1. Leviticus 5:18 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

How does the guilt offering in Leviticus 5:14-16 differ from the guilt offerings in Leviticus 5:17-19?

Leviticus 5:18 (ESV)

18 He shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for the mistake that he made unintentionally, and he shall be forgiven.

Unlike the previous offering where a fifth would be added to the value of the ram as reparation, no compensation is involved in this instance. In the last days of the second temple, this sacrifice came to be called “a suspended guilt offering.”