Leviticus 5 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

If someone hears a public call for witnesses and has seen or knows something relevant but refuses to speak up — that person carries the weight of their failure.

Or if someone touches anything ritually contaminated — whether the carcass of an unclean wild animal, unclean livestock, or unclean swarming creature — even without realizing it, they've become contaminated and are responsible.

Or if someone touches any kind of human contamination — whatever form of contamination it might be — without being aware of it, but later realizes what happened, that person is responsible.

Or if someone blurts out a careless oath — swearing to do something good or bad, whatever kind of rash promise people make — without thinking about it, but later realizes what they've done, that person is responsible for any of these.

When someone becomes responsible for any of these things, they must openly acknowledge what they've done wrong.

Then they must bring their accountability offering to Yahweh for the wrong they committed: a female from the flock — either a lamb or a goat — as a purification offering. The priest will perform the covering ritual on their behalf for their failure.

If they can't afford a lamb, they must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to Yahweh as their accountability offering — one for a purification offering and one for a burnt offering.

They must bring them to the priest, who will present the purification offering first. He'll pinch its head at the neck without fully severing it,

then sprinkle some of the blood from the purification offering against the side of the altar, and drain the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. It's a purification offering.

The second bird he'll prepare as a burnt offering, following the standard procedure. The priest will perform the covering ritual on the person's behalf for the wrong they committed, and they'll be forgiven.

But if they can't afford even two turtledoves or two young pigeons, they must bring two quarts of fine flour as their purification offering for what they did wrong. They must not put olive oil on it or add frankincense — because it's a purification offering.

They must bring it to the priest, and the priest will scoop out a handful of it as a representative portion and burn it on the altar on top of Yahweh's fire offerings. It's a purification offering.

The priest will perform the covering ritual on their behalf for whatever wrong they committed in any of these situations, and they'll be forgiven. The rest of the flour belongs to the priest, just like the grain offering.

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses:

"When someone acts dishonestly and unintentionally wrongs any of Yahweh's sacred things, they must bring their accountability offering to Yahweh: a ram without any defects from the flock, valued in silver shekels by the sanctuary standard — as an accountability offering.

They must make restitution for whatever they wrongly took from the sacred things, add a fifth of its value on top, and give it to the priest. The priest will then perform the covering ritual on their behalf with the accountability ram, and they'll be forgiven.

"If someone does wrong and violates any of Yahweh's commands — even without realizing it — they are still responsible and must bear the consequences of their failure.

They must bring a ram without any defects from the flock, valued appropriately, to the priest as an accountability offering. The priest will perform the covering ritual on their behalf for the unintentional wrong they committed without knowing it, and they'll be forgiven.

It is definitely an accountability offering — they were truly liable before Yahweh."