Imamat 9:20

9:20 they ¹  set those on the breasts and he offered the fat parts up in smoke on the altar.

Imamat 19:14

19:14 You must not curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block in front of a blind person. ²  You must fear ³  your God; I am the Lord.

Imamat 6:4

6:4 when it happens that he sins and he is found guilty, ⁴  then he must return whatever he had stolen, or whatever he had extorted, or the thing that he had held in trust, ⁵  or the lost thing that he had found,

Imamat 6:10

6:10 Then the priest must put on his linen robe and must put linen leggings ⁶  over his bare flesh, and he must take up the fatty ashes of the burnt offering that the fire consumed on the altar, ⁷  and he must place them ⁸  beside the altar.

Imamat 10:1

Nadab and Abihu

10:1 Then ⁹  Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan and put fire in it, set incense on it, and presented strange fire ¹⁰  before the Lord, which he had not commanded them to do.

Imamat 6:2

6:2 “When a person sins and commits a trespass ¹¹  against the Lord by deceiving his fellow citizen ¹²  in regard to something held in trust, or a pledge, or something stolen, or by extorting something from his fellow citizen, ¹³ 

Imamat 8:8

8:8 He then set the breastpiece ¹⁴  on him and put the Urim and Thummim ¹⁵  into the breastpiece.

Imamat 24:6

24:6 and you must set them in two rows, six in a row, ¹⁶  on the ceremonially pure table before the Lord.

Imamat 26:46

Summary Colophon

26:46 These are the statutes, regulations, and instructions which the Lord established ¹⁷  between himself and the Israelites at Mount Sinai through ¹⁸  Moses.

Imamat 16:13

16:13 He must then put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the cloud of incense will cover the atonement plate which is above the ark of the testimony, ¹⁹  so that he will not die. ²⁰ 

Imamat 8:26

8:26 and from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord he took one unleavened loaf, one loaf of bread mixed with olive oil, and one wafer, ²¹  and placed them on the fat parts and on the right thigh.

Imamat 2:15

2:15 And you must put olive oil on it and set frankincense on it – it is a grain offering.

Imamat 16:21

16:21 Aaron is to lay his two hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins, ²²  and thus he is to put them ²³  on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man standing ready. ²⁴ 

Imamat 8:27

8:27 He then put all of them on the palms ²⁵  of Aaron and his sons, who waved ²⁶  them as a wave offering before the Lord. ²⁷ 

Imamat 19:18

19:18 You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge ²⁸  against the children of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself. ²⁹  I am the Lord.

Imamat 8:9

8:9 Finally, he set the turban ³⁰  on his head and attached the gold plate, the holy diadem, ³¹  to the front of the turban just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Imamat 19:36

19:36 You must have honest balances, ³²  honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. ³³  I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt.

Imamat 26:1

Exhortation to Obedience

26:1 “‘You must not make for yourselves idols, ³⁴  so you must not set up for yourselves a carved image or a pillar, and you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down before ³⁵  it, for I am the Lord your God.

Imamat 1:7

1:7 and the sons of Aaron, the priest, ³⁶  must put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire.

Imamat 24:12

24:12 So they placed him in custody until they were able ³⁷  to make a clear legal decision for themselves based on words from the mouth of the Lord. ³⁸ 

Imamat 14:11

14:11 and the priest who pronounces him clean will have the man who is being cleansed stand along with these offerings ³⁹  before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.

Imamat 19:32

19:32 You must stand up in the presence of the aged, honor the presence of an elder, and fear your God. I am the Lord.

Imamat 24:7

24:7 You must put pure frankincense ⁴⁰  on each row, ⁴¹  and it will become a memorial portion ⁴²  for the bread, a gift ⁴³  to the Lord.

Imamat 5:11

5:11 “‘If he cannot afford ⁴⁴  two turtledoves or two young pigeons, ⁴⁵  he must bring as his offering for his sin which he has committed ⁴⁶  a tenth of an ephah ⁴⁷  of choice wheat flour ⁴⁸  for a sin offering. He must not place olive oil on it and he must not put frankincense on it, because it is a sin offering.

Imamat 6:12

6:12 but the fire which is on the altar must be kept burning on it. ⁴⁹  It must not be extinguished. So the priest must kindle wood on it morning by morning, and he must arrange the burnt offering on it and offer the fat of the peace offering up in smoke on it.

Imamat 8:13

8:13 Moses also brought forward Aaron’s sons, clothed them with tunics, wrapped sashes around them, ⁵⁰  and wrapped headbands on them ⁵¹  just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Imamat 11:34

11:34 Any food that may be eaten which becomes soaked with water ⁵²  will become unclean. Anything drinkable ⁵³  in any such vessel will become unclean. ⁵⁴ 

Imamat 19:29

19:29 Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, ⁵⁵  so that the land does not practice prostitution and become full of lewdness. ⁵⁶ 

Imamat 20:27

Prohibition against Spiritists and Mediums

20:27 “‘A man or woman who ⁵⁷  has in them a spirit of the dead or a familiar spirit ⁵⁸  must be put to death. They must pelt them with stones; ⁵⁹  their blood guilt is on themselves.’”

Imamat 27:11

27:11 If what is vowed is an unclean animal from which an offering must not be presented to the Lord, then he must stand the animal before the priest,

Imamat 22:22

22:22 “‘You must not present to the Lord something blind, or with a broken bone, or mutilated, or with a running sore, ⁶⁰  or with a festering eruption, or with a feverish rash. ⁶¹  You must not give any of these as a gift ⁶²  on the altar to the Lord.

Imamat 24:3

24:3 Outside the veil-canopy ⁶³  of the congregation in the Meeting Tent Aaron ⁶⁴  must arrange it from evening until morning before the Lord continually. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations. ⁶⁵ 

[9:20]  ¹ tn The plural “they” refers to the sons of Aaron (cf. v. 18). The LXX, Smr, and Syriac have singular “he,” referring to Aaron alone as in the latter half of the verse (the singular is followed here by NLT). Cf. NCV “Aaron’s sons put them.”

[19:14]  ² tn Heb “You shall not curse a deaf [person] and before a blind [person] you shall not put a stumbling block.”

[19:14]  ³ tn Heb “And you shall fear.” Many English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV) regard the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) as adversative in force here (“but”).

[6:4]  ⁴ tn 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.

[6:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “that had been held in trust with him.”

[6:10]  ⁶ tn The exact nature of this article of the priest’s clothing is difficult to determine. Cf. KJV, ASV “breeches”; NAB “drawers”; NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “undergarments”; NCV “underclothes”; CEV “underwear”; TEV “shorts.”

[6:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “he shall lift up the fatty ashes which the fire shall consume the burnt offering on the altar.”

[6:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “it,” referring the “fatty ashes” as a single unit.

[10:1]  ⁹ tn Although it has been used elsewhere in this translation as an English variation from the ubiquitous use of vav in Hebrew, in this instance “then” as a rendering for vav is intended to show that the Nadab and Abihu catastrophe took place on the inauguration day described in Lev 9. The tragic incident in Lev 10 happened in close temporal connection to the Lord’s fire that consumed the offerings at the end of Lev 9. Thus, for example, the “sin offering” male goat referred to in Lev 10:16-19 is the very one referred to in Lev 9:15.

[10:1]  ¹⁰ tn The expression “strange fire” (אֵשׁ זָרָה, ’esh zarah) seems imprecise (cf. NAB “profane fire”; NIV “unauthorized fire”; NRSV “unholy fire”; NLT “a different kind of fire”) and has been interpreted numerous ways (see the helpful summary in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 132-33). The infraction may have involved any of the following or a combination thereof: (1) using coals from someplace other than the burnt offering altar (i.e., “unauthorized coals” according to J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:598; cf. Lev 16:12 and cf. “unauthorized person” אִישׁ זָר (’ish zar) in Num 16:40 [17:5 HT], NASB “layman”), (2) using the wrong kind of incense (cf. the Exod 30:9 regulation against “strange incense” קְטֹרֶת זָרָה (qÿtoreh zarah) on the incense altar and the possible connection to Exod 30:34-38), (3) performing an incense offering at an unprescribed time (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 59), or (4) entering the Holy of Holies at an inappropriate time (Lev 16:1-2).

[6:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root מַעַל, ma’al). See the note on 5:15.

[6:2]  ¹² tn Or “neighbor” (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NASB “companion”; TEV “a fellow-Israelite.”

[6:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “has extorted his neighbor”; ASV “oppressed”; NRSV “defrauded.”

[8:8]  ¹⁴ sn The breastpiece was made of the same material as the ephod and was attached to it by means of gold rings and chains on its four corners (Exod 28:15-30; 29:5; 39:8-21). It had twelve stones attached to it (representing the twelve tribes of Israel), and a pocket in which the Urim and Thummim were kept (see following).

[8:8]  ¹⁵ sn The Urim and Thummim were two small objects used in the casting of lots to discern the will of God (see Exod 28:30; Num 27:21; Deut 33:8; 1 Sam 14:41 in the LXX and 28:6; Ezra 2:63 and Neh 7:65). It appears that by casting them one could obtain a yes or no answer, or no answer at all (1 Sam 28:6; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 111-12). See the extensive discussion in J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:507-11.

[24:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “six of the row.”

[26:46]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “gave” (so NLT); KJV, ASV, NCV “made.”

[26:46]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “by the hand of” (so KJV).

[16:13]  ¹⁹ tn The text here has only “above the testimony,” but this is surely a shortened form of “above the ark of the testimony” (see Exod 25:22 etc.; cf. Lev 16:2). The term “testimony” in this expression refers to the ark as the container of the two stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them (see Exod 25:16 with Deut 10:1, 5, etc.).

[16:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he will not die,” but it is clear that the purpose for the incense cloud was to protect the priest from death in the presence of the Lord (cf. vv. 1-2 above).

[8:26]  ²¹ tn See Lev 2:4.

[16:21]  ²² tn Heb “transgressions to all their sins.”

[16:21]  ²³ tn Heb “and he shall give them.”

[16:21]  ²⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term עִתִּי (’itti) is uncertain. It is apparently related to עֵת (’et, “time”), and could perhaps mean either that he has been properly “appointed” (i.e., designated) for the task (e.g., NIV and NRSV) or “ready” (e.g., NASB and NEB).

[8:27]  ²⁵ sn The “palms” refer to the up-turned hands, positioned in such a way that the articles of the offering could be placed on them.

[8:27]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and he waved.” The subject of the verb “he waved” is Aaron, but Aaron’s sons also performed the action (see “Aaron and his sons” just previously). See the similar shifts from Moses to Aaron as the subject of the action above (vv. 15, 16, 19, 20, 23), and esp. the note on Lev 8:15. In the present translation this is rendered as an adjectival clause (“who waved”) to indicate that the referent is not Moses but Aaron and his sons. Cf. CEV “who lifted it up”; NAB “whom he had wave” (with “he” referring to Moses here).

[8:27]  ²⁷ sn See Lev 7:30-31, 34.

[19:18]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and you shall not retain [anger?].” This line seems to refer to the retaining or maintaining of some vengeful feelings toward someone. Compare the combination of the same terms for taking vengeance and maintaining wrath against enemies in Nahum 1:2 (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 305).

[19:18]  ²⁹ sn Some scholars make a distinction between the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) with the direct object and the more unusual construction with the preposition לְ (lamed) as it is here and in Lev 19:34 and 2 Chr 19:2 only. If there is a distinction, the construction here probably calls for direct and helpful action toward one’s neighbor (see the discussion in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 305, and esp. 317-18). Such love stands in contrast to taking vengeance or bearing a grudge against someone and, in NT terms, amounts to fulfilling the so-called “golden rule” (Matt 7:12).

[8:9]  ³⁰ tn Although usually thought to be a “turban” (and so translated by the majority of English versions) this object might be only a “turban-like headband” wound around the forehead area (HALOT 624 s.v. מִצְנֶפֶת).

[8:9]  sn The turban consisted of wound-up linen (cf. Exod 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:31; Lev 16:4).

[8:9]  ³¹ sn The gold plate was attached as a holy diadem to the front of the turban by means of a blue cord, and had written on it “Holy to the Lord” (Exod 28:36-37; 39:30-31). This was a particularly important article of high priestly clothing in that it served as the main emblem indicating Aaron’s acceptable representation of Israel before the Lord (Exod 28:38).

[19:36]  ³² tn Heb “balances of righteousness,” and so throughout this sentence.

[19:36]  ³³ sn An ephah is a dry measure which measures about four gallons, or perhaps one third of a bushel, while a hin is a liquid measure of about 3.6 liters (= approximately 1 quart).

[26:1]  ³⁴ sn For the literature regarding the difficult etymology and meaning of the term for “idols” (אֱלִילִם, ’elilim), see the literature cited in the note on Lev 19:4. It appears to be a diminutive play on words with אֵל (’el, “god, God”) and, perhaps at the same time, recalls a common Semitic word for “worthless, weak, powerless, nothingness.” Snaith suggests a rendering of “worthless godlings.”

[26:1]  ³⁵ tn Heb “on.” The “sculpted stone” appears to be some sort of stone with images carved into (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 181, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 449).

[1:7]  ³⁶ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Tg. Onq. have plural “priests” here (cf. 1:5, 8) rather than the MT singular “priest” (cf. NAB). The singular “priest” would mean (1) Aaron, the (high) priest, or (2) the officiating priest, as in Lev 1:9 (cf. 6:10 [3 HT], etc.). “The sons of Aaron” is probably a textual corruption caused by conflation with Lev 1:5, 8 (cf. the remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 13).

[24:12]  ³⁷ tn The words “until they were able” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[24:12]  ³⁸ tn The Hebrew here is awkward. A literal reading would be something like the following: “And they placed him in custody to give a clear decision [HALOT 976 s.v. פרשׁ qal] for themselves on the mouth of the Lord.” In any case, they were apparently waiting for a direct word from the Lord regarding this matter (see vv. 13ff).

[14:11]  ³⁹ tn The MT here is awkward to translate into English. It reads literally, “and the priest who pronounces clean (Piel participle of טָהֵר, taher) shall cause to stand (Hiphil of עָמַד, ’amad) the man who is cleansing himself (Hitpael participle of טָהֵר) and them” (i.e., the offerings listed in v. 10; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity). Alternatively, the Piel of טָהֵר could be rendered “who performs the cleansing/purification” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:827), perhaps even as a technical term for one who holds the office of “purification priest” (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 87). It is probably better, however, to retain the same meaning here as in v. 7 above (see the note there regarding the declarative Piel use of this verb).

[24:7]  ⁴⁰ tn This is not just any “incense” (קְטֹרֶת, qÿtoret; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:913-16), but specifically “frankincense” (לְבֹנָה, lÿvonah; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:756-57).

[24:7]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “on [עַל, ’al] the row,” probably used distributively, “on each row” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 395-96). Perhaps the frankincense was placed “with” or “along side of” each row, not actually on the bread itself, and was actually burned as incense to the Lord (cf. NIV “Along [Alongside CEV] each row”; NRSV “with each row”; NLT “near each row”; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 165). This particular preposition can have such a meaning.

[24:7]  ⁴² sn The “memorial portion” (אַזְכָרָה, ’azkharah) was normally the part of the grain offering that was burnt on the altar (see Lev 2:2 and the notes there), as opposed to the remainder, which was normally consumed by the priests (Lev 2:3; see the full regulations in Lev 6:14-23 [6:7-16 HT]).

[24:7]  ⁴³ sn See the note on Lev 1:9 regarding the term “gift.”

[5:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and if his hand does not reach [or is not sufficient] to”; cf. NASB “if his means are insufficient for.” The expression is the same as that in Lev 5:7 above except for the verb: נָשַׂג (nasag, “to collect, to reach, to be sufficient”) is used here, but נָגַע (nagah, “to touch, to reach”) is used in v. 7. Smr has the former in both v. 7 and 11.

[5:11]  ⁴⁵ tn See the note on Lev 1:14 above (cf. also 5:7).

[5:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and he shall bring his offering which he sinned.” Like the similar expression in v. 7 above (see the note there), this is an abbreviated form of Lev 5:6, “and he shall bring his [penalty for] guilt to the Lord for his sin which he committed.” Here the words “to the Lord for his sin” have been left out, and “his [penalty for] guilt” has been changed to “his offering.”

[5:11]  ⁴⁷ sn A tenth of an ephah would be about 2.3 liters, one day’s ration for a single person (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:306). English versions handle the amount somewhat differently, cf. NCV “about two quarts”; TEV “one kilogramme”; CEV “two pounds.”

[5:11]  ⁴⁸ tn See the note on Lev 2:1 above.

[6:12]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “in it,” apparently referring to the “hearth” which was on top of the altar (cf. the note on v. 9).

[8:13]  ⁵⁰ tc The MT has here “sash” (singular), but the context is clearly plural and Smr has it in the plural.

[8:13]  tn Heb “girded them with sashes” (so NAB, NASB); NRSV “fastened sashes around them.”

[8:13]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “wrapped headdresses to them”; cf. KJV “bonnets”; NASB, TEV “caps”; NIV, NCV “headbands”; NAB, NLT “turbans.”

[8:13]  sn Notice that the priestly garments of Aaron’s sons are quite limited compared to those of Aaron himself, the high priest (cf. vv. 7-9 above). The terms for “tunic” and “sash” are the same but not the headgear (cf. Exod 28:40; 29:8-9; 39:27-29).

[11:34]  ⁵² tn Heb “which water comes on it.”

[11:34]  ⁵³ tn Heb “any drink which may be drunk”; NASB “any liquid which may be drunk”; NLT “any beverage that is in such an unclean container.”

[11:34]  ⁵⁴ tn This half of the verse assumes that the unclean carcass has fallen into the food or drink (cf. v. 33 and also vv. 35-38).

[19:29]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “to make her practice harlotry.” Some recent English versions regard this as religious or temple prostitution (cf. TEV, CEV).

[19:29]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and the land become full of lewdness.” Regarding the term “lewdness,” see the note on Lev 18:17 above.

[20:27]  ⁵⁷ tc Smr, LXX, Syriac, and some Targum mss have the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “who, which”), rather than the MT’s כִּי (ki, “for, because, that”).

[20:27]  ⁵⁸ tn See the note on the phrase “familiar spirit” in Lev 19:31 above.

[20:27]  ⁵⁹ tn This is not the most frequently-used Hebrew verb for stoning, but a word that refers to the action of throwing, slinging, or pelting someone with stones (see the note on v. 2 above). Smr and LXX have “you [plural] shall pelt them with stones.”

[20:27]  sn At first glance Lev 20:27 appears to be out of place but, on closer examination, one could argue that it constitutes the back side of an envelope around the case laws in 20:9-21, with Lev 20:6 forming the front of the envelope (note also that execution of mediums and spiritists by stoning in v. 27 is not explicitly stated in v. 6). This creates a chiastic structure: prohibition against mediums and spiritists (vv. 6 and 27), variations of the holiness formula (vv. 7 and 25-26), and exhortations to obey the Lord’s statutes (and judgments; vv. 8 and 22-24). Again, in the middle are the case laws (vv. 9-21).

[22:22]  ⁶⁰ tn Or perhaps “a wart” (cf. NIV; HALOT 383 s.v. יַבֶּלֶת, but see the remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 358).

[22:22]  ⁶¹ sn See the note on Lev 21:20 above.

[22:22]  ⁶² sn This term for offering “gift” is explained in the note on Lev 1:9.

[24:3]  ⁶³ tn The Hebrew term פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet) is usually translated “veil” or “curtain,” but it seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:687-89).

[24:3]  ⁶⁴ tc Several medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, and the LXX add “and his sons.”

[24:3]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “for your generations.”