Leviticus 5: Don’t Swear

Synopsis:

This chapter lays out the rules on how to atone for swearing or for touching unclean things and unclean parts of a man. It doesn’t matter if the words leaving your lips were evil or nice. You have to provide a female sheep or a kid of a goat. If you can’t afford that, you can bring two turtledoves or pigeons.  The blood will be sprinkled besides the altar and at the bottom to atone for your sins.  If you can’t afford that, you can bring some flour, but don’t put oil or frankincense on it, for it’s a sin offering.  If someone commits a sin against holy things, than they need to provide a ram plus you have to make amends for what you did.

In other words:

If you swear, you have to pay a small fine in the form of a sheep or some birds.

Favorite bit:

Leviticus 5:3 – “Or if he touch the uncleanliness of man, whatsoever uncleanliness it be that a man defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty. “ I have no idea what this is referring to, probably skin sores because that takes up quite of bit of this book later, but you never know. My first thought is that it is referring to a penis or poo, so this bit amuses me.

Moral Lesson:

Don’t swear (Leviticus 5) and/or
If you do something wrong, make amends and fix it (Leviticus 5:16)