Leviticus 4:20

Leviticus 4:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
• New International Version (NIV)and do with this bull just as he did with the bull for the sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the community, and they will be forgiven.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Thus shall he do with the bull. As he did with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this. And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And he shall do with the bull as he did with the bull as a sin offering; thus he shall do with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.

Context of Leviticus 4:20

18He will then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for fragrant incense that stands in the Lord’s presence inside the Tabernacle. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 19Then the priest must remove all the animal’s fat and burn it on the altar, just as he does with the bull offered as a sin offering for the high priest. Through this process, the priest will purify the people, making them right with the Lord, and they will be forgiven. 21Then the priest must take what is left of the bull and carry it outside the camp and burn it there, just as is done with the sin offering for the high priest. This offering is for the sin of the entire congregation of Israel. 22“If one of Israel’s leaders sins by violating one of the commands of the Lord his God but doesn’t realize it, he is still guilty.

Leviticus 4:20 word by word

וְעָשָׂ֣ה לַפָּ֔ר כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשָׂה֙ לְפַ֣ר הַֽחַטָּ֔את כֵּ֖ן יַעֲשֶׂה־לּ֑וֹ וְכִפֶּ֧ר עֲלֵהֶ֛ם הַכֹּהֵ֖ן וְנִסְלַ֥ח לָהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he shall doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• with the bullockפַּרpar pâr · bullockH6499
• for a sin offeringחַטָּאתchaţţâ'âh chaţţâ'th · sin: sin offeringH2403
• with this: and the priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• shall make an atonementכִּפֶּרkâphar · to atoneH3722
• for them, and it shall be forgivenסָלַחsâlach · to forgiveH5545

Cross-references for Leviticus 4:20

• Leviticus 4:3“If the high priest sins, bringing guilt upon the entire community, he must give a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He must present to the Lord a young bull with no defects.
• Leviticus 4:26Then he must burn all the goat’s fat on the altar, just as he does with the peace offering. Through this process, the priest will purify the leader from his sin, making him right with the Lord, and he will be forgiven.
• Leviticus 1:4Lay your hand on the animal’s head, and the Lord will accept its death in your place to purify you, making you right with him.
• Leviticus 5:6Then you must bring to the Lord as the penalty for your sin a female from the flock, either a sheep or a goat. This is a sin offering with which the priest will purify you from your sin, making you right with the Lord.
• Leviticus 6:7Through this process, the priest will purify you before the Lord, making you right with him, and you will be forgiven for any of these sins you have committed.”
• Leviticus 12:8“If a woman cannot afford to bring a lamb, she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons. One will be for the burnt offering and the other for the purification offering. The priest will sacrifice them to purify her, and she will be ceremonially clean.”
• Leviticus 14:18The priest will apply the oil remaining in his hand to the head of the person being purified. Through this process, the priest will purify the person before the Lord.
• Exodus 32:30The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin, but I will go back up to the Lord on the mountain. Perhaps I will be able to obtain forgiveness for your sin.”
• Numbers 15:25With it the priest will purify the whole community of Israel, making them right with the Lord, and they will be forgiven. For it was an unintentional sin, and they have corrected it with their offerings to the Lord—the special gift and the sin offering.
• Daniel 9:24“A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
• Romans 5:11So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
• Galatians 3:13But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
• Hebrews 1:3The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.
• Hebrews 2:17Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.
• Hebrews 9:14Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
• Hebrews 10:10For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.

Commentaries on Leviticus 4:20

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-21Verses 13-21 If the leaders of the people, through mistake, caused them to err, an offering must be brought, that wrath might not come upon the whole congregation. When sacrifices were offered, the persons, on whose behalf they were devoted, were to lay their hands on the heads of the victims, and to confess their sins. The elders were to do so, when the sacrifices were offered for the whole congregation. The load of sin was supposed then to be borne by…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20The phrase they will be forgiven often appears in passages about atonement (Leviticus 4:26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7; 19:22; Numbers 15:25, 26, 28). God is willing to forgive a repentant person's sin and allow him or her to return to the community of faith.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-2113-21. if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance--In consequence of some culpable neglect or misapprehension of the law, the people might contract national guilt, and then national expiation was necessary. The same sacrifice was to be offered as in the former case, but with this difference in the ceremonial, that the elders or heads of the tribes, as representing the people and being the principal aggressors in misleading the congregation…Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 4:20

• Atonement
• Ignorance
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Sin Offering
• Dip
• Sanctuary
• Sinoffering
• Congregation
• Criticism
• Exodus, the Book of
• Ezekiel
• Genesis
• Law in the Old Testament

Commentaries on Leviticus 4

• 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