This is to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to Yahweh, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to the priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of peace offerings to Yahweh. The priest shall sprinkle the blood on Yahweh’s altar at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and burn the fat for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh. They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.’
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Leviticus 17:5-7 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded: Whatever man there is of the house of Israel who kills a bull, or lamb, or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, and hasn’t brought it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to offer it as an offering to Yahweh before Yahweh’s tabernacle: blood shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood. That man shall be cut off from among his people. This is to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to Yahweh, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to the priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of peace offerings to Yahweh. The priest shall sprinkle the blood on Yahweh’s altar at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and burn the fat for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh. They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.’
Parallel Translations
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This is to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to Yahweh, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to the priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of peace offerings to Yahweh.
The priest shall sprinkle the blood on Yahweh’s altar at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and burn the fat for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.’
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To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the LORD.
And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the LORD.
And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
Show all 3 translations
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To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tent of meeting, unto the priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of peace-offerings unto the LORD.
And the priest shall dash the blood against the altar of the LORD at the door of the tent of meeting, and make the fat smoke for a sweet savour unto the LORD.
And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto the satyrs, after whom they go astray. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (41)
- 1 Corinthians 10:20 (v7) But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God, and I don’t desire that you would have…
- Exodus 34:15 (v7) “Don’t make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, lest they play the prostitute after their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and…
- Deuteronomy 32:17 (v7) They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods that they didn’t know, to new gods that came up recently, which your fathers didn’t dread.
- 2 Chronicles 11:15 (v7) He himself appointed priests for the high places, for the male goats, and for the calves which he had made.
- Numbers 18:17 (v6) “But you shall not redeem the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat. They are holy. You shall…
Show all 41 cross-references
- Psalms 106:37 (v7) Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
- Exodus 22:20 (v7) “He who sacrifices to any god, except to Yahweh only, shall be utterly destroyed.
- Exodus 32:8 (v7) They have turned away quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and have worshiped it, and…
- Leviticus 3:2 (v6) He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall…
- Leviticus 20:5 (v7) then I will set my face against that man and against his family, and will cut him off, and all who play the prostitute after him to play…
- Deuteronomy 31:16 (v7) Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers. This people will rise up and play the prostitute after the strange gods…
- Ezekiel 23:8 (v7) She hasn’t left her prostitution since leaving Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her. They caressed her youthful nipples; and they…
- Revelation 9:20 (v7) The rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, didn’t repent of the works of their hands, that they wouldn’t worship demons,…
- Revelation 17:1-5 (v7) One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great…
- Genesis 21:33 (v5) Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.
- Genesis 22:2 (v5) He said, “Now take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on…
- Genesis 22:13 (v5) Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and saw that behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham went and took the…
- Genesis 31:54 (v5) Jacob offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his relatives to eat bread. They ate bread, and stayed all night in the mountain.
- Exodus 24:5 (v5) He sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of cattle to Yahweh.
- Exodus 29:13 (v6) You shall take all the fat that covers the innards, the cover of the liver, the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on…
- Exodus 29:18 (v6) You shall burn the whole ram on the altar: it is a burnt offering to Yahweh; it is a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
- Leviticus 3:1-17 (v5) “ ‘If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings, if he offers it from the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without…
- Leviticus 3:5 (v6) Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar on the burnt offering, which is on the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of…
- Leviticus 3:8 (v6) and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it before the Tent of Meeting. Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood around…
- Leviticus 3:11 (v6) The priest shall burn it on the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire to Yahweh.
- Leviticus 3:13 (v6) He shall lay his hand on its head, and kill it before the Tent of Meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around on the…
- Leviticus 3:16 (v6) The priest shall burn them on the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma; all the fat is Yahweh’s.
- Leviticus 4:31 (v6) All its fat he shall take away, like the fat is taken away from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it on the altar…
- Leviticus 7:11-21 (v5) “ ‘This is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which one shall offer to Yahweh: If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall…
- Deuteronomy 12:2 (v5) You shall surely destroy all the places in which the nations that you shall dispossess served their gods: on the high mountains, and on the…
- 1 Kings 14:23 (v5) For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.
- 2 Kings 16:4 (v5) He sacrificed and burned incense in the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
- 2 Kings 17:10 (v5) and they set up for themselves pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill, and under every green tree;
- 2 Chronicles 28:4 (v5) He sacrificed and burned incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
- Jeremiah 3:1 (v7) “They say, ‘If a man puts away his wife, and she goes from him, and becomes another man’s, should he return to her again?’ Wouldn’t that…
- Ezekiel 20:28 (v5) For when I had brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill, and every thick tree, and they…
- Ezekiel 22:9 (v5) Slanderous men have been in you to shed blood. In you they have eaten on the mountains. They have committed lewdness among you.
- John 12:31 (v7) Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out.
- John 14:30 (v7) I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me.
- 2 Corinthians 4:4 (v7) in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the…
- Ephesians 2:2 (v7) in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv5, 7 Wheresoever they were moved with foolish devotion to offer…
Wheresoever they were moved with foolish devotion to offer it.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Lev 17:5 To the end that the children of…
Lev 17:5 To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them [for] peace offerings unto the LORD.
Ver. 5. Unto the priest.] No man might offer his own sacrifice, though never so good, but must bring it to the priest; and the priest was to offer as well the poor man’s lamb, as the rich man’s ox.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Which they offer; either,
Which they offer; either,
1. The Egyptians and other idolatrous nations, which commonly sacrificed to idols or devils in fields or any places; who are not here named, but may be designed by the particle they, in way of contempt, as if they were not worthy to be named, as that particle is used, Luk 14:24; 19:27; Joh 7:11; 8:10. Or rather,
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2. The Israelites now mentioned, and plainly understood in the following they, who, before the building of the tabernacle, took the same liberty herein which the Gentiles did, from which they are now restrained.
He nameth not peace-offerings exclusively to others, as appears from the reason of the law, and from Lev 17:8,9, but especially, because in these the temptation was more common in regard of their frequency, and more powerful, because part of these belonged to the offerer, and the pretence was more plausible, because their sanctity was something of a lower degree than others, these being only called holy, and allowed in part to the people, when the other are called most holy, and were wholly appropriated either to God or to the priests.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv5–7 To the end that the children of Israel may…
To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they offer in the open field,.... Which, before the tabernacle was erected, they were used to offer there, as it was lawful for them to do, and on high places, but now unlawful; though sometimes this was dispensed with by the Lord, and was done by some of his prophets, as Samuel, David, and Elijah, though not by priests:
even that they may bring them unto the Lord, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest; by whom they were to be offered, and by him only, and which is a principal reason why they were ordered to be brought thither:
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and offer them for peace offerings unto the Lord; which though only mentioned, include all others. These are only taken notice of because most frequent, and because most profitable to the people, having a part of them; wherefore if these were to be brought to the tabernacle, which came the nearest of any to their meals and feasts in their own houses, then much more burnt offerings, and sin offerings, in which the Lord, had so great a concern.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv5–7 They offer - The Israelites, before the building of…
They offer - The Israelites, before the building of the tabernacle, did so, from which they are now restrained. Peace- offerings - He nameth not these exclusively from others, as appears from the reason of the law, and from ver. 8, 9, but because in these the temptation was more common in regard of their frequency, and more powerful, because part of these belonged to the offerer, and the pretense was more plausible, because their sanctity was of a lower degree than others, these being only called holy, and allowed in part to the people, whereas the others are called most holy, and were wholly appropriated either to God, or to the priests.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v7 Verse 7. They shall no more offer their sacrifices…
Verse 7. They shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils] They shall not sacrifice לשעירים lasseirim, to the hairy ones, to goats. The famous heathen god, Pan, was represented as having the posteriors, horns, and ears of a goat; and the Mendesians, a people of Egypt, had a deity which they worshipped under this form. Herodotus says that all goats were worshipped in Egypt, but the he-goat particularly. It appears also that the different ape and monkey species were objects of superstitious worship; and from these sprang, not only Mendes and Jupiter Ammon, who was worshipped under the figure of a ram, but also Pan and the Sileni, with the innumerable herd of those imaginary beings, satyrs, dryads, hamadryads, c. c., all woodland gods, and held in veneration among the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.
After whom they have gone a whoring.] Though this term is frequently used to express idolatry, yet we are not to suppose that it is not to be taken in a literal sense in many places in Scripture, even where it is used in connection with idolatrous acts of worship. It is well known that Baal-Peor and Ashtaroth were worshipped with unclean rites and that public prostitution formed a grand part of the worship of many deities among the Egyptians, Moabites, Canaanites, Greeks, and Romans. The great god of the two latter nations, Jupiter, was represented as the general corrupter of women and of Venus, Flora, Priapus, and others, it is needless to speak. That there was public prostitution in the patriarchal times, See Clarke on Ge 38:21. And that there was public prostitution of women to goats in Egypt, see Herodotus, lib. ii., c. 46, p. 108, edit. Gale, who gives a case of this abominable kind that took place in Egypt while he was in that country. See also many examples in Bochart, vol. ii., col. 641; and See Clarke on Le 20:16.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Lev 17:5. They offer — The Israelites, before the…
Lev 17:5. They offer — The Israelites, before the building of the tabernacle, did so, from which they are now restrained. Peace-offerings — He does not name these exclusively from others, as appears from the reason of the law, and from Lev 17:8-9, but because in these the temptation was more common in regard of their frequency, and more powerful, because part of these belonged to the offerers, and the pretence was more plausible, because their sanctity was of a lower degree than that of others, these being only called holy, and allowed in part to the people, whereas the others are called most holy, and were wholly appropriated either to God, or to the priests.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv5, 7 They. The Egyptians and other nations, kill in the…
They. The Egyptians and other nations, kill in the field, as the Hebrews had also done, till it was now prohibited. Some were, perhaps, still much inclined to adore, (Calmet) and to offer sacrifices privately to devils; (ver. 7,) and therefore God forbids any sacrifice, but such as was performed by his priests at the tabernacle. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv5, 7 To the end that the children of Israel may…
To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field--"They" is supposed by some commentators to refer to the Egyptians, so that the verse will stand thus: "the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they (the Egyptians) offer in the open field." The law is thought to have been directed against those whose Egyptian habits led them to imitate this idolatrous practice.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv5–7 5. Sacrifices which they offer — Animals which Israel…
5. Sacrifices which they offer — Animals which Israel would have slain for food in the open field, that is, outside the enclosed space of the court of the tabernacle, are required to be slain as peace offerings, in the manner prescribed in Leviticus 3, and Lev_7:11-34, though the limitation of the time of eating was probably removed, nor is it certain that the priest’s portion, the heave offering, was demanded.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv5, 7 5. The whole v. appears to be an expansion…
5. The whole v. appears to be an expansion on the part of Rp[62]. See p. 99.
[62] A Reviser, who, probably after that collection had been combined with the Priestly Code, introduced further elements from that Code.
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the open field] In contrast to the city. For the expression cp. Lev_14:7; Lev_14:53.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv5–7 (5) To the end that the children of Israel…
(5) To the end that the children of Israel may bring.—The reason why these three kinds of animals, when intended for private food, are to be brought to the precincts of the sanctuary, and are there to be offered first as a peace offering to the Lord, is to prevent the Israelites sacrificing them to the demons in the open fields.
Which they offer in the open field.—The first part of this verse is better rendered, In order that the children of Israel may bring in [i.e., within the precincts of the sanctuary] their sacrifices which they are sacrificing on the face of the field; that is, which they have heretofore been in the habit of offering in the open fields to heathen deities, and which, in future, they might be inclined to do again. The phrase “open field “denotes the space outside the encampment, in contradistinction to the enclosed place where the Israelites sojourned. (See Lev_14:7; Lev_14:53, &c.)
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Even that they may bring them . . . unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.—Better, and bring them . . . to the entrance of the tent of meeting.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv5–7 To the end that the children of Israel may…
To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices. This passage tells us the purpose of the previous command: it is to prevent sacrifices being sacrificed (the word is twice used in the original) in the open field, or anywhere else than in the court of the tabernacle. It follows that the command refers to sacrifice, not to mere slaughtering. Clark, taking the opposite view of the command, is obliged to change the translation, sacrifices which they offer in the open field, into "beasts for slaughter which they now slaughter in the open field" ("Speaker"s Commentary"); but he has no authority for doing so. Zabach means always, in the Pentateuch, to slay in sacrifice. These field sacrifices, when offered to the Lord in the proper place and with the proper ceremonies, would become peace offerings unto the Lord.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 7 to the priest to be sacrificed
to the priest to be sacrificed
This can be translated in active form. AT: "to the priest so he may sacrifice them" (See: Active or Passive)
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translationWords
priest
fellowship offering
altar
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v7 17:7 be unfaithful (Hebrew zanah, “commit fornication”): Israel was…
17:7 be unfaithful (Hebrew zanah, “commit fornication”): Israel was not to worship any god but the Lord (Exod 20:3). Israel’s covenant relationship to the Lord was even compared to a marriage (see Hos 1:2), and worshiping other gods could be described as spiritual adultery. In addition, many of the Canaanite religions were fertility cults. This verb reflects the prostitution conducted at Canaanite shrines to induce fertility in the land through rites of magic involving sexual intercourse. • The Hebrew word translated goat idols is the plural for a male goat. In the ancient world, the male goat was often a symbol of fertility or of a god of the underworld. During the reign of Jeroboam I, many Levites from the northern kingdom moved south to Jerusalem; they had been appalled by the use of goats and bulls in the northern kingdom’s worship (2 Chr 11:15-16).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.