Leviticus 4:2
in Leviticus 4“Tell the Israelites to do as follows with one who sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s commandments and does what is forbidden by them:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any one shall sin unwittingly, in any of the things which Jehovah hath commanded not to be done, and shall do any one of them:
KJV
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:
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This verse in Leviticus 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseIf a soul shall sin through ignorance - That is, if any man shall do what God has forbidden, or leave undone what God has commanded, through ignorance of the law relative to these points; as soon as the transgression or omission comes to his knowledge, he shall offer the sacrifice here prescribed, and shall not suppose that his ignorance is an excuse for his sin.
This site's exposition
the LORD spake unto Moses
on Leviticus 4:1-2
This verse opens the formula that carries the rest of the book, and thirty-three passages of Leviticus begin with the LORD speaking to Moses from here on. The subject given is a soul that sins through ignorance, a phrase that occurs here for the first time in Scripture and falls in only eight verses of the whole King James Bible, four of them in this chapter. The burnt offering was brought of a man's own voluntary will at Leviticus 1:3, and this one is required of him the moment he learns what he did.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The wits or wills of men, their inventions or their injunctions, cannot make that to be sin which the law of God has not made to be so. It is said likewise, if a soul sin, for it is not sin if it be not some way or other the soul's act; hence it is called the sin of the soul ( Mic. vi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The sins, however, referred to in this law were unintentional violations of the ceremonial laws,--breaches made through haste, or inadvertency of some negative precepts, which, if done knowingly and wilfully, would have involved a capital punishment. do against any of them--To bring out the meaning, it is necessary to supply, "he shall bring a sin offering." Le 4:3-35.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דַּבֵּ֞ר | daber | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֘ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לֵאמֹר֒ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| נֶ֗פֶשׁ | nefesh | anyone | H5315 → | 754 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תֶחֱטָ֤א | techeta' | it will sin | H2398 → | 238 times |
| בִשְׁגָגָה֙ | vishgagah | by inadvertence | H7684 → | 19 times |
| מִכֹּל֙ | mikol | any of all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מִצְוֹ֣ת | mitzvot | [the] commandments of | H4687 → | 181 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֵעָשֶׂ֑ינָה | teaseinah | they will be done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וְעָשָׂ֕ה | veasah | and he will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מֵאַחַ֖ת | meachat | any one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מֵהֵֽנָּה׃ | mehenah | of them |
דַּבֵּ֞רspeak
daberH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֘לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לֵאמֹר֒<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
נֶ֗פֶשׁanyone
nefeshH5315 →754 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תֶחֱטָ֤אit will sin
techeta'H2398 →238 times
בִשְׁגָגָה֙by inadvertence
vishgagahH7684 →19 times
מִכֹּל֙any of all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
מִצְוֹ֣ת[the] commandments of
mitzvotH4687 →181 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תֵעָשֶׂ֑ינָהthey will be done
teaseinahH6213 →2628 times
וְעָשָׂ֕הand he will do
veasahH6213 →2628 times
מֵאַחַ֖תany one
meachatH259 →971 times
מֵהֵֽנָּה׃of them
mehenah
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
James 3:10Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be!
it leads to
- Romans 12:14
Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.
- 1 Peter 3:9
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
- Psalms 50:16–20
To the wicked, however, God says, “What right have you to recite My statutes and to bear My covenant on your lips?
- 1 Corinthians 3:3
for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?
- Romans 12:14
Through
Psalms 19:12Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
it leads to
- Psalms 90:8
You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
- Psalms 139:23–24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
- Job 6:24
Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand how I have erred.
- Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
- Psalms 90:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Andrew Bonar, A Commentary on Leviticus; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.