1
וְנֶפֶשׁ כִּי-תֶחֱטָא, וְשָׁמְעָה קוֹל אָלָה, וְהוּא עֵד, אוֹ רָאָה אוֹ יָדָע; אִם-לוֹא יַגִּיד, וְנָשָׂא עֲוֺנוֹ.
If a soul sins in that it hears a public call to testify, and though he is a witness — whether he has seen the matter or knows of it — he does not speak, he shall bear his guilt.
noteSi un alma peca en cuanto oye un llamado público a testificar, y aunque es testigo —ya sea que haya visto el asunto o lo conozca— no habla, cargará su culpa.
2
אוֹ נֶפֶשׁ, אֲשֶׁר תִּגַּע בְּכָל-דָּבָר טָמֵא, אוֹ בְנִבְלַת חַיָּה טְמֵאָה אוֹ בְּנִבְלַת בְּהֵמָה טְמֵאָה, אוֹ בְּנִבְלַת שֶׁרֶץ טָמֵא; וְנֶעְלַם מִמֶּנּוּ, וְהוּא טָמֵא וְאָשֵׁם.
Or if anyone touches anything unclean — whether the carcass of an unclean wild animal, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of an unclean swarming creature — and it is hidden from him, then he is unclean and guilty.
noteO si alguien toca alguna cosa impura —ya sea el cadáver de un animal salvaje impuro, o el cadáver de ganado impuro, o el cadáver de un reptil impuro— y le está oculto, entonces es impuro y culpable.
3
אוֹ כִי יִגַּע, בְּטֻמְאַת אָדָם, לְכֹל טֻמְאָתוֹ, אֲשֶׁר יִטְמָא בָּהּ; וְנֶעְלַם מִמֶּנּוּ, וְהוּא יָדַע וְאָשֵׁם.
Or if he touches human uncleanness — any uncleanness by which one becomes unclean — and it is hidden from him, but then he comes to know it, he is guilty.
noteO si toca impureza humana —cualquier impureza por la cual uno se hace impuro— y le está oculto, pero luego llega a saberlo, es culpable.
4
אוֹ נֶפֶשׁ כִּי תִשָּׁבַע לְבַטֵּא בִשְׂפָתַיִם לְהָרַע אוֹ לְהֵיטִיב, לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יְבַטֵּא הָאָדָם בִּשְׁבֻעָה--וְנֶעְלַם מִמֶּנּוּ; וְהוּא-יָדַע וְאָשֵׁם, לְאַחַת מֵאֵלֶּה.
Or if anyone swears rashly with his lips to do harm or to do good — whatever a person utters rashly in an oath — and it is hidden from him, but then he comes to know it, he is guilty in any of these.
noteO si alguien jura precipitadamente con sus labios hacer daño o hacer bien —cualquier cosa que una persona pronuncie precipitadamente en juramento— y le está oculto, pero luego llega a saberlo, es culpable en cualquiera de estos casos.
5
וְהָיָה כִי-יֶאְשַׁם, לְאַחַת מֵאֵלֶּה: וְהִתְוַדָּה--אֲשֶׁר חָטָא, עָלֶיהָ.
And when he is guilty in any of these, he shall confess the sin he has committed.
noteY cuando sea culpable en cualquiera de estos casos, confesará el pecado que ha cometido.
6
וְהֵבִיא אֶת-אֲשָׁמוֹ לַיהוָה עַל חַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא נְקֵבָה מִן-הַצֹּאן כִּשְׂבָּה, אוֹ-שְׂעִירַת עִזִּים--לְחַטָּאת; וְכִפֶּר עָלָיו הַכֹּהֵן, מֵחַטָּאתוֹ.
And he shall bring, for his guilt, his penalty to Jehovah for his sin which he has sinned — a female from the flock, a lamb or a female goat — as a
sin-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin.
noteY traerá, por su culpa, su multa a Jehová por su pecado que ha cometido —una hembra del rebaño, una cordera o una cabra hembra— como
ofrenda por el pecado; y el sacerdote hará expiación por él a causa de su pecado.
7
וְאִם-לֹא תַגִּיעַ יָדוֹ, דֵּי שֶׂה--וְהֵבִיא אֶת-אֲשָׁמוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא שְׁתֵּי תֹרִים אוֹ-שְׁנֵי בְנֵי-יוֹנָה, לַיהוָה: אֶחָד לְחַטָּאת, וְאֶחָד לְעֹלָה.
But if his means do not reach to a lamb, he shall bring, for his guilt in what he has sinned, two turtledoves or two young pigeons to Jehovah — one for a sin-offering, and one for a
burnt-offering.
notePero si sus medios no alcanzan para una cordera, traerá, por su culpa en lo que ha pecado, dos tórtolas o dos palominos a Jehová —uno para ofrenda por el pecado, y el otro para holocausto.
8
וְהֵבִיא אֹתָם אֶל-הַכֹּהֵן, וְהִקְרִיב אֶת-אֲשֶׁר לַחַטָּאת רִאשׁוֹנָה; וּמָלַק אֶת-רֹאשׁוֹ מִמּוּל עָרְפּוֹ, וְלֹא יַבְדִּיל.
And he shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer the one for the sin-offering first, and pinch off its head from the front of its neck, but shall not sever it completely.
noteY los traerá al sacerdote, quien ofrecerá primero el que es para ofrenda por el pecado, y le desnucará la cabeza por delante de su cuello, pero no la separará por completo.
9
וְהִזָּה מִדַּם הַחַטָּאת, עַל-קִיר הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, וְהַנִּשְׁאָר בַּדָּם, יִמָּצֵה אֶל-יְסוֹד הַמִּזְבֵּחַ; חַטָּאת, הוּא.
And he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin-offering on the side of the altar, and the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin-offering.
noteY rociará de la sangre de la ofrenda por el pecado sobre el costado del altar, y el resto de la sangre se exprimirá al pie del altar; es ofrenda por el pecado.
10
וְאֶת-הַשֵּׁנִי יַעֲשֶׂה עֹלָה, כַּמִּשְׁפָּט; וְכִפֶּר עָלָיו הַכֹּהֵן מֵחַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר-חָטָא, וְנִסְלַח לוֹ. {ס}
And the second he shall offer as a burnt-offering, according to the ordinance; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin which he has sinned, and he shall be forgiven.
{ס}noteY el segundo lo ofrecerá como holocausto, según la ordenanza; y el sacerdote hará expiación por él a causa de su pecado que ha cometido, y será perdonado. {ס}
11
וְאִם-לֹא תַשִּׂיג יָדוֹ לִשְׁתֵּי תֹרִים, אוֹ לִשְׁנֵי בְנֵי-יוֹנָה--וְהֵבִיא אֶת-קָרְבָּנוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא עֲשִׂירִת הָאֵפָה סֹלֶת, לְחַטָּאת; לֹא-יָשִׂים עָלֶיהָ שֶׁמֶן, וְלֹא-יִתֵּן עָלֶיהָ לְבֹנָה--כִּי חַטָּאת, הִוא.
But if his means do not reach to two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he shall bring, for his sin, his offering — a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, for a sin-offering; he shall put no oil on it, and put no frankincense on it, for it is a sin-offering.
notePero si sus medios no alcanzan para dos tórtolas o dos palominos, traerá, por su pecado, su ofrenda —la décima parte de un efa de flor de harina, para ofrenda por el pecado; no pondrá aceite sobre ella, ni pondrá incienso sobre ella, porque es ofrenda por el pecado.
12
וֶהֱבִיאָהּ, אֶל-הַכֹּהֵן, וְקָמַץ הַכֹּהֵן מִמֶּנָּה מְלוֹא קֻמְצוֹ אֶת-אַזְכָּרָתָהּ וְהִקְטִיר הַמִּזְבֵּחָה, עַל אִשֵּׁי יְהוָה; חַטָּאת, הִוא.
And he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful from it as its
memorial-portion, and turn it into smoke on the altar, on the offerings of Jehovah made by fire; it is a sin-offering.
noteY la traerá al sacerdote, y el sacerdote tomará de ella su puñado como su
porción memorial, y la hará arder en el altar, sobre las ofrendas encendidas a Jehová; es ofrenda por el pecado.
13
וְכִפֶּר עָלָיו הַכֹּהֵן עַל-חַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר-חָטָא, מֵאַחַת מֵאֵלֶּה--וְנִסְלַח לוֹ; וְהָיְתָה לַכֹּהֵן, כַּמִּנְחָה. {ס}
And the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin which he has sinned in any of these, and he shall be forgiven; and the rest shall belong to the priest, like the grain-offering.
{ס}noteY el sacerdote hará expiación por él a causa de su pecado que ha cometido en cualquiera de estos casos, y será perdonado; y lo que quede será del sacerdote, como la ofrenda de grano. {ס}
14
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר.
Y Jehová habló a Moisés, diciendo,
15
נֶפֶשׁ, כִּי-תִמְעֹל מַעַל, וְחָטְאָה בִּשְׁגָגָה, מִקָּדְשֵׁי יְהוָה: וְהֵבִיא אֶת-אֲשָׁמוֹ לַיהוָה אַיִל תָּמִים מִן-הַצֹּאן, בְּעֶרְכְּךָ כֶּסֶף-שְׁקָלִים בְּשֶׁקֶל-הַקֹּדֶשׁ--לְאָשָׁם.
If a soul commits a
trespass, and sins
through error against the holy things of Jehovah, he shall bring his guilt-payment to Jehovah — a ram without blemish from the flock, valued in silver shekels by the shekel of the sanctuary — as a
guilt-offering.
noteSi un alma comete una
transgresión, y peca
por error contra las cosas santas de Jehová, traerá su pago de culpa a Jehová —un carnero sin defecto del rebaño, valorado en siclos de plata según el siclo del santuario— como
ofrenda por la culpa.
16
וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר חָטָא מִן-הַקֹּדֶשׁ יְשַׁלֵּם, וְאֶת-חֲמִישִׁתוֹ יוֹסֵף עָלָיו, וְנָתַן אֹתוֹ, לַכֹּהֵן; וְהַכֹּהֵן, יְכַפֵּר עָלָיו בְּאֵיל הָאָשָׁם--וְנִסְלַח לוֹ. {פ}
And he shall make restitution for what he has sinned against the holy thing, and add a fifth to it, and give it to the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt-offering, and he shall be forgiven.
{פ}noteY hará restitución por lo que pecó contra la cosa santa, y añadirá a ello una quinta parte, y lo dará al sacerdote; y el sacerdote hará expiación por él con el carnero de la ofrenda por la culpa, y será perdonado. {פ}
17
וְאִם-נֶפֶשׁ, כִּי תֶחֱטָא, וְעָשְׂתָה אַחַת מִכָּל-מִצְוֺת יְהוָה, אֲשֶׁר לֹא תֵעָשֶׂינָה; וְלֹא-יָדַע וְאָשֵׁם, וְנָשָׂא עֲוֺנוֹ.
And if a soul sins, and does any of the things Jehovah has commanded not to be done, though he does not know it, he is guilty and shall bear his guilt.
noteY si un alma peca, y hace alguna de las cosas que Jehová ha mandado no hacer, aunque no lo sepa, es culpable y cargará su culpa.
18
וְהֵבִיא אַיִל תָּמִים מִן-הַצֹּאן, בְּעֶרְכְּךָ לְאָשָׁם--אֶל-הַכֹּהֵן; וְכִפֶּר עָלָיו הַכֹּהֵן עַל שִׁגְגָתוֹ אֲשֶׁר-שָׁגָג, וְהוּא לֹא-יָדַע--וְנִסְלַח לוֹ.
And he shall bring a ram without blemish from the flock, valued by you, as a guilt-offering, to the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning the error he committed through error, though he did not know it, and he shall be forgiven.
noteY traerá al sacerdote un carnero sin defecto del rebaño, valorado por ti, como ofrenda por la culpa; y el sacerdote hará expiación por él a causa del error que cometió por error, aunque no lo supiera, y será perdonado.
19
אָשָׁם, הוּא: אָשֹׁם אָשַׁם, לַיהוָה. {פ}
It is a guilt-offering; he is guilty, truly guilty, before Jehovah.
{פ}noteOfrenda por la culpa es; culpable, verdaderamente culpable, es delante de Jehová. {פ}
20
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
noteY Jehová habló a Moisés, diciendo,
21
נֶפֶשׁ כִּי תֶחֱטָא, וּמָעֲלָה מַעַל בַּיהוָה; וְכִחֵשׁ בַּעֲמִיתוֹ בְּפִקָּדוֹן, אוֹ-בִתְשׂוּמֶת יָד אוֹ בְגָזֵל, אוֹ, עָשַׁק אֶת-עֲמִיתוֹ.
If anyone sins, and commits a
trespass against Jehovah, and deals falsely with his fellow concerning a deposit, or a pledge, or through robbery, or oppresses his fellow,
noteSi alguien peca, y comete una
transgresión contra Jehová, y trata falsamente con su prójimo respecto a un depósito, o una prenda, o mediante robo, u oprime a su prójimo,
22
אוֹ-מָצָא אֲבֵדָה וְכִחֶשׁ בָּהּ, וְנִשְׁבַּע עַל-שָׁקֶר; עַל-אַחַת, מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר-יַעֲשֶׂה הָאָדָם--לַחֲטֹא בָהֵנָּה.
or finds a lost thing and deals falsely about it, and swears falsely — in any of all these that a person does, sinning in them —
noteo halla algo perdido y trata falsamente sobre ello, y jura en falso —en cualquiera de todos estos casos en que peca una persona—
23
וְהָיָה, כִּי-יֶחֱטָא וְאָשֵׁם--וְהֵשִׁיב אֶת-הַגְּזֵלָה אֲשֶׁר גָּזָל אוֹ אֶת-הָעֹשֶׁק אֲשֶׁר עָשָׁק, אוֹ אֶת-הַפִּקָּדוֹן אֲשֶׁר הָפְקַד אִתּוֹ; אוֹ אֶת-הָאֲבֵדָה, אֲשֶׁר מָצָא.
then, when he has sinned and is guilty, he shall restore what he took by robbery, or what he got by oppression, or the deposit that was entrusted to him, or the lost thing he found,
noteentonces, cuando haya pecado y sea culpable, restituirá lo que tomó por robo, o lo que obtuvo por opresión, o el depósito que le fue confiado, o lo perdido que halló,
24
אוֹ מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר-יִשָּׁבַע עָלָיו, לַשֶּׁקֶר--וְשִׁלַּם אֹתוֹ בְּרֹאשׁוֹ, וַחֲמִשִׁתָיו יֹסֵף עָלָיו: לַאֲשֶׁר הוּא לוֹ יִתְּנֶנּוּ, בְּיוֹם אַשְׁמָתוֹ.
or anything about which he swore falsely, he shall repay it in full, and add a fifth of it besides, giving it to the one it belongs to, on the day he is found guilty.
noteo cualquier cosa sobre la cual juró en falso, la pagará en su totalidad, y añadirá a ello una quinta parte, dándola a aquel a quien pertenece, en el día en que sea hallado culpable.
25
וְאֶת-אֲשָׁמוֹ יָבִיא, לַיהוָה, אַיִל תָּמִים מִן-הַצֹּאן בְּעֶרְכְּךָ לְאָשָׁם, אֶל-הַכֹּהֵן.
And he shall bring his guilt-offering to Jehovah, a ram without blemish from the flock, valued by you, as a guilt-offering, to the priest.
noteY traerá su ofrenda por la culpa a Jehová, un carnero sin defecto del rebaño, valorado por ti, como ofrenda por la culpa, al sacerdote.
26
וְכִפֶּר עָלָיו הַכֹּהֵן לִפְנֵי יְהוָה, וְנִסְלַח לוֹ, עַל-אַחַת מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר-יַעֲשֶׂה, לְאַשְׁמָה בָהּ. {פ}
And the priest shall make atonement for him before Jehovah, and he shall be forgiven, concerning anything he has done that made him guilty.
{פ}noteY el sacerdote hará expiación por él delante de Jehová, y será perdonado, a causa de cualquier cosa que haya hecho por la cual se hizo culpable. {פ}
Where this chapter actually ends, and three ways to be guilty without knowing it yet
This chapter runs Hebrew verses 1–26 as ONE unit — but conventional English Bibles split it: verses 1–19 stay ‘Leviticus 5’, while verses 20–26 are renumbered ‘Leviticus 6:1–7’. This translation follows the Hebrew Masoretic chapter division throughout, the same choice the Jewish Publication Society’s own English translation makes (its 1917 edition keeps these verses at 5:20–26, not 6:1–7) — so a reader cross-checking against KJV, ESV, or NIV will find this chapter’s last seven verses under THEIR ‘Leviticus 6’ instead. (ESV flags the seam itself, footnoting its own 6:1 ‘ch 5:20 in Hebrew’.) When this project eventually reaches Leviticus 6, it will pick up at Hebrew 6:1 — which is English 6:8 — and that chapter will carry the same note in reverse.
⚠ The three cases opening the chapter (v1–4) share a structure Leviticus 4 did not have: the person is guilty before they even know it. A withheld testimony, an unnoticed brush with something unclean, a rash oath spoken and forgotten — in each case the wrongdoing is real from the moment it happens, but the guilt is only discovered later, when the fact comes to light (v3, v4). Leviticus 4’s shegagah was a known act done by mistake; this is something closer to catching up with a fact about yourself you did not have yet.
The offering that costs the same no matter how little you have
Confession comes first (v5), and then the law does something Leviticus 4 never did: it grades the offering to what the person can actually afford — a lamb or goat (v6), or two birds (v7), or, for the poorest, a handful of flour with no oil and no frankincense (v11). Three tiers, one outcome: each ends on the identical line, ‘he shall be forgiven’ (v10, v13). The flour offering is explicitly still called a chattat, a sin-offering (v11, v12), even though nothing is killed — the ONLY sin-offering in the Torah that can be bloodless.
⚠ The bird offering’s own mechanics are unusually specific: the priest pinches the neck ‘but shall not sever it completely’ (v8). A full beheading was the normal way to kill a bird offering elsewhere (compare the whole burnt-bird of Leviticus 1:15–17, already on these pages) — here the head stays attached by a thread of skin, so that when the priest wrings out the remaining blood at the base of the altar (v9), the carcass can still be handled as one piece. A small procedural difference, but the text is precise about it: this bird’s blood rite is not simply a miniature of the animal’s.
The one offering that also sends you to pay someone back
The guilt-offering (v14–19) is the only sacrifice in Leviticus that comes bundled with a cash payment: restitution for what was taken, plus a 20% penalty, handed to the priest before the ram is ever offered (v16). See the Dictionary for how the word itself, asham, does double duty in this very passage — naming both the debt owed (v15’s ‘his guilt-payment’) and the specific animal that pays it (v15’s own ‘as a guilt-offering’).
⚠ Verse 19 closes the case with a doubled Hebrew verb that no single English word quite carries: ashom asham, literally ‘guilty, he is guilty’. This translation renders it ‘guilty, truly guilty’ to keep the emphasis audible. The same cognate-doubling pattern shows up all through the Torah’s legal sections (mot yumat, ‘dying, he shall die’, is the death-penalty formula) — a way Hebrew intensifies a verdict by simply saying it twice.
The same word for cheating a neighbor as for betraying God
The chapter’s last case (v20–26) is entirely about wrongs between two people — a withheld deposit, a broken pledge, outright robbery, a lie under oath about a lost object — and yet verse 21 calls it, in the very same words as verse 15’s sin against the holy things, ‘a trespass against Jehovah’. Cheating a neighbor is not filed as a lesser, purely social offense; it is named a betrayal of God FIRST, and only then does the text specify what was actually done to whom. The dictionary entry has more on where else this word turns up — most memorably for Achan’s theft at Jericho (Joshua 7:1, not yet on these pages).
⚠ The restitution law here is the fullest and most concrete in the Torah: repay the principal in full, add a fifth, and only THEN bring the ram (v23–25) — the wronged neighbor is made whole before Jehovah is offered anything at all. A close parallel exists later at Numbers 5:5–8 (already on these pages), which repeats this same restitution law almost verbatim and adds one further case this chapter does not cover: what to do when the wronged person has died with no kinsman left to receive the payment.
Notes on this translation
Decisions. This chapter is numbered by the HEBREW throughout (1–26) rather than splitting at the English Leviticus 5/6 boundary — see the note at v1–4 for the full reasoning. ‘Guilt-offering’ is kept for asham against Milgrom’s ‘reparation offering’, the same shelf-versus-newer-scholarship choice this translation already made for chattat at Leviticus 4:3 — see the Dictionary. ‘Trespass’ is kept for ma'al (v15, v21) following the whole core shelf (KJV, ASV, ESV). Every {ס} and {פ} in this chapter is reproduced exactly as the Masoretic text marks it — {ס}, setumah, a CLOSED paragraph space (v10, v13); {פ}, petuchah, an OPEN one (v16, v19, v26) — and the pattern is not decorative: every closed space falls inside the sliding-scale sin-offering law, every open space closes a fully resolved case.
⚠ A note on order: Leviticus stands complete on these pages, chapters 1–27.
