Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Leviticus 5:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering:
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse requires an assessed unblemished ram for an inadvertent offense against holy things.
Read It With
- Leviticus 5:14-19
Start with 5:14-19 rather than Leviticus 5:15 alone. In that complete movement, this verse requires an assessed unblemished ram for an inadvertent offense against holy things. The unit's controlling claim is: Misuse of holy things requires an assessed ram, restitution, and an added fifth; uncertain breach also receives a ram and forgiveness while guilt language remains emphatic.
Follow the Context
- The unit opens the particular procedure, case, scene, or instruction named “Sacred loss and uncertain breach require reparation.”
- Misuse of holy things requires an assessed ram, restitution, and an added fifth; uncertain breach also receives a ram and forgiveness while guilt language remains emphatic.
- The unit closes with this interpretive boundary: Uncertainty is not permission for leaders to invent offenses, fees, or endless payments.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“trespass offering”
In plain language: The asham is a reparation or guilt offering associated here with sacred loss.
A ram, valuation, restitution, and added fifth belong together.
Why it matters: The KJV term can hide the material repair.
How certain? strongWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Leviticus 5:15 does not turn its distinct contribution—requires an assessed unblemished ram for an inadvertent offense against holy things—into a free-standing rule; uncertainty is not permission for leaders to invent offenses, fees, or endless payments.
What Remains True
Requires an assessed unblemished ram for an inadvertent offense against holy things. Within Leviticus 5:14-19, this contributes to the larger claim that misuse of holy things requires an assessed ram, restitution, and an added fifth; uncertain breach also receives a ram and forgiveness while guilt language remains emphatic.
How It Can Shape Life
- When teaching Leviticus 5:15, keep the verse inside Leviticus 5:14-19. Hold this boundary: Uncertainty is not permission for leaders to invent offenses, fees, or endless payments. Apply only the noncoercive truth the complete unit supports.
Teach It Back
Explain Leviticus 5:15's contribution to Leviticus 5:14-19. Name the category involved, what the surrounding verses add, any material uncertainty, and what the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Leviticus 5:14-19 — Sacred loss and uncertain breach require reparationSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Leviticus 5:14-19, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Leviticus
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, ritual and legal vocabulary, names, clause relationships, KJV language controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Lev.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 5:14-19
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Leviticus with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, PDF generated 2025-12-31
Supports: Unit-bounded translator notes on Hebrew, syntax, ritual vocabulary, measures, textual questions, and older-English wording; silence is not treated as evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Leviticus PDF, complete PDF pp. 1-99, translation and translator notes for 5:14-19
Open source ↗