Leviticus 4:3
in Leviticus 4If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without blemish as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
if the anointed priest shall sin so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto Jehovah for a sin-offering.
KJV
If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the Lord for a sin offering.
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This verse in Leviticus 4
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The priest that is anointed - i. e. the high priest. (Compare Lev 8:12; Lev 21:10; Exo 29:7). On the anointing of the other priests see the note at Lev 8:13. The graduation of the sin-offerings is remarkable. It might seem that the distinction addressed itself more pointedly to each individual according to his rank and consequent responsibility (see Lev 4:32). According to the sin of the people - Rather, to bring guilt on the people. The whole nation is concerned in every transgression of its representative.
This site's exposition
the priest that is anointed do sin
on Leviticus 4:3-4
The chapter grades one offering by who sinned, and it begins at the top. A sin by the anointed priest is described as according to the sin of the people, which Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read as bringing guilt on the nation, since the man who carries Israel in to God cannot sin privately. He brings a young bullock, the costliest animal named anywhere in the chapter, and he lays his own hand on its head and kills it himself.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And before the time of the prophets, when he wanted to show that sins received a much heavier penalty when they were committed by the priests than when they were committed by ordinary people, he commanded as great a sacrifice to be offered for the priests as for all the people. This explicitly proves that the priest's wounds require greater help, indeed as much as those of all the people together. They would not have required greater help if they had not been more serious, and their seriousness is not increased by their own nature but by the extra weight of dignity belonging to the priest who dares to commit them.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), which supposes him in this matter to stand upon the level with other Israelites, and to have no benefit of his clergy at all. Now the law concerning the sin-offering for the high priest is, 1. That he must bring a bullock without blemish for a sin-offering (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
If the priest that is anointed do sin,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
He is the person principally meant, though the common order of the priesthood was included. according to the sin of the people--that is, bring guilt on the people.
In the previous chapters of the book of Leviticus you read of the burnt offering, the peace offering, and the meat offering—all types our Lord Jesus Christ as seen from different points of view. Those three sacrifices were sweet savor offerings, and represent the Lord Jesus in His glorious Person and perfect righteousness as an offering of a sweet smell unto God. The chapter before us, the whole of which we shall require as a text, describes the sin offering, which, although quite distinct from the sweet savor offerings, is not altogether to be separated from them, for the Lord Jesus Christ viewed in any light is very dear unto His Father. And even when beheld as a sin offering, He is elect and precious unto God, as we shall have to show you in the type before us. Still, the sin offering does not set forth the acceptance of the substitute before the Lord, but rather brings out the abhorrence which God has towards sin, the putting away from His holy Presence of everything upon which sin is laid. This morning, if God shall enable us, we hope to impress upon your minds, first of all, the great evil of sin. And secondly, the great and wonderful power of the blood of atonement by which sin is put away. Without any further preface we shall invite you, in meditating upon the type before us, first, to consider our Lord Jesus as made sin for us. Secondly, we shall ask you to observe, carefully and prayerfully, His blood in its efficacy before the Lord. And thirdly, we shall bid you look at His substitution in the shame which it involved. I. First, Brethren, let us, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, view our blessed Lord as made sin for us, as He is here typified in the bull. 1. His personal Character is set forth before us in the victim chosen, namely, a young bull without blemish.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
In the previous chapters of the book of Leviticus you read of the burnt offering, the peace offering, and the meat offering—all types our Lord Jesus Christ as seen from different points of view. Those three sacrifices were sweet savor offerings, and represent the Lord Jesus in His glorious Person and perfect righteousness as an offering of a sweet smell unto God.
If the priest that is anointed - Meaning, most probably, the high priest. According to the sin of the people; for although he had greater advantages than the people could have, in being more conversant with the law of God, and his lips should understand and preserve knowledge, yet it was possible even for him, in that time in which the word of God had not been fully revealed, to transgress through ignorance; and his transgression might have the very worst tendency, because the people might be thereby led into sin. Hence several critics understand this passage in this way, and translate it thus: If the anointed priest shall lead the people to sin; or, literally, if the anointed priest shall sin to the sin of the people; that is, so as to cause the people to transgress, the shepherd going astray, and the sheep following after him.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִ֣ם | ʾim | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֧ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| הַמָּשִׁ֛יחַ | hamashiach | <the> anointed | H4899 → | 39 times |
| יֶחֱטָ֖א | yecheta' | he will sin | H2398 → | 238 times |
| לְאַשְׁמַ֣ת | leashmat | to [the] guilt of | H819 → | 19 times |
| הָעָ֑ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְהִקְרִ֡יב | vehikriv | and he will present | H7126 → | 280 times |
| עַ֣ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חַטָּאתוֹ֩ | chatato | sin his | H2403 → | 295 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| חָטָ֜א | chata' | he sinned | H2398 → | 238 times |
| פַּ֣ר | par | a bull | H6499 → | 132 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | a young one of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בָּקָ֥ר | bakar | [the] herd | H1241 → | 183 times |
| תָּמִ֛ים | tamim | unblemished | H8549 → | 91 times |
| לַיהוָ֖ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לְחַטָּֽאת׃ | lechatat | to a sin offering | H2403 → | 295 times |
אִ֣םif
ʾimH518 →1069 times
הַכֹּהֵ֧ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
הַמָּשִׁ֛יחַ<the> anointed
hamashiachH4899 →39 times
יֶחֱטָ֖אhe will sin
yecheta'H2398 →238 times
לְאַשְׁמַ֣תto [the] guilt of
leashmatH819 →19 times
הָעָ֑םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וְהִקְרִ֡יבand he will present
vehikrivH7126 →280 times
עַ֣לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
חַטָּאתוֹ֩sin his
chatatoH2403 →295 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
חָטָ֜אhe sinned
chata'H2398 →238 times
פַּ֣רa bull
parH6499 →132 times
בֶּן־a young one of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
בָּקָ֥ר[the] herd
bakarH1241 →183 times
תָּמִ֛יםunblemished
tamimH8549 →91 times
לַיהוָ֖הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
לְחַטָּֽאת׃to a sin offering
lechatatH2403 →295 times
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
2 Corinthians 5:21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:22–24
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”
- 1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- Romans 5:19
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
- Galatians 3:13
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
- 1 Corinthians 1:30
It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
- 1 Peter 2:22–24
Through
Ezra 8:35Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and a sin offering of 12 male goats. All…
it leads to
- Ezra 6:17
For the dedication of the house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and a sin offering for all Israel of twelve male goats, one for each tribe…
- Ezra 6:17
Through
Leviticus 9:2He said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and present them before the LORD.
it leads to
- Exodus 29:1
“Now this is what you are to do to consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without blemish,
- Leviticus 8:14
Moses then brought the bull near for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.
- Exodus 29:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 739: “The Sin Offering” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood 6.16; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.