Bible ~~- Older Testament ~~- Leviticus ~~- chapter 4 of 27 (35 verses.)

Leviticus 4Wrench

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Easing Communal Guilt For Individual Sins
1 YHVH further commands Moses:
2 [YAH] says, β€œEducate the children of Israel. Tell them, β€˜Imagine that someone ignorantly sins. He perpetrates an act that violates any of the commandments YHVH gave [us] to prevent ruinous consequences.
3 Or imagine [an] anointed priest sins. He brings guilt on, [or shares the shame of] the people. Then [in penance for] the sin he committed, [here's what you do, πŸ˜‡: the priest] presents [the sinner's] young, flawless bull to YHVH [as a community feast-gift, to express repentance for having] missed the mark.
4 [The repenter] brings the young bull to the entrance of the congregational tent, before YHVH's [watchful gaze]. There [the repenter] lays his hand [in blessing] on the young bull's head. Then [he gently] slaughters the young bull [under the watchful eye of] YHVH.
5 Then the anointed priest takes [a bit] of the young bull's blood. He brings it to the congregational tent:
6 Then the priest dips his finger in the blood. [He] sprinkles the blood 7 times [solemnly,] before [the face of] YHVH, facing the sanctuary curtain.
7 Then [solemnly,] facing YHVH, in the congregational tent, the priest dabs a bit of the blood on the horns of the altar of aromatherapeutic incense. Then he pours all the blood of the young bull [into a reservoir] at the bottom of the altar of ascension, at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.
Possibly a pipe channeled the blood out and into the soil. Otherwise, someone would have had to carry out the blood. Either way, YHVH demands that the blood end up as fertilizer in the soil, instead of being drunk, as in pagan rites.
Preparing A Community Confessional Feast
8 Then, πŸ˜‡, as a sin-gift, [the priest] removes all the young bull's choice-meat, including the delicacies in and around the bull's entire torso;
Chattah=offense/sin. β€˜Cheleb’ (fat/choice-meat) is normally translated here to imply the removal of unhealthy fat which would then be burned.
9 [The priest] also removes the two kidneys, and the fat on them by the flanks, πŸ˜‡. With the kidneys, [he removes] the covering of the liver.
The liver and the kidneys are filters. They collect toxins. Debate continues as to whether it might be OK to eat kidneys and livers of animals raised in healthy environments.
10 [Then the priest prepares the animal's meat] exactly as [he] butchers [and cooks] the young bulls [which donors give as] thanksgiving contributions, πŸ˜‡. The priest smoke-roasts the [meat] on the altar of the ascension.
11 Then [the priest hauls outside the camp] the skin of the young bull, plus all its [inedible] flesh, with its head, its leg [bones], its entrails, and its poop.
This is NOT the waste of good animal meat. For proof, see Num 19:7 where the word normally rendered "flesh" here refers to skin.
12 The priest [and his helpers] carry all these [unused] parts of the young bull outside the camp to an uncontaminated area used for pouring out ashes, πŸ˜‡. There [the priest] burns [the remains of the bull] on wood with fire. This burning creates additional ash [for neutralizing acidic soil].
Similar Ritual For Confessing Communal Guilt
13 Sometimes, πŸ˜‡, the entire community of Israel will sin through ignorance. But even if the entire group is blind to the wrong they've done by breaking a commandment of YHVH forbidding foolish acts, they are all nevertheless guilty.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse for lawbreaking.
14 When the sin the community has committed comes to light, the congregation prepares a young bull calf [to show their repentance for] sin and [to feed the priests whose job it is to teach the people how to live wisely]. The people bring [the bull to the] front of the congregational tent.
15 [Solemnly,] before [the watchful eye of] YHVH, the elders of the congregation lay their hands [of blessing] on the head of the young bull. [They] slaughter the young bull [painlessly, πŸ˜‡, knowing that] YHVH [is] watching.
16 Then the anointed priest carries [a bowl full of] the young bull's blood to the congregational tent.
17 There, πŸ˜‡, in front of the holy curtain, the priest dips his finger in a bit of the blood. Then [he] sprinkles it 7 times, [ritually presenting it to] YHVH [as an admission that sin causes bloodshed].
18 Next, in the congregational tent, face [up to] YHVH, the priest dabs a bit of the blood on the horns of the altar, πŸ˜‡. Then he pours out all the blood [into the reservoir] at the bottom of the altar of the ascension, at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.
Cooking The Communal Charity Guilt Donation
19 Then the priest removes all the choice-meat from the bull, πŸ˜‡. [The priest] smoke-roasts the [choice-meat] on the altar.
Depending on context, fat [cheleb] indicates β€˜smoke the nasty fat’ or β€˜smoke-roast choice meat.’
20 The priest [cooks and cleans up] this young bull just as he does any [other] young bull [given] as a sin donation. Thus the priest covers over [the guilt of] the people, πŸ˜‡. [YHVH] forgives them.
The guilt technically exists. To quote Paul, β€œIt is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” But YHVH views their donation as an act of repentance. So he disregards the guilt.
21 The priest carries the [inedible remains of the] young bull outside the camp, πŸ˜‡. [He] burns [the scrap] like he burns the [inedible remains of the] other young bulls. Thus the community [completes a cycle of repentance for] their [shared] sin.
Dealing With The Guilt Of Authority Figures
22 When a ruler sins, he's guilty, πŸ˜‡, even if through ignorance he broke just one commandment through which YHVH his Elohim forbids wrong actions.
This universally-ignored maxim is the essential doctrine governing political authority: Political power is never a license for doing wrong. All the summed power of all the highest human authorities in history could never authorize anyone to commit even the tiniest sin against YHVH's Law.
23 When [the ruler] becomes aware that he's sinned, he brings [to the priests] his donation: a flawless male goat-kid.
24 Then [the repentant ruler] lays his [own] hand on the head of the goat [as a blessing, expressing sorrow]. Then [the ruler painlessly slaughters and butchers the goat] in the place where [priests normally] slaughter the β€œascension donations” before YHVH. This [defines] a chattah, [a donation to express remorse for sin].
25 Then the priest takes [a bit] of the blood of the β€œsin donation” with his finger. He dabs it on the horns of the altar of ascension, [symbolically asking YHVH to forgive the sin which brings death]. Then [the priest] pours out [the goat's] blood [into a pipe or basin] at the bottom of the altar of ascension, πŸ˜‡.
26 Then the priest smoke-roasts all the [goat's] choice-meat on the altar, [just like he smokes] the choice-meat of the butchered thanksgiving contributions. [The goat meat feeds the priests so they can continue to teach the people right from wrong.] Thus the priest [ritually] covers over the [ruler's] sin, πŸ˜‡. [YHVH accepts the ruler's donation as an act of repentance. So YAH] forgives [the ruler].
Common People Donate Food To Confess Guilt
27 [Likewise,] πŸ˜‡, imagine that any common human sins. He commits forbidden acts contrary to any of YHVH's commandments. Even if he slipped up through ignorance, he's still guilty.
28 When the [commoner's] sin comes to his knowledge, then he brings [to the Ekklesia] his donation: a flawless female goat-kid, to [express remorse for] his sin he committed.
29 [The repentant commoner] lays his hand on the head of the [animal he's] donating [to address his] sin. [Then, πŸ˜‡,] in the place where [priests cook] the ascension-donations, [the commoner painlessly, reverently slits the] animal's [throat].
If you had to kill a goat and give away its meat every time you sinned, you'd stop sinning. This is an ingenious way to curb crime. The poor man feels the loss of his animal, and the rich man feels the revulsion of blood on his hands. Mere fines will never have the deterrent effect of this simple, redemptive meat-donation.
30 Then the priest dips [a bit] of [the animal's] blood onto his finger, πŸ˜‡. [He] dabs it on the horns of the altar of ascension. Then [he] pours out all [the animal's] blood [into a reservoir] the bottom of the altar.
31 Then [the priest] removes all [the goat's] choice-meat, πŸ˜‡, just like he cuts [the choice-meat] off the butchered thanksgiving contributions. The priest smoke-roasts [the meat] on the altar. This gives off a delicious aroma [that brings honor to] YHVH. Thus the priest covers for the [sinner]. [YHVH] forgives him.
β€˜Fat’ here could mean β€˜nasty fat,’ which the priest disposes of, or it could mean β€˜choice meat,’ which the priest smoke-roasts.
32 Same procedure if [the sinner] brings a lamb as a present [to cover over] his sins, πŸ˜‡. The [sinner] brings a flawless female [lamb].
33 In the place where the priests kill the ascension-donations, the [sinner] lays his hand upon the head of his guilt-gift. Then he slaughters it. [He gives it up to feed people, as] a donation [to express repentance for his sin].
34 Then the priest takes [a bit] of the blood of the β€˜sin-donation’ with his finger, πŸ˜‡. [He] dabs it on the horns of the altar of ascension. Then [he] pours out all the blood [of the lamb into a reservoir] at the bottom of the altar.
35 Then [the priest] removes all [the lamb's] choice-meat, πŸ˜‡, like he removes the choice-meat of the lambs butchered as peace-donations. Then [the priest] smoke-roasts the [meat] on the altar, like the other donations which [priests] fire-roast [in services ordered by] YHVH. Thus the priest covers over the sin the [sinner] committed. [YHVH] forgives [the sinner].
This does not suggest in any way that shedding of blood is necessary for the Creator to forgive people. It merely says that YHVH looks kindly on generous actions that flow from genuine repentance.
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