction: Leviticus 6, as was mentioned in the previous chapter, is actually a continuation of Leviticus 5. Leviticus 6:1–7 are Leviticus 5:20–26 in the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible actually has a better chapter division at this point. The first seven verses deal with a guilt offering, referring back to the final dozen verses from chapter 5. Then we cover a new topic entirely: the duties of the priests in the offering rituals.

As is made obvious in the outline of this chapter, the bulk of this chapter would be placed under one heading; that is, it should have been its own chapter (as is done in the Hebrew text). However, I try to avoid altering the chapters themselves, as many who study this material use an English translation based upon the Greek chapter divisions.

I have kept the commentary short for this chapter, as I have throughout these first eight or nine chapters of Leviticus.

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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The Restitution Offering

Compare Leviticus 5:14-19 7:1–6

This first section is more properly placed with the previous chapter. This is where it is found in the Jewish Bibles. Most Bibles, however, place it here, so that is what I will do.

As if often true with lengthy quotations from God, they are very hard to translate. It was difficult in some sections to determine what was being said, then how to translate that without violating the underlying Hebrew words.

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, “A soul that sins and transgresses a transgression against Y^ehowah and has acted deceptively with his associate with a deposit or with a pledge of hand or in an extortion or he has exploited his associate; or has found a lost thing and denied in her, and he swore upon a lie; upon one from all which does the man, to sin against them. And he was for he sins and was guilty and he restored the plunder which he had taken away; or the exploitation that he exploited; or the deposit that he entrusted to him; or the lost thing which he found; or from all that he swore upon him to the lie; and he has completed him in his head and a fifth he will add upon him, to that he [is] to him he gives him in the day of his guilt.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

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

If a person sins and wrongfully deviates [lies] from [before] Adonoy and denies to his friend the possession of a keepsake placed in his trust or, a deposit [regarding money that was loaned or in partnership,] or theft [claiming that something was stolen,] or, oppressed [he withheld wages from] his friend.

Or, if he found a lost item and denies it and swears falsely in any of all these [aforementioned instances], whatever someone will do to sin in these instances.

It shall be that when he [realizes his] sin and incurs guilt, he shall return the stolen property that he stole, or, the wages that he withheld or, whatever keepsake that was placed in his trust or, the lost item which he found.

Or, anything about which he will swear falsely. He shall pay its price and add an additional fifth to that [amount] to whomever that object belongs he shall give it on the day of his guilt-offering. (Exodus 5:20–24 in the Hebrew) Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: When a man sinneth and falsifieth with falsehoods unto the Name of the Word of the Lord, or denieth to his neighbour the deposit which hath been deposited with him, whether in partnership of hands, or by rapine, or reckless dealing with his neighbour; [JERUSALEM. Or shall be contumacious (or slanderous) with his neighbour;] or if he find a thing that hath been lost and denieth it, and sweareth falsely about any one of all these by which a mail in doing them shall become guilty, he who shall thus transgress, and sin, and swear, shall restore what he hath robbed with robbery or injured by injury, or the deposit that was deposited with him, or the lost thing which he had found, or whatsoever about which he had sworn with falsehood, he shall make good in the capital, and shall add a fifth of its value thereto, and deliver it to its owner on the day that he maketh penance for his sin.

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Whosoever shall sin, and despising the Lord, shall deny to his neighbour the thing delivered to his keeping, which was committed to his trust; or shall by force extort any thing, or commit oppression;

Or shall find a thing lost, and denying it, shall also swear falsely, or shall do any other of the many things, wherein men are wont to sin:

Being convicted of the offence, he shall restore

All that he would have gotten by fraud, in the principal, and the fifth part besides, to the owner, whom he wronged.

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

"If anyone sins, and commits a trespass against Mar-Yah, and deals falsely with his neighbour in a matter of deposit, or of bargain, or of robbery, or has oppressed his neighbour,

or has found that which was lost, and dealt falsely therein, and swearing to a lie; in any of all these things that a man does, sinning therein;

then it shall be, if he has sinned, and is guilty, he shall restore that which he took by robbery, or the thing which he has gotten by oppression, or the deposit which was committed to him, or the lost thing which he found,

or any thing about which he has sworn falsely; he shall restore it even in full, and shall add a fifth part more to it. To him to whom it belongs he shall give it, in the day of his being found guilty.

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     And LORD JEHOVAH spoke with Moshe and said to him: “When a soul will sin and will do evil against LORD JEHOVAH and will lie against his neighbor in a trust, or in a partnership of the hand, or by violence, or cheats his neighbor; Or has found a lost thing and will lie about it and will swear with a lie about anything of all that a man does to sin in these things: And it will be, when he will sin and will be guilty, he will return the thing that he takes by force or oppression, cheating, or a trust that was entrusted him, or a lost thing that he found, Or of anything that he will swear upon himself with lies, he shall pay it with the principal and will add a fifth to it for him whose it is; he shall give it in the day of his offering.

Samaritan Pentateuch           This first section is missing from the Samaritan Pentateuch.

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

The soul which shall have sinned, and willfully overlooked the commandments of the Lord, and shall have dealt falsely in the affairs of his neighbor in the matter of a deposit, or concerning fellowship, or concerning plunder, or has in anything wronged his neighbor,

or has found that which was lost, and shall have lied concerning it, and shall have sworn unjustly concerning any one of all the things, whatsoever a man may do, so as to sin hereby;

it shall come to pass, whenever he shall have sinned, and transgressed, that he shall restore the plunder which he has seized, or redress the injury which he has committed, or restore the deposit which was entrusted to him, or the lost article which he has found of any kind, about which he swore unjustly, he shall even restore it in full; and he shall add to it a fifth part besides; he shall restore it to him whose it is in the day in which he happens to be convicted.

And he shall bring to the Lord for his trespass, a ram of the flock, without blemish, of value to the amount of the thing in which he trespassed.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And the Lord said to Moses, 

If anyone does wrong, and is untrue to the Lord, acting falsely to his neighbour in connection with something put in his care, or something given for a debt, or has taken away anything by force, or has been cruel to his neighbour, 

Or has taken a false oath about the loss of something which he has come across by chance; if a man has done any of these evil things, 

Causing sin to come on him, then he will have to give back the thing he took by force or got by cruel acts, or the goods which were put in his care or the thing he came on by chance, 

Or anything about which he took a false oath; he will have to give it all back, with the addition of a fifth of its value, to him whose property it is, when he has been judged to be in the wron.

Easy English                          The Lord said to Moses, ‘A person may take something that is not his. Or he may find it and keep it. He may tell his friend that he has not taken it. He might not give him the correct price for something. But then he is not obeying the Lord. A person may speak words that are not true. That is a sin. A person may keep something that belongs to another person. He does not give it back. That is a wrong thing to do. He might find something and then he might say that it is his. If it is not his, he is not obeying God. He has done something that is wrong. So he must show that he is sorry. He must give back anything that is not his. He must give back anything that he has found. He must give back anything that he has kept. He must give it to the person to whom it belongs. He must give back everything and one fifth more. He must also, on the same day, give a gift to the Lord.

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  The LORD told Moses these rules for the people:

"You are guilty of sin against the LORD when you do any of these things: when you lie about what happened to something you were taking care of for someone else; when you lie about a deposit you received; when you steal something; when you cheat someone; when you find something that was lost and lie about having it; when you fail to keep a promise; or when you do any other bad things like these. If you do any of these things, you are guilty of doing wrong. You must give back whatever you stole or whatever you took by cheating. You must return whatever you took that another person asked you to hold, or whatever you found and lied about having, or whatever you made a false promise about. You must pay the full price and then add one-fifth of that amount as a fine and give it all to the true owner.

Good News Bible (TEV)         The LORD gave the following regulations to Moses.

An offering is to be made if any of you sin against the LORD by refusing to return what another Israelite has left as a deposit or by stealing something from him or by cheating him or by lying about something that has been lost and swearing that you did not find it. When you sin in any of these ways, you must repay whatever you got by dishonest means. On the day you are found guilty, you must repay the owner in full, plus an additional 20 percent.

The Message                         God spoke to Moses: “When anyone sins by betraying trust with God by deceiving his neighbor regarding something entrusted to him, or by robbing or cheating or threatening him; or if he has found something lost and lies about it and swears falsely regarding any of these sins that people commonly commit—when he sins and is found guilty, he must return what he stole or extorted, restore what was entrusted to him, return the lost thing he found, or anything else about which he swore falsely. He must make full compensation, add twenty percent to it, and hand it over to the owner on the same day he brings his Compensation-Offering. He must present to God as his Compensation-Offering a ram without any defect from the flock, assessed at the value of a Compensation-Offering. V. 6 is included for context.

Names of God Bible               For Sins against the Lord’s People

^[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses, “If any of you sin against Yahweh by failing to do your duty, if you lie to your neighbor about something you were supposed to take care of or if you lie about something stolen or seized from your neighbor, you are sinning and will be guilty. If you find something that someone lost and lie about it under oath, or commit any other sin like this, you are sinning and will be guilty. Return what you stole or seized, what you were supposed to take care of, the lost item you found, or whatever it was that you swore falsely about. Pay it back in full plus one-fifth more. Give it back to its owner on the day you bring your guilt offering.

[a] Leviticus 6:1–30 in English Bibles is Leviticus 5:20–6:23 in the Hebrew Bible

NIRV                                      The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Suppose someone sins by not being faithful to me. They do it by tricking their neighbors. They trick them in connection with something their neighbors have placed in their care. They steal from their neighbors. Or they cheat them. Or they find something their neighbors have lost and then tell a lie about it. Or they go to court. They promise to tell the truth. But instead they tell a lie when they are a witness about it. Or they lie when they are witnesses about any other sin like those sins. When they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt, they must return what they stole. They must give back what they took by cheating their neighbors. They must return what their neighbors placed in their care. They must return the lost property they found. They must return anything they told a lie about when they were witnesses in court. They must pay back everything in full. They must add a fifth of its value to it. They must give all of it to the owner on the day they bring their guilt offering.

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

Casual English Bible             Leviticus 6

More to-dos about sacrifices

A sampling of sins

The LORD told Moses: I’m going to give you some examples of how a person might commit a sin against the LORD. You might cheat someone out of a security deposit or steal something someone entrusted you to protect. You might rob or extort someone. You might find something that someone lost, and then lie about it. You might lie under oath during a trial, inquiry, or a similar situation.

If you’ve done any of this, you’re guilty. You have to make it right. Return what you stole or extorted. Give back the security deposit you withheld or whatever was entrusted to you that you kept. Return any lost property you found to its owner.

If you lied and someone took a loss because of it, pay the full value of their loss. In any of these situations, make full restitution, and then give the people you hurt 20 percent on top of it. Do this before you take a guilt offering [1] to the worship center.

¹6:5 In older lingo, the guilt offering was called the trespass offering, as in, “Forgive us our trespasses” or sins. In fact, scholars can’t seem to figure out what the difference is between a “sin offering” and a “guilt offering.” One guess is that guilt offerings are more serious and often involve making restitution. Leviticus 5:14-7:7 talks about when a person needs to make a guilt offering. Leviticus 7:1-10 talks about how to make the sacrifice.

Contemporary English V.       The LORD told Moses what the people must do when they commit other sins against the LORD: You have sinned if you rob or cheat someone, if you keep back money or valuables left in your care, or if you find something and claim not to have it. When this happens, you must return what doesn't belong to you and pay the owner a fine of twenty percent.

The Living Bible                     And the Lord said to Moses, “If anyone sins against me by refusing to return a deposit on something borrowed or rented, or by refusing to return something entrusted to him, or by robbery, or by oppressing his neighbor, or by finding a lost article and lying about it, swearing that he doesn’t have it— on the day he is found guilty of any such sin, he shall restore what he took, adding a 20 percent fine, and give it to the one he has harmed; and on the same day he shall bring his guilt offering to the Tabernacle.

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    The Lord said to Moses, “If a person is not faithful and sins against the Lord by lying to his neighbor about money given to him for safe-keeping, or by stealing, or by false ways, or by finding what was lost and lying about it before God, if a man does any of the things that men sin by doing, he will become guilty. Then he should return what he took by stealing, or what he got by false ways, or the money which was given to him for safe-keeping, or the lost thing which he found, or anything that he lied about. He should pay for it in full, and add to it one-fifth part more. He should give it to whom it belongs on the day he gives his guilt gift.

New Living Translation           Sins Requiring a Guilt Offering

^[a]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Suppose one of you sins against your associate and is unfaithful to the Lord. Suppose you cheat in a deal involving a security deposit, or you steal or commit fraud, or you find lost property and lie about it, or you lie while swearing to tell the truth, or you commit any other such sin. If you have sinned in any of these ways, you are guilty. You must give back whatever you stole, or the money you took by extortion, or the security deposit, or the lost property you found, or anything obtained by swearing falsely. You must make restitution by paying the full price plus an additional 20 percent to the person you have harmed. On the same day you must present a guilt offering.

[a] Verses 6:1-7 are numbered 5:20-26 in Hebrew text.

Unfolding Bible (simplified)    Yahweh also said to Moses,  

"If you sin against me by deceiving someone—if you refuse to return what someone has lent you, or if you steal something of his, or if you find something and swear that you do not have it, you are guilty.  You must return to its owner what you have stolen or what someone has lent to you and you have not returned, or what you found that someone else had lost, or whatever you lied about. You must not only return anything like that to its owner, but you must also pay to the owner an additional one-fifth of its value.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          And the Lord told Moses:

‘Whoever sins by:

• Ignoring the Commandments of Jehovah,

• Lying about something entrusted to them by a neighbor,

• Something shared, or stolen, or in any way wrongs his neighbor

• Finds something lost but lies about it, or

• Lies about any sins like these...

‘Then when he sins by making such errors, he should return whatever he wrongly acquired by theft, misplaced trust, chance, or lying. Then he must repay the total sum, plus 1/5th.

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           ^[a] The Lord said to Moses, If you sin:

by acting unfaithfully against the Lord;

by deceiving a fellow citizen concerning a deposit or pledged property;

by cheating a fellow citizen through robbery;

or, though you’ve found lost property, you lie about it;

or by swearing falsely about anything that someone might do and so sin,

at that point, once you have sinned and become guilty of sin, you must return the property you took by robbery or fraud, or the deposit that was left with you for safekeeping, or the lost property that you found, or whatever it was that you swore falsely about. You must make amends for the principal amount and add one-fifth to it. You must give it to the owner on the day you become guilty.

[a] 5:20 in Heb

New Advent (Knox) Bible       And the Lord said to Moses, There are faults, too, committed in the Lord’s despite, when a man defrauds his neighbour of some loan that was entrusted to him for safe keeping, or extorts money by violence, or wrongs him at law, or perjures himself in denying that he has found something lost, or is guilty of some other offence such as men are prone to commit. If he is found guilty, he must make restitution, giving back in full all that he hoped to gain by his knavery, and a fifth part besides, to the owner whom he has wronged.

Translation for Translators     Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “If any one of you you sins against me by deceiving someone—if you refuse to return what someone has lent you, or if you steal something of his, or if you find something and claim that you do not have it, you are guilty. You must return to its owner what you have stolen or what someone has lent you and you have not returned, or what you found that someone else had lost, or whatever you lied about. You must not only return anything like that to its owner, but you must also pay to the owner one-fifth of its value.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Berean Study Bible                Then the LORD said to Moses, “If someone sins and acts unfaithfully against the LORD by deceiving his neighbor in regard to a deposit or security entrusted to him or stolen, or if he extorts his neighbor or finds lost property and lies about it and swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that a man might commit—once he has sinned and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, or anything else about which he has sworn falsely. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value, and pay it to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering.

Christian Standard Bible        The Lord spoke to Moses: “When someone sins and offends the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in regard to a deposit, a security, [Or an investment] or a robbery; or defrauds his neighbor; or finds something lost and lies about it; or swears falsely about any of the sinful things a person may do— once he has sinned and acknowledged his guilt—he must return what he stole or defrauded, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost item he found, or anything else about which he swore falsely. He will make full restitution for it and add a fifth of its value to it. He is to pay it to its owner on the day he acknowledges his guilt.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                The EVER-LIVING also spoke to Moses saying;

Law of Perverse Criminality.

"A person who sins, with willful perversity against the EVER-LIVING by deceiving his neighbour in a contract, or in a confidential trust; or robs; or betrays his neighbor; or retains a find, and lies about it; and swears with falsehood about anything which may injure the man, sins by it.

But if it be that he has sinned and done wrong; but returns the theft that he has stolen; or the deception that he has sinned in; or the trust that was entrusted to him; or the strayling that he has found, or in anything where he has sworn about it to deceive, and rectifies it; on the head of it he shall add fivefold to what he took to himself; they shall be given in place of his fault.

International Standard V        Restitution Offerings

[This vs. is 5:20 in MT, and so through vs. 7] The Lord spoke to Moses:

“A person sins against the Lord by acting treacherously toward his neighbor regarding something entrusted to his care, security for a loan, robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor, found something that had been lost and then lied about it, or if he makes a false oath about any of these things, thus committing a sin with respect to these things.

“If that person has sinned and has been found guilty, then he is to return the stolen thing that he took or obtained by oppression, or the security that had been entrusted to him, or the lost thing that he had found, or the thing about which he had given a false oath. He is to restore it in full, add a fifth to it, then give to whom it belongs the very day he’s found guilty.

Urim-Thummim Version         YHWH spoke to Moses saying,

When any person sins and has committed an offense against YHWH and has lied to his fellow concerning a deposit, or concerning a pledge, or concerning violent robbery, or has oppressed his fellow or has found a lost thing, and has lied concerning it and has adjured to a falsehood concerning any of these which men do, sinning in them. Then it will happen because he has sinned and is guilty that he will restore what he took violently away, or what he has deceitfully obtained, or what was supplied him to watch over or the lost item he found, or all that concerning what he adjures falsely, he has even repaid it in its principal, and add to it a 5th value, to him who it belongs he will give it in the day of his Guilt-Offering.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And Yahweh spoke to Moses saying:

A soul which will sin, and a transgression transgressed of Yahweh, and he deceived his friend in deposit, or in keeping or in embezzlement, or swindled his friend. Or found a lost animal and denied this of it, and swore to a lie, on one of all that man will do to sin with. And it was that he sinned and is guilty, and he returned the embezzlement which he embezzled, or the swindle which he swindled, or the collateral which was deposited with him, or the lost animal which he found, or over all that he swore to, in lie, and he paid it off first, and its fifth will be added to it, for him that he will give it to on the day of his conviction. [This is Leviticus 5:20–24 in the Hebrew Bible]

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Sacrifices for evildoing

Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said:

“This refers to the man who sins against Yahweh by not returning to his neighbor a deposit or a security, or withholding something due to him or cheating him; and also to the one who finds lost property and swears he has not found it; and also to the man who swears falsely in one of the cases in which people usually swear. In all these cases the man who sins and becomes guilty is to give back what he has taken or demanded that does not belong to him: the deposit entrusted to him, the lost property that he found, or any object about which he has sworn untruthfully. He must repay the owner in full and give an extra fifth as well on the day when he is found guilty. Vv. 20–24 in the Christian Community Bible.

The Heritage Bible                          And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

If a soul sins, and covers a treachery against Jehovah, and lies to his neighbor about a deposit, or about a security in hand, or something seized by violence, or has oppressed his neighbor,

Or has found that which was lost, and lies about it, and swears falsely, in one of all that a man does, sinning in them,

Then it shall be, when he has sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he plucked off, or the thing which he has gotten by oppression, or the deposit which was deposited with him, or has found a lost thing,

Or all that concerning which he has sworn falsely, he shall repay it in its principal, and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him whose it is, in the day of his trespass offering.

New American Bible(2011)    The LORD said to Moses: When someone does wrong and commits sacrilege against the LORD by deceiving^l a neighbor about a deposit or a pledge or a stolen article, or by otherwise retaining a neighbor’s goods unjustly;^m or if, having found a lost article, the person lies about it, swearing falsely about any of the things that a person may do wrong—when someone has thus done wrong and is guilty, that person shall restore the thing that was stolen, the item unjustly retained, the item left as deposit, or the lost article that was found or whatever else the individual swore falsely about. That person shall make full restitution of the thing itself, and add one fifth of its value to it, giving it to its owner at the time of reparation. This is Leviticus 5:20–24 in the NAB.

l. [5:21] Ps 59:13; Hos 4:2.

m. [5:21] Ex 22:6–12.

The Catholic Bible                  Daily Sacrifices.^[a] The Lord said to Moses, “If anyone sins against the Lord by lying to a neighbor concerning a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or by robbery, or by defrauding a neighbor, or by finding something that was lost and lying about it and swearing a false oath, in any of these things that men do, and thereby sin, when someone sins this way and has become guilty, he shall restore the stolen property that he took, or what he obtained through violence, or the deposit that was entrusted to him, or the lost object that he found, or anything about which he falsely swore an oath. He shall add a fifth to it and give it to the person to whom it belongs on the day of his guilt offering.

[a] Sacrifices were offered twice a day in the Jerusalem temple, at sunrise and sunset. It was a duty of the priests to keep the fire going constantly, signifying that worship should never cease.

New Jerusalem Bible             Yahweh spoke to Moses and said: 'If someone sins and is unfaithful against Yahweh by deceiving his fellow-countryman over a deposit or a security, or by withholding something due to him or by exploiting him;

'or if he finds lost property and denies it; 'or if he perjures himself about anything that a human being may do criminally in such matters;

'if he sins and so becomes answerable, he must restore what he has taken or demanded in excess: the deposit confided to him, the lost property that he has found, or any object about which he has perjured himself. He will add one-fifth to the principal and pay the whole to the person who held the property rights on the day when he incurred the guilt. This is Leviticus 5:20–24 in the NJB.

Revised English Bible–1989   When the LORD spoke to Moses he said: When any person sins by false use of the LORD's name, whether the person lies to a fellow-countryman about a deposit or contract, or a theft, or wrongs him by extortion, or finds lost property and then lies about it, and swears a false oath in regard to any sin of this sort that he commits -- if he does this and realizes his guilt, he must restore what he has stolen or gained by extortion, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost property which he found, or anything at all concerning which he swore a false oath. He must make full restitution, adding one fifth of the value to it, and give it back to the aggrieved party on the day when he realizes his guilt.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           ^{20 (6:1)} Adonai said to Moshe, ^{21 (6:2)} “If someone sins and acts perversely against Adonai by dealing falsely with his neighbor in regard to a deposit or security entrusted to him, by stealing from him, by extorting him, ^{22 (6:3)} or by dealing falsely in regard to a lost object he has found, or by swearing to a lie — if a person commits any of these sins, ^{23 (6:4)} then, if he sinned and is guilty, he is to restore whatever it was he stole or obtained by extortion, or whatever was deposited with him, or the lost object which he found, (Maftir) ^{24 (6:5)} or anything about which he has sworn falsely. He is to restore it in full plus an additional one-fifth; he must return it to the person who owns it, on the day when he presents his guilt offering.

Hebraic Roots Bible               And YAHWEH spoke to Moses, saying, If any person sins and is slyly treacherous against YAHWEH, and deals falsely with his neighbor concerning a deposit, or concerning security, or by robbery, or has extorted his neighbor, or has found a lost thing and has lied about it, and has sworn to a falsehood in regard to any one of all these which a man does, sinning in them, then it shall be, when he sins and is guilty, he shall return what he got by robbery, that which he robbed, or the extorted thing which he extorted, or the deposit which had been deposited with him, or the lost thing which he had found; or all that about which he swore falsely; he shall even repay it in its principal, and the fifth part he shall add to it; to whomever it belongs. He shall give it on the day of his guilt offering.

Kaplan Translation                 God spoke to Moses saying: [This is the law] if a person sins and commits a misappropriation offense against God by lying to his neighbor. [It can involve] an article left for safekeeping, a business deal, robbery, withholding funds or finding a lost object and denying it. If the person swears falsely in any of these cases involving human relations, he is considered to have sinned. When he becomes guilty of such a sin, he must return the stolen article, the withheld funds, the article left for safekeeping, the found article, or anything else regarding which he swore falsely. He must make restitution of the principal, and then add one-fifth to it. On the day [that he seeks atonement for] his crime, he must give it to its rightful owner. He must then bring to the priest his sin offering to God. It shall be an unblemished ram, worth the prescribed amount, as a guilt offering. (This is Leviticus 5:20–25 in the Kaplan translation) The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Leviticus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

5:21 article left for . . . See Exodus 22:10.

- business deal. Tesumath Yad in Hebrew. Especially a loan (Rashi; Ralbag, Abarbanel) or partnership (Targum; Ibn Ezra). Also included is a claim of loss on security for a loan {Bava Metzia 48a).

— withholding funds. Ashak in Hebrew. From someone to whom they are rightfully due (Rashi). This includes all illegal monetary cheating (Radak, Sherashtm; Abarbanel). According to some, it denotes sneak thievery (Saadia; Ibn Ezra). See 19:13.

5:22 and denying it (Ralbag; Abarbanel). Or, “If he denies the truth” (Rashi). (See Kenthoth 2b, Bava Kama 103b; Yad, Shevuoth 7:1-4)

— involving human relations (Ralbag). Literally, “regarding one of these that a person may do to sin.”

5:24 principal (Rashi). Rosh in Hebrew, literally “head.” Or, “He must repay it by himself’ (Ibn Ezra), or, “He must first make restitution” (Chizzkuni; Ralbag).

— that he seeks atonement (Abarbanel; Rashbam), or, “on the day he brings his guilt sacrifice” (Chizzkuni).

Or, “As [much as it was worth] on the day of his crime, he must return. . .” ( Sifra; Bava Metzia 43b; Yad, Gezelah 3:1).

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

“When any being sins, and committed a trespass against יהוה, and has lied to his neighbour about a deposit, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or shall extort from his neighbour, 

or has found what was lost and has lied concerning it, or did swear falsely, so that he sins in regard to any one of all these that a man does, 

then it shall be, when he sins, and shall be guilty, that he shall return what he took by robbery, or what he has extorted, or the deposit which was deposited with him, or the lost item which he found, 

or all that about which he swore falsely. He shall repay its total value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whom it belongs, on the day of his guilt offering.

Tree of Life Version                Then Adonai spoke to Moses saying:

“Suppose anyone sins and commits a faithless act against Adonai by dealing falsely with his neighbor in a matter of a deposit or a pledge of hands, or through robbery, or has extorted from his neighbor, or has found what was lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—so sinning in one of any of these things that a man may do. Then it will be, when he has sinned and has become guilty, that he must restore what he took by robbery, or what he got by extortion, or the deposit that was committed to him, or what was lost that he found, or any thing about which he has sworn falsely, he is to restore it in full, and add a fifth part more to it. He must give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day of presenting his trespass offering. [This is Leviticus 5:20–24 in the Hebrew Bible]

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

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

“THE SOUL WHICH SHALL HAVE SINNED, AND WILLFULLY OVERLOOKED THE COMMANDMENTS OF JESUS, AND SHALL HAVE DEALT FALSELY IN THE AFFAIRS OF HIS NEIGHBOR IN THE MATTER OF A DEPOSIT, OR CONCERNING FELLOWSHIP, OR CONCERNING PLUNDER, OR HAS IN ANYTHING WRONGED HIS NEIGHBOR,

OR HAS FOUND THAT WHICH WAS LOST, AND SHALL HAVE LIED CONCERNING IT, AND SHALL HAVE SWORN UNJUSTLY CONCERNING ANY ONE OF ALL THE THINGS, WHATSOEVER A MAN MAY DO, SO AS TO SIN HEREBY;

IT SHALL COME TO PASS, WHENSOEVER HE SHALL HAVE SINNED, AND TRANSGRESSED, THAT HE SHALL RESTORE THE PLUNDER WHICH HE HAS SEIZED, OR REDRESS THE INJURY WHICH HE HAS COMMITTED, OR RESTORE THE DEPOSIT WHICH WAS ENTRUSTED TO HIM, OR THE LOST ARTICLE WHICH HE HAS FOUND OF ANY KIND, (Vs. 5 in KJV) ABOUT WHICH HE SWORE UNJUSTLY, HE SHALL EVEN RESTORE IT IN FULL; AND HE SHALL ADD TO IT A FIFTH PART BESIDES; HE SHALL RESTORE IT TO HIM WHOSE IT IS IN THE DAY IN WHICH HE HAPPENS TO BE CONVICTED. [I do not know why the A&B Bible decided to put their translation, at this point, off by a verse.]

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

A breather was to be made clean, even is he to have become disloyal as to wrong Sustains To Become even is to have disclaimed to an associate of a deposit or a security, or by his hand is to tear away or is to have pressed upon his associate,

or is to have come upon a lost thing, even is he to have disclaimed and sworn falsely, to any that he of mankind was to do, he is to be made clean

of that he was to be made clean of, even is to have been guilty of, he is to have brought back that torn away he is to have torn away, or that pressed on he is to have pressed on, or that deposited he is to have deposited, or the lost thing he has come upon,

or that he was to swear to falsely, he is to have restored from his best, and was to add an adding of a fifth, was it to be fixed even on the day of his guilt.

Concordant Literal Version    Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.

When a soul sins and offends with an offense against Yahweh and dissimulates against his companion in regard to committal or pledge of hand or pillage, or he extorts from his companion,

or he finds lost property and dissimulates in regard to it, or swears falsely in one or another of all the things which a human might do sinning by them.

when it will come to be that he sins and realizes his guilt, then he will restore the pillage which he pillaged, or the extortion which he extorted, or the committal which was committed to him, or the lost which he found,

or anything about which he swore falsely; he will repay it in its full value and add a fifth of its value to it. To him whose it is shall he give it on the day of his guilt offering.

exeGeses companion Bible   And Yah Veh words to Mosheh, saying,

If a soul sin and treasons a treason against Yah Veh

and deceives his friend in what he is overseeing

or by placing the hand or by stripping

or extorting his friend;

or finds what is lost and deceives concerning it

and oaths falsely

- in one of all these that a human works,

sinning therein:

then so be it, when he sins and guilts,

that he restore the stripping he stripped

or the extortion he extorted

or what he was overseeing

or the lost he found

or all concerning which he oathed falsely

- he shalams it to the top

and adds the fifth thereto

and gives it to whom it pertains,

in the day of his guilt:...

Orthodox Jewish Bible           TZAV

And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

(5:21) If a nefesh sin, and commit a ma'al (trespass) against Hashem, and deceives his neighbor in that which was delivered him to keep, or entrusted to his care, or in a thing stolen, or hath cheated his neighbor;

(5:22) Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth with sheker (falsely); in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein;

(5:23) Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is ashem (guilty), that he shall return that which he had stolen, or the thing which he hath extorted, or that which was delivered unto his trust, or the lost thing which he found,

(5:24) Or all that about which he hath sworn lasheker (falsely); he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his asham (trespass offering).

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. And Yahweh spake unto Mosesˎ saying—

≤When ||any person|| shall sin, and shall commit a trespass against Yahweh,—and shall withhold something of the truth from his neighbourˎ in respect of a deposit, or a pledge or anything plundered, or shall use extortion with his neighbour; or shall find something lost and shall withhold something of the truth thereinˎ and shall swear to a falsehood,—as regardeth a single thing of all that a son of earth may do, to commit sin thereby; and so it shall come about that he shall commit sin and then become aware of his guilt≥ then shall he return the plunder which he had plunderedˎ or the extortion which he had extorted, or the deposit that was deposited with him,—or the lost thing which he hath found: or <in anything as to which he hath been swearing to a falsehood> then shall he make it good in the principal thereof, and <the fifth part thereof> shall he add thereunto,—<to whomsoever it belongeth> ||to him|| shall he give itˎ in the day he becometh aware of his guilt;...

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Expanded Bible              The Lord said to Moses, “A person might sin against the Lord ·by doing one of these sins [^L and be unfaithful/disloyal]: He might lie about ·what happened to something he was taking care of for someone else [^L a deposit], or ·he might lie about a promise he made [^L a pledge]. He might steal something or cheat someone. He might find something that had been lost and then lie about it. He might make a promise before the Lord about something and not mean it, or he might do some other sin. If he does any of these things, he is guilty of sin. He must bring back whatever he stole or whatever he took by cheating. He must bring back the ·thing he took care of for someone else [deposit]. He must bring back what he found and lied about or what he made a false promise about. He must pay the full price plus an extra one-fifth of the value of what he took. He must give the money to the true owner on the day he brings his ·penalty [guilt; reparation] offering.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-7

Of Trespass-offerings.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

if a soul sin and commit a trespass against the Lord, break faith over against the Lord in some sin against his neighbor, for the one included the other, and lie unto his neighbor in that which was delivered him to keep, if he denies altogether having received anything of his neighbor in trust, or in fellowship, if he disclaims the receipt of some security, or in a thing taken away by violence, if he falsely states that he did not come into possession of his neighbor's property by sinful methods, or hath deceived his neighbor, in taking something from him by extortion or by a refusal to pay a just claim, if he invents excuses for the purpose of defrauding his neighbor, because he refuses to restore such property which he wrongfully holds;

or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely, if he adds perjury to the sins which he has already committed against the Seventh Commandment; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein,

then it shall be, because he hath sinned and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, whether the sin was done secretly or openly, whether extortion or fraud was committed, with or without a show of right,

or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, as a penalty or forfeit, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass-offering. The unlawfully gotten gain having been restored to his neighbor, the Lord also had to he reconciled, because the transgression was also directed against Him, Psalms 51:4. So man could seek the divine forgiveness without having done all in his power to make amends for the wrong committed.

Lexham English Bible            Additional Laws for Burnt Offerings

[Leviticus 6:1–30 in the English Bible is 5:20–6:23 in the Hebrew Bible] Then [Or “And”] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “When a person [Or “a soul”] displays infidelity [Literally “acts unfaithfully infidelity” or “is unfaithful in unfaithfulness”] against Yahweh and he deceives his fellow citizen regarding [Literally “in”] something entrusted or a pledge [Literally “a pledge of a hand”] or stealing or he exploits his fellow citizen, or he finds lost property and lies about it and swears falsely [Literally “in accordance with deception”] in regard to [Literally “on” or “upon”] any one of these things by which a person [Literally “the man”] might commit sin, and when [Literally “and it will be when”] he sins and is guilty, then [Or “and”] he shall bring back the things he had stolen [Literally “the robbed things that he had stolen”] or what he had extorted [Literally “the extortion that he had extorted”] or something with which he had been entrusted [Literally “something entrusted that had been entrusted to him”] or the lost property that he had found, or regarding [Literally “from”] anything about which he has sworn falsely, [Literally “in accordance with deception”] then [Or “and”] he shall repay it according to [Literally “in”] its value and shall add one-fifth of its value to it—he must give it to whom it belongs [Literally “to whom it is to him”] on the day of his guilt offering.

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

{Verses 1-7: Doctrine of the Fifth Continues with Emphasis on Man as the Gainer}

{Verses 1-3: Principal of Man Sinning Against Man}

And Jehovah/God spoke/ 'communicated doctrine categorically' {dabar - Piel intensive stem} unto Moses, saying, "If a soul sin {see previous notes - it is the soul that sins}, and commit a trespass {see previous chapter - a trespass is a known sin} against Jehovah/God, and lie unto his neighbor/'someone in his vicinity ' {`amiyth} {4 categories of this trespass are listed} in that which was delivered him to keep in a secure place {given responsibility to keep something for him and refuses to give it back},

or in a thing taken away by violence {next the oppression/extortion concept}, or has deceived his neighbor/ 'someone in his vicinity ' {`amiyth}; {third is the defrauding - cheating, stealing concept},

or have found that which was lost, and lied concerning it, and swears falsely {fourth is the misrepresentation concept - finds something that he knows belongs to his neighbor and lies about it - even in court};

in any of all these that a man does, sinning therein then it shall be, because he has sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he has deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, or all that about which he has sworn falsely;

{Mechanics of How He Restores to His Neighbor}

he shall even restore it in the principal {the stolen item or its equivalent in cash type thing}, and shall add the fifth part more thereto {item is restored plus another 20 percent - one fifth}, and give it unto him to whom it pertains {the injured party}, in the day of his trespass offering.

The Voice                               Then the Eternal One told Moses:...

Eternal One: The following are instructions regarding liars and cheaters: Anytime someone commits a sin and violates his covenant duties to Me by deceiving his neighbor in financial or security matters, by stealing or by extortion, or if a person finds something that is lost and lies about it and makes a false claim, or in anything that someone does, and if he has sinned and comes to realize it, he will give back what he has stolen or extorted, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost object he found, or any other object he lied about. He will repay it entirely plus of its value. He must give it to its rightful owner the very day he gives his guilt offering.

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, If a person sins, betraying the Lord by falsely denying to his fellow concerning a deposit, or money given in hand, or an object taken by robbery, or he withheld funds from his fellow,...

...or he found a lost article and he denied it and swore falsely regarding any one of all these cases whereby a man may sin,...

...and it shall be, when he has sinned and is guilty, that he shall return the article which he had robbed, or the funds which he had withheld, or the item which had been deposited with him, or the article which he had found;...

...or anything else, regarding which he had sworn falsely, he shall pay it with its principal, adding its fifths to it. He shall give it to its rightful owner on the day [he repents for] his guilt.

NET Bible®                             Trespass by Deception and False Oath

6:1 (5:20)¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses:² “When a person sins and commits a trespass³ against the Lord by deceiving his fellow citizen⁴ in regard to something held in trust, or a pledge, or something stolen, or by extorting something from his fellow citizen,⁵ or has found something lost and denies it and swears falsely⁶ concerning any one of the things that someone might do to sin⁷ – when it happens that he sins and he is found guilty,⁸ then he must return whatever he had stolen, or whatever he had extorted, or the thing that he had held in trust,⁹ or the lost thing that he had found, or anything about which he swears falsely.¹⁰ He must restore it in full¹¹ and add one fifth to it; he must give it to its owner when he is found guilty.¹²

^1sn Beginning with 6:1, the verse numbers through 6:30 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 6:1 ET = 5:20 HT, 6:2 ET = 5:21 HT, 6:8 ET = 6:1 HT, etc., through 6:30 ET = 6:23 HT. Beginning with 7:1 the verse numbers in the English text and Hebrew text are again the same.

^2sn This paragraph is Lev 6:1-7 in the English Bible but Lev 5:20-26 in the Hebrew text. The quotation introduced by v. 1 extends from Lev 6:2 (5:21 HT) through 6:7 (5:26 HT), encompassing the third main section of guilt offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 1:1; 4:1; and 5:14 above.

^3tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root מַעַל, ma’al). See the note on 5:15.

^4tn Or “neighbor” (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NASB “companion”; TEV “a fellow-Israelite.”

^5tn Heb “has extorted his neighbor”; ASV “oppressed”; NRSV “defrauded.”

^6tn Heb “and swears on falsehood”; cf. CEV “deny something while under oath.”

^7tn Heb “on one from all which the man shall do to sin in them.”

^8tn Heb “and it shall happen, when he sins and becomes guilty,” which is both resumptive of the previous (vv. 2-3) and the conclusion to the protasis (cf. “then” introducing the next clause as the apodosis). In this case, “becomes guilty” (cf. NASB, NIV) probably refers to his legal status as one who has been convicted of a crime in court; thus the translation “he is found guilty.” See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:559-61.

^9tn Heb “that had been held in trust with him.”

^10tn Heb “or from all which he swears on it to falsehood.”

^11tn Heb “in its head.” This refers “the full amount” in terms of the “principal,” the original item or amount obtained illegally (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:338; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 84).

^12tn Heb “to whom it is to him he shall give it in the day of his being guilty.” The present translation is based on the view that he has been found guilty through the legal process (see the note on v. 4 above; cf., e.g., TEV and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 33-34). Others translate the latter part as “in the day he offers his guilt [reparation] offering” (e.g., NIV and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 73, 84), or “in the day he realizes his guilt” (e.g., NRSV and J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:319, 338).

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the LORD by deceiving his neighbor as to a deposit or security, or by robbery, or has extorted his neighbor, Or has found that which was lost and lies concerning it and swears falsely?in any of all these things that a man does, sinning in it?  Then, it shall be, because he sinned and is guilty, he shall pay back that which he got by robbery; or if he robbed the thing extorted; or the deposit which had been deposited with him; or the lost thing which he had found; Or all that which he swore about falsely? he shall even repay it in its principal, and the fifth part he shall add to it, to whomever it belongs. He shall give it on the day of his guilt offering.

Bond Slave Version               And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie to his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or has deceived his neighbour; Or have found that which was lost, and lies concerning it, and swears falsely; in any of all these that a man does, sinning therein: Then it will be, because he has sinned, and is guilty, that he will restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he has deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, Or all that about which he has sworn falsely; he will even restore it in the principal, and will add the fifth part more thereto, and give it to him to whom it appertains, in the day of his trespass offering.

Charles Thomson OT            Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses saying, With regard to the person who shall sin, and who, utterly disregarding the commands of the Lord, shall lie to his neighbour touching a deposit, or touching any thing which he might use in common, or touching any thing made a prey of, whether he hath defrauded his neighbour in any respect, or hath found what was lost, and shall lie concerning it; or hath sworn falsely in respect to any of the things which he may have done, so as thereby to commit sin; when he who hath thus sinned and transgressed hath restored the thing wrongfully taken, or that which he hath got unjustly, or the deposit which was committed to his trust, or the thing lost which he hath found; then for every thing about which he hath sworn falsely he shall pay as a fine to the same amount, and add thereto a fifth. To him whose it is he shall make restoration on the day he is convicted.

Context Group Version          And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, If a life acts disgracefully, and trespasses a boundary against YHWH, and deals falsely with his neighbor in a matter of deposit, or of security, or of robbery, or has oppressed his neighbor, or has found that which was lost, and deals falsely in it, and swears to a lie; in any of all these things that man does, disgracing [God] in it; then it shall be, if he has disgraced [God], and is declared guilty, that he shall restore that which he took by robbery, or the thing which he has acquired by oppression, or the deposit which was committed to him, or the lost thing which he found, or any thing about which he has sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in full, and shall add the fifth part more to it: to him to whom it pertains he shall give it, in the day of his being found wicked.

Literal Standard Version        And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

“When any person sins, and has committed a trespass against YHWH, and has lied to his fellow concerning a deposit, or concerning fellowship, or concerning violent robbery, or has oppressed his fellow; or has found a lost thing, and has lied concerning it, and has sworn to a falsehood, concerning one of all [these] which man does, sinning in them: then it has been, when he sins and has been guilty, that he has returned the plunder which he has violently taken away, or the thing which he has gotten by oppression, or the deposit which has been deposited with him, or the lost thing which he has found; or all that concerning which he swears falsely, he has even repaid it in its principal, and he is adding to it its fifth; he gives it to him whose it [is] in the day of his guilt-offering.

Modern Literal Version 2020  And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, If a soul sins and commits a trespass against Jehovah and deals falsely with his neighbor in a matter of deposit, or handed over security, or robbery, or has oppressed his neighbor, or has found what was lost and deals falsely by it and swears to a lie, in any of all these things that a man does, sinning by it, then it will be, if he has sinned and is guilty, that he will restore what he took by robbery, or the thing which he has gotten by oppression, or the deposit which was committed to him, or the lost thing which he found, or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he will even restore it in full and will add the fifth part more to it. He will give it to him to whom it pertains, in the day of his being found guilty.

New American Standard B.    Guilt Offering

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, [Ch 5:20 in Heb] “When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the Lord, and disavows the rightful claim of his neighbor regarding a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or regarding robbery, or he has extorted from his neighbor, or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins regarding any of the things that people do; then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he took by robbery or acquired by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to [Or deposited with] him, or the lost property which he found, or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full [Lit in its sum] and add to it a fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he presents his guilt offering.

New European Version          Restoration after Robbery

Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ’If anyone sins, and commits a trespass against Yahweh, and deals falsely with his neighbour in a matter of deposit, or of bargain, or of robbery, or has oppressed his neighbour, or has found that which was lost, and dealt falsely therein, and swearing to a lie; in any of all these things that a man does, sinning therein; then it shall be, if he has sinned, and is guilty, he shall restore that which he took by robbery, or the thing which he has gotten by oppression, or the deposit which was committed to him, or the lost thing which he found, or any thing about which he has sworn falsely; he shall restore it even in full, and shall add a fifth part more to it. To him to whom it belongs he shall give it, in the day of his being found guilty.

New King James Version       Laws About the Burnt Offering, the Grain Offering, and the Sin Offering

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “If a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord by lying to his neighbor [deceiving his associate] about what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or about a pledge, [an entrusted security] or about a robbery, or if he has extorted from his neighbor, or if he has found what was lost and lies concerning it, and swears falsely—in any one of these things that a man may do in which he sins: then it shall be, because he has sinned and is guilty, that he shall restore [return] what he has stolen, or the thing which he has extorted, or what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or the lost thing which he found, or all that about which he has sworn falsely. He shall restore its full value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his trespass offering.

Restored Holy Bible 6.0         The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

If a soul shall sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie to his neighbour,
in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or has deceived his neighbor;

or has found that which was lost, and lies concerning it, and swears falsely; in any of all these that a man does, sinning in it:

then it shall be, because he has sinned, and is guilty,
that he shall restore that which he took by force, or the thing which he obtained by deceit, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found,

or all that about which he has sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add to it the fifth part more, and give it to him to whom it appertains, in the day of his trespass-offering.

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and YHWH spoke to Mosheh saying, a soul that fails and transgresses a transgression with YHWH, and he lies to his neighbor about a deposit or security deposit of the hand or with plucking or oppresses his neighbor. Or he finds a lost thing and he lies about her, and he swears according to falsehood, anyone of the things which the human did, it is for failing in them, and it will come to pass, given that he failed and he is guilty, and he returns the plucked thing which he plucked, or the oppression which he oppressed, or the deposited thing which he set over him, or the lost thing which he found. Or from all which he will swear according to the falsehood, and he will make his restitution with his head^[722], and he will cause his fifths to be added upon him, he will give him that which belongs to him in the day of his guiltiness,... (Leviticus 5:20–24 in Benner’s Mechanical Translation)

^722. Meaning “with his principle.”

Updated Bible Version 2.17   And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

If a soul sins, and commits a trespass against Yahweh, and deals falsely with his associate in a matter of deposit, or of bargain, or of robbery, or has oppressed his associate, or has found that which was lost, and deals falsely in it, and swears to a lie; in any of all these things that man does, sinning in it; then it will be, if he has sinned, and is guilty, that he will restore that which he took by robbery, or the thing which he has gotten by oppression, or the deposit which was committed to him, or the lost thing which he found, or any thing about which he has sworn falsely; he will even restore it in full, and will add the fifth part more thereto: to him to whom it pertains he will give it, in the day of his being found guilty.

A Voice in the Wilderness      And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: If a soul sins and commits a trespass against Jehovah by lying to his neighbor about what was delivered into his hand for safekeeping, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or if he has extorted from his neighbor, or if he has found what was lost and lies concerning it, and swears falsely; in any one of these things that a man may do in which he sins: then it shall be, because he has sinned and is guilty, that he shall restore what he has stolen, or the thing which he has extorted, or what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or the lost thing which he found, or all that about which he has sworn falsely. He shall restore the principal, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his guilt offering.

Young’s Updated LT             And Jehovah speaks unto Moses, saying, “When any person does sin, and has committed a trespass against Jehovah, and has lied to his fellow concerning a deposit, or concerning fellowship, or concerning violent robbery, or has oppressed his fellow; or has found a lost thing, and has lied concerning it, and has sworn to a falsehood, concerning one of all these which man does, sinning in them:

“Then it has been, when he sins, and has been guilty, that he has returned the plunder which he has taken violently away, or the thing which he has got by oppression, or the deposit which has been deposited with him, or the lost thing which he has found; or all that concerning which he swears falsely, he has even repaid it in its principal, and its fifth he is adding to it; to him whose it is he give it in the day of his guilt-offering.

The gist of this passage:     Several things are named as sins which much be atoned for.

1-5

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

Just as before, we do not know the exact circumstances of God speaking to Moses. I would think that this takes place in the newly constructed Tabernacle. I do not believe that the exact nature of Moses’ contact with God is disclosed, so that future leaders do not attempt to do what Moses was able to do. Few people will have the sort of privileges that Moses enjoyed regarding his direct interaction with God.

Leviticus 6:1 Y^ehowah spoke to Moses, saying,... (Kukis mostly literal translation)

It is possible that, every time we find this verse, Moses has taken a break and then has returned to have God speak with him. I don't believe that this is one long conversation, but several shorter ones. We don't have God telling Moses to write these things down because Moses knows enough now to record what Y^ehowah is telling him. As of now, I have no clue as to whether Moses took dictation in the presence of Y^ehowah or whether he wrote these things down later; I would personally opt for the former inasmuch as that is the way I would do it. However, it appears that Joshua acted as Moses’ secretary, so the writing could have been a two-step process: God speaks to Moses and then Moses tells Joshua what to write down soon thereafter. In either case, Moses would have been guided by the Holy Spirit and there would be nothing lost in his recording of God's Word, whether in His presence or not.

Translation: ...“[Consider] a person [lit., soul] who sins,...

We are going to consider a person who sins against another where these things appear to be the common thread: (1) the sinner somehow has or takes property from the victim; (2) there is sinful behavior on the part of the sinner; (3) the sinner will need to restore the property (or value of the property) to the victim, plus 20%. (4) There will be additional steps necessary for the sinner to cleanse himself before God.

I will make an attempt to describe the sin being done, and try to provide a similar thing which might be done today.

Translation: ...[who] commits an infraction against Y^ehowah [in any of the following ways]:...

Even though we are studying a series of sins done by one many against another, all sin is ultimately against God. You may remember David’s famous line of prayer, “Against You and You only have I sinned.” (Psalm 51:4) David had committed adultery with the wife of a faithful soldier and then he had the soldier set up to die in battle. The evil that David did against Uriah the Hittite was allowed by God; but the sins of David belonged to David alone.

Translation: ...he is deceptive with his associate regarding something stored...

The subject of the verb is the sinner; his associate (or, neighbor) is the victim. The sinner holds a deposit given him by his neighbor. Perhaps there is a loan secured by a lamb (or other thing of value).

Application: One of the things which I have observed, as a former realtor, is a home will be repossessed and the previous owner will strip the home of anything valuable. He might remove toilets, the dishwasher and anything else that is not tied down. In this way, he has sinned against the mortgage company. He secures his mortgage, in part, by the home which he occupies. Regardless of the sad circumstances which lead to the nonpayment of the mortgage, that home secures the mortgage; and when the homeowner removes things from the home which are a part of the home, he is stealing from the mortgage company (if he knows at the time that the mortgage company will be repossessing the home).

I have seen similar things done by tenants who are being evicted. Some realize that they have damaged the property so much that they will not get their deposit back; and so, they damage the property even more; or make no effort to clean anything after they have removed their things. Or they leave things behind for the landlord to dispose of.

Let me give a third modern example: a company is supposed to store your precious metals that you purchase in your retirement; but retirement comes, and when you want to take possession of the precious metals of liquidate them, you find out that the storage was either nonexistent or insecure. The people or company in charge of storage are liable.

Translation: ...or with a deposit that he holds [lit., a deposit of hand];...

I am uncertain as to how to differentiate this circumstance with the one above, as it sounds very similar. But, for whatever reason, you are holding something of value for someone else.

Application: Today, a family may go on vacation and entrust a neighbor kid with a key to the garage to take out the lawn mower and keep the lawn mowed. But the neighbor kids leaves the garage door open and unlocked, and the garage is stolen from or vandalized.

Application: In the realm of rental real estate, when a person rents a home, they are taking responsibility for it. This is a deposit which they hold; and when they are negligent with this responsibility, the house may become damaged (in whatever way, rain coming in through open doors; thieves coming in through an open front door, etc.).

Application: It can certainly work the other way, where a deposit is held by the landlord and he does not return a proper amount to the former tenant, who may leave the home in excellent condition upon move out.

Translation: ...or in that [he has] unlawfully attained [something belonging to his neighbor]...

Perhaps the sinner somehow acquires possessions belonging to his neighbor. Maybe a wandering lamb or goat that the sinner grabs, keeping it, knowing that it belongs to his neighbor.

Application: Kids are notorious for leaving things out unsecured. Perhaps a friend rides his bike to a friend’s home, and leaves it unattended for a few hours in front of his friend’s house. Perhaps another young person just grabs it and takes it home. The parents of the thief are responsible to see that the bike is returned to the rightful owner; and if they don’t, they are guilty of a violation like this.

Translation: ...or he has exploited his associate [in some way];...

A person may exploit his neighbor in some way; suggesting that he has taken possession of property belonging to his neighbor.

Neighborhood associations have been known to harass and fine someone in their neighborhood; and even to take it to a point where association takes the home from the person due to the fines.

There was a scheme where a person may somehow get access to a vacant rent house (not his own) and rent it out to multiple tenants, taking the first month’s rent and a deposit. On the day of move in, a half dozen families show up, thinking the house is theirs—only to find out that they did not negociate with the actual owner of the home.

Leviticus 6:2 ...“[Consider] a person [lit., soul] who sins, [who] commits an infraction against Y^ehowah [in any of the following ways]: he is deceptive with his associate regarding something stored or with a deposit that he holds [lit., a deposit of hand]; or in that [he has] unlawfully attained [something belonging to his neighbor] or he has exploited his associate [in some way];... (Kukis mostly literal translation)

We have got a lot of linguistic work to do in this verse. We begin with the Qal imperfect of sins, which I have translated as subverts [the Law]; this word encompasses many categories of wrongdoing. One category of wrongdoing is named here: we have the verb mâʿal (מָעַל) [pronounced maw-ĢAHL], which is consistently translated commit a trespass in the KJV. It is also translated, to commit an infraction; to disobey; to transgress; to act treacherously, to act unfaithfully, to commit an infraction, to act covertly. This is followed by its substantive cognate maʿal (מַעַל) [pronounced MAH-ģahl], which is generally translated infraction, transgression, faithlessness, trespass. These word do not have to be together, so this puts great emphasis upon this phrase.

The preposition used with Y^ehowah is the prefixed bêyth preposition b^e (בְּ) [pronounced b^eh] and it denotes proximity. The crimes here are defrauding a neighbor, yet these crimes are infractions in close proximity to Y^ehowah. Tradition translates this preposition against, although in the sight of would be a reasonable rendering (in the sense of God being near through His ability to see what is going on anywhere).

The kind of infraction committed is specified even more by the word kâchash (שכָּחַ) [pronounced kaw-KHAHSH], a word which indicates lying and deception. It is a word found primarily in the Piel (Joshua 7:11 24:27 Leviticus 19:11 Zech. 13:4), however, it is only found twenty-two times in the Old Testament. The word found more often is the noun cognate of shâqar, sheqer Strong's #'s 8266 and 8267. I will need to differentiate between these at some time. I like the rendering defraud, however, the safer translation might be deceive. In this verse, it is in the Piel perfect.

The person he has deceived is not a neighbor, as most translations read, but this is a word almost unique to Leviticus: ʿâmîyth (עָמִית) [pronounced ģaw-MEETH] and it means associate. It is simply a person the transgressor is associated with, meaning he could be Jewish or not. Outside of Leviticus, it is found only in Zech. 13:7 (there are a lot of words found in Leviticus, Numbers and Ezekiel and Zechariah, if memory serves; meaning not that they were written by the same person, but that the prophets Ezekiel and Zechariah were likely well-acquainted with the books Leviticus and Numbers).

There are three illustrations of what is means to defraud or to deceive an associate. We have a rare word here: pîqqâdôwn (פִּקָּדוֹן) [pronounced pik-kaw-DOHN]. We are given a good idea of its meaning in Genesis 41:36—it is a reference to grain which had been stored under guard, brought by the people to the government of Egypt to be sold back to them in times of famine. In other words, it is something stored for protection which will be needed at another date. A reasonable, but wordy rendering might be a reserve held in protective reserve [or, storage].

Then we have a transgression which seems out of place. The official translation for gâzêl (גָזֵל) [pronounced gaw-ZALE] is violent robbery; however, I am going to go with extortion instead. It only occurs four times in the Old Testament (Leviticus 6:2 Prov. 62:10 Isa. 61:8 Ezek. 22:29). It is the substantive cognate of a verb which might mean to violently rob which is found much more extensively in the Bible.

And finally we have a difficult verb, not because it rarely occurs, but because it occurs quite a number of times with three related but significantly different renderings. The verb is ʿâshaq (חָשַק) [pronounced ģaw-SHAHK] and it is rendered oppressed, defrauded, deceived. It is possible that we can combine these meanings into the rendering exploited.

I think what is key to this passage is that we are dealing with monetary gain by one who has taken advantage of someone else by exploiting them; or has legally (or, illegally) taken money from them. The possible infractions are continued in the next verse:

Translation: ...or he finds a lost item but denies [finding] it...

In the farming and ranching society such as the Hebrew people enjoyed, it was not an unusual event for an animal to stray from one property to another. This might be a very common occurrence. The sinner may try to keep the animal, not revealing that he found it.

Application: I gave the example earlier of a parent being aware that their child found a toy, a bike, something. Obviously, the parent needs to thoroughly investigate something like this, for the sake of both children (the one who took the item and the person from whom the item was taken).

Translation: ...and swears a lie [to his associate].

One person may lie to a neighbor; he may deceive him in some way.

Translation: The man does one of these things [lit., upon one from all that has done],...

You will note than in each of these situations, there is a perpetrator (the sinner) and the victim (the person who was defrauded, stolen from, etc.).

God looks at this from the standpoint of the sinner. He is the one responsible to God.

Translation: ...to sin in them.

This discussion is all about a man who has done one of the things listed above.

Leviticus 6:3 ...or he finds a lost item but denies [finding] it and swears a lie [to his associate]. The man does one of these things [lit., upon one from all that has done], to sin in them. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

This verse won't be as difficult as the previous verse. Here something was lost and another found it and either kept it or sold it. Furthermore, if questioned about any of these acts of deception for capital gain, he swears that he is innocent of any wrongdoing.