1 And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.

3If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.

4And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

5And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

6And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.

7And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:

8And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:

9But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

10And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.

11And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar.

12And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which isupon the altar:

13But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

14And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons.

15And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar:

16And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes:

17And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide itasunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

1 And the Lord called vnto Moses, and spake vnto him out of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, saying,

2Speake vnto the children of Israel, and say vnto them, If any man of you bring an offering vnto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattell, euen of the herd, and of the flocke.

3If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his owne voluntary will, at the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation before the Lord.

4And he shall put his hand vpon the head of the burnt offering: and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

5And he shall kill the bullocke before the Lord: and the Priests Aarons sonnes shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about vpon the altar, that is by the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

6And hee shall slay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.

7And the sonnes of Aaron the Priest shall put fire vpon the Altar, and lay the wood in order vpon the fire.

8And the Priests Aarons sonnes shall lay the parts, the head and the fat in order vpon the wood that is in the fire which is vpon the altar.

9But the inwards and his legges shall he wash in water, and the Priest shall burne all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet sauour vnto the Lord.

10And if his offring be of the flocks, namely of the sheepe, or of the goates for a burnt sacrifice, he shall bring it a male without blemish.

11And hee shall kill it on the side of the Altar Northward, before the Lord: and the Priestes Aarons sonnes shall sprinkle his blood round about vpon the altar.

12And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the Priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire, which is vpon the altar:

13But hee shall wash the inwards and the legs with water, and the Priest shall bring it all, and burne it vpon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet sauour vnto the Lord.

14 And if the burnt sacrifice for his offring to the Lord be of foules, then he shall bring his offering of turtle doues, or of yong pigeons.

15And the Priest shall bring it vnto the altar, and wring off his head, and burne it on the altar: and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar.

16And he shall plucke away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the East part, by the place of the ashes.

17And hee shall cleane it with the wings thereof, but shall not diuide it asunder: And the Priest shall burne it vpon the altar, vpon the wood that is vpon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire of a sweet sauour vnto the Lord.

I == Ex 19:3 ; 40:34-35 ; Num 12:4-5

II == Lev 22:18-19

III == Ex 3:1 ; 12:5 ;22:20-21 ; Eph 5:27 ; Heb 9:14 ; 1st Peter 1:19

IV == Ex 29:10 . 15 , 19 ; Lev 3:2 , 8 , 13 ; 4:15 , 20 , 26 , 31 , 35 ; 8:14 , 22 ; 9:7 ; Num 15:25 ; Rom 5:11

V == Lev 3:8 ; 2nd Chr 35:11 ; Mic 6:6 ; Heb 10:11 ; 12:24 ; 1st Peter 1:2

VII == Gen 22:9

IX == Gen 8:21 ; 2nd Cor 2:15

X == Lev 1:3

XI == Lev 1:5

XIV == Lev 5:7 ; 12:8 ; Luke 2:24

XVI == Lev 6:10

XVII == Gen 15:10 ; Lev 1:9 , 13

1 The LORD called Moses, and from the meeting tent gave him this message:

2 "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any one of you wishes to bring an animal offering to the LORD, such an offering must be from the herd or from the flock.

3 "If his holocaust offering is from the herd, it must be a male without blemish. To find favor with the LORD, he shall bring it to the entrance of the meeting tent

4 and there lay his hand on the head of the holocaust, so that it may be acceptable to make atonement for him.

5 He shall then slaughter the bull before the LORD, but Aaron's sons, the priests, shall offer up its blood by splashing it on the sides of the altar which is at the entrance of the meeting tent.

6 Then he shall skin the holocaust and cut it up into pieces.

7 After Aaron's sons, the priests, have put some burning embers on the altar and laid some wood on them,

8 they shall lay the pieces of meat, together with the head and the suet, on top of the wood and embers on the altar.

9 The inner organs and the shanks, however, the offerer shall first wash with water. The priest shall then burn the whole offering on the altar as a holocaust, a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD.

10 "If his holocaust offering is from the flock, that is, a sheep or a goat, he must bring a male without blemish.

11 This he shall slaughter before the LORD at the north side of the altar. Then Aaron's sons, the priests, shall splash its blood on the sides of the altar.

12 When the offerer has cut it up into pieces, the priest shall lay these, together with the head and suet, on top of the wood and the fire on the altar.

13 The inner organs and the shanks, however, the offerer shall first wash with water. The priest shall offer them up and then burn the whole offering on the altar as a holocaust, a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD.

14 "If he offers a bird as a holocaust to the LORD, he shall choose a turtledove or a pigeon as his offering.

15 Having brought it to the altar where it is to be burned, the priest shall snap its head loose and squeeze out its blood against the side of the altar.

16 Its crop and feathers shall be removed and thrown on the ash heap at the east side of the altar.

17 Then, having split the bird down the middle without separating the halves, the priest shall burn it on the altar, over the wood on the fire, as a holocaust, a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD.

For a good outline and chart of rituals and other features of the Levitical offerings, see pages 167-171 in The Bible Knowledge Commentary by Walvoord and Zuck.

v 1. Leviticus was the first book studied by a Jewish child, and though by a casual reading it may seem irrelevant, it has value as far as typology, revealing the character of God, and the holy living He expects of His people. It is referred to some 40 times in the New Testament, and is especially valuable in connection with a study of Hebrews. Exodus is a book of redemption, this is a book of cleansing, worship and service. It is a handbook for Levites in their service, even though they are only mentioned in 25:32. In this verse, God calls to Moses from the tabernacle which has just been set up instead of from the mount or outside the camp. God is back dwelling with His people.

v 2. “Man” here refers to mankind. It is assumed they will be bringing an offering. The five offerings considered in the next chapters are Burnt - dedication Rom. 12:1,2; Meat or meal- Lordship Mk. 12:42-44; Peace - Fellowship 1 Jn. 1:9 and Eph. 2:14; Sin - Forgiveness Rom. 6:23; and Trespass - Restitution Lk. 19:8. The first three are voluntary, the last two are required, dealing with the lack of merit on the part of the offerer.

v 3. Burnt offering (Consecration) is called a whole burnt offering because the whole animal was completely burned. It is important to note that it expresses our total dedication to God and is totally voluntary. It was a sweet savor offering, v 9, because it is a type of perfect Christ devoted to God’s will (Mark 1:11 “My Son in whom I am well pleased”). In addition to being voluntary, it was a male of the herd, meaning a bullock, without blemish and presented at the altar.

v 4. The offerer places hand firmly on the head of the animal. as he confesses his sins. He thus accepts and identifies himself with it as his substitute, as we personally accept Christ as the substitute who died for us.

v 5-9 The offerer kills the bullock, “flay” skins it, cuts it in pieces and washes the innards and legs in water. (Exception 2 Chron. 30:16-20 where Levites did it for unclean, and in later times priests took over the whole thing except laying on hands) Aaron’s sons, the priests catch the blood and dash it about on the altar, and tends the wood and fire on the altar. Then the priests put all the parts, the head and the fat (and the legs and innards after they are washed) on the fire, and the whole thing is entirely burned, showing complete dedication.

v 10-13. The procedure is the same for a goat or sheep with the additional rule that it is to be on the north side of the altar. Probably all the offerings were to be made on the north side, this signifying the Lord’s heavenly dwelling, Ps. 48:2; Isa. 14:13.

v 14-17. A poor offerer can bring (two, 5:8) turtle doves or two small pigeons, to the priest. Birds being so small, the priest wrings off the head, allowing the blood to drain onto the (north) side of the altar, and burns the head on the altar. Then he plucks away the crop and feathers and casts them on the east side of the altar with the ashes. He also splits it down the middle between the wings, but not clear in two. Then he, the priest, burns it on the altar. Josephus and others indicate that in the case of birds, the priests do the whole ceremonial thing. Some say pigeons are to be young and tender, and turtledoves are used in the season when pigeons would be tough.