Leviticus 5:1

Leviticus 5:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)“ ‘If anyone sins because they do not speak up when they hear a public charge to testify regarding something they have seen or learned about, they will be held responsible.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"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;
• New King James Version (NKJV)‘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.

Context of Leviticus 5:1

⌞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. 2“If you touch anything unclean —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. 3“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.

Leviticus 5:1 word by word

וְנֶ֣פֶשׁ כִּֽי־תֶחֱטָ֗א וְשָֽׁמְעָה֙ ק֣וֹל אָלָ֔ה וְה֣וּא עֵ֔ד א֥וֹ רָאָ֖ה א֣וֹ יָדָ֑ע אִם־ל֥וֹא יַגִּ֖יד וְנָשָׂ֥א עֲוֹנֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And if a soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: personH5315
• sinחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
• and hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• the voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voice: [sound of]H6963
• of swearingאָלָה'âlâh · oathH423
• a witnessעֵד‛êd · witnessH5707
• whetherאוֹ'ô 'av · orH176
• he hath seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• or knownיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• if he do not utterנָגַדnâgad · to tellH5046
• then he shall bearנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: guiltH5375
• his iniquityעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771

Cross-references for Leviticus 5:1

• Leviticus 5:15“If any of you fail to do your duty by unintentionally doing something wrong with any of the Lord’s holy things, bring a guilt offering to the Lord. It must be a ram that has no defects or its value in silver weighed according to the official standards of the holy place.
• Leviticus 4:2“Tell the Israelites: If a person unintentionally does something wrong—even one thing that is forbidden by any of the Lord’s commands—this is what he must do.
• Ezekiel 18:4The life of every person belongs to me. Fathers and their children belong to me. The person who sins will die.
• Exodus 22:11The case between them must be settled by swearing an oath to the Lord that the neighbor did not take the other person’s animal. The owner must accept the oath. The neighbor doesn’t have to make up for the loss.
• Judges 17:2He told his mother, “You were upset about the 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you. I even heard you put a curse on them. Here’s the silver. I took it!” His mother said, “The Lord bless you, my son!”
• 1 Kings 8:31“If anyone sins against another person and is required to take an oath and comes to take the oath in front of your altar in this temple,
• 1 Kings 22:16The king asked him, “How many times must I make you take an oath in the Lord’s name to tell me nothing but the truth?”
• 2 Chronicles 18:15The king asked him, “How many times must I make you take an oath in the Lord’s name to tell me nothing but the truth?”
• Proverbs 29:24Whoever is a thief’s partner hates his own life. He will not testify under oath.
• Proverbs 30:9or I may feel satisfied and deny you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or I may become poor and steal and give the name of my God a bad reputation.
• Matthew 26:63But Jesus was silent. Then the chief priest said to him, “Swear an oath in front of the living God and tell us, are you the Messiah, the Son of God?”
• Leviticus 5:17“If any of you do wrong—even one thing forbidden by any of the Lord’s commands, but you didn’t know it—when you realize your guilt, you must be punished.
• Leviticus 7:18You will not be accepted if any meat from the fellowship offering is eaten on the third day. You will not receive credit for it. It is repulsive to God. The person who eats any of it must be punished.
• Leviticus 17:16If they don’t wash their clothes and their bodies, they will be guilty of sin.”
• Leviticus 19:8Those who eat it will be punished because they have dishonored what is holy to the Lord. They must be excluded from the people.
• Leviticus 20:17Whoever takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and has sexual intercourse does a shameful thing. They both must be publicly excluded from the people. He has had sexual intercourse with his sister and must be punished.

Commentaries on Leviticus 5:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1If a soul sin - It is generally supposed that the case referred to here is that of a person who, being demanded by the civil magistrate to answer upon oath, refuses to tell what he knows concerning the subject; such a one shall bear his iniquity - shall be considered as guilty in the sight of God, of the transgression which he has endeavored to conceal, and must expect to be punished by him for hiding the iniquity to which he was privy, or suppressing the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-13Verses 1-13 Special occasions are mentioned on which sin-offerings are to be made with a particular confession of the offence for which atonement is sought Leviticus 5:5. Leviticus 5:1 Swearing - Adjuration. The case appears to be that of one who has been put upon his oath as a witness by a magistrate, and fails to utter all he has seen and heard (compare the marginal references. and Proverbs 29:24; Numbers 5:21). Leviticus 5:2-3 Hid from him - Either…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Concerning various trespasses. (1-13) Concerning trespasses against the Lord. (14-19) Verses 1-13 The offences here noticed are, 1. A man's concealing the truth, when he was sworn as a witness to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If, in such a case, for fear of offending one that has been his friend, or may be his enemy, a man refuses to give evidence, or gives it but in part, he shall bear his iniquity. And that is a heavy…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1The first sin was not testifying when summoned as a witness in court. This verse considers not testifying to be an active sin. This was because it helped the criminal. he shall bear the iniquity: Expecting God's punishment for the sin, the guilty person offered a sacrifice to remove the guilt and escape the punishment.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 11. if a soul ... hear the voice of swearing--or, according to some, "the words of adjuration." A proclamation was issued calling any one who could give information, to come before the court and bear testimony to the guilt of a criminal; and the manner in which witnesses were interrogated in the Jewish courts of justice was not by swearing them directly, but adjuring them by reading the words of an oath: "the voice of swearing." The offense, then, for the…Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 5:1

• Evidence
• Witness

In the dictionaries

• Harm
• Sinoffering
• Thereunto
• Witness
• Adjuration
• Criticism
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genesis
• Guilt
• Heifer, Red

Commentaries on Leviticus 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings