Commentary on Leviticus 1.6

Verses 1–7. "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: A soul that sins, and in contempt of God denies to his neighbour a deposit that was entrusted to his good faith, or extorts something by force, or commits a false accusation, or finds a lost thing and, denying it, swears besides, and does any other of the many things in which men usually sin, being convicted of the transgression, shall restore in full all that he wished to obtain by fraud, and a fifth part besides to the Lord, against whom he had done damage; and for his sin he shall offer a ram without blemish from the flock, and give it to the priest according to the estimate and measure of the transgression; and he shall pray for him before the Lord, and it shall be forgiven him for each thing in which he sinned by doing it."

You see that the Spirit of God hands down that the sin committed against holy things and that committed by oath are of the same rank; this is plain from his commanding the same sacrifice of a ram to be offered in both. For why a little before he commanded a ram to be offered in every sin, we have said, not guessing on our own but following the intention of the lawgiver. And why did he think the sin by oath joined to that against holy things? Because both pertain in every way to God: one who transgresses an oath not only harms his neighbour but also does injury to God himself, whom he made his mediator. And the law itself now begins to teach you in this way: "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying." He shows the commandment to be special by setting out specially that God speaks to Moses in it, as also in the sin concerning holy things.

He spoke, then: "A soul that sins, and in contempt of God denies to his neighbour a deposit that was entrusted to his good faith, or extorts something by force, or commits a false accusation, or finds a lost thing and, denying it, swears besides." The Seventy render these words thus: "A soul that sins in anything, and overlooks the commandments of the Lord, and lies to his neighbour about a deposit or about a partnership, or about robbery has harmed his neighbour, or has found a lost thing and lies about it, and swears unjustly." Not in vain did he say "if he lies" twice; for divine Scripture, which seems to leave out much for brevity's sake, is not accustomed to repeat the same words. Here, then, he compares the transgression of an oath to a lie; and so above he mentioned it without an oath, but here he joined the oath to the lie, for he says: "and lies about it and swears unjustly." For the other interpreters too, Aquila and Theodotion and Symmachus, where the Seventy said "if he has harmed his neighbour in anything," said "if he has falsely accused him in anything." Considering this, let us keep ourselves from deceit with all our strength, since God, who is truth, is insulted by deceit.

And he mixed force, or robbery, with the denied deposit, or, as the Seventy also say, with the partnership, judging every injustice to be truly force or robbery. And it is plain from what the Seventy add, "It shall be, when he has sinned and repented, that he shall restore the robbery which he robbed, or the injustice which he did unjustly, or the deposit that was deposited with him, or the lost thing which he found," that each of the said sins is like those listed with it; for they are committed out of avarice. For each of them he commanded the principal itself and a fifth to be added; but here he commanded the fifth to be given not to the priest but to the one who suffered the injustice, meaning similar things in different words. For since, along with the one who suffered harm in the robbery or the deposit, injustice is done also against God himself through deceit or perjury, he rightly commands the fifth of these to be given to God, at whom the injury is aimed. And the fifth is the tongue: for we said that this too is the fifth, since it is one of the five senses. This, then, is offered to God, so that it may sin no more, because each of the said sins is committed through it.

So he ordains the same things in different words, and he has figured God sometimes in the person of the priest and sometimes in that of the one who suffered injustice. Or else, because by the same reasoning Christ is believed to be both our priest and to suffer injustice with us and for us, namely according to the law of his compassion for us, at the end of this ordinance he commands a ram without blemish to be offered to the priest, who is to pray and obtain forgiveness. Of these things there is sufficient explanation in what was said about transgressions concerning holy things.

But let us, coming to our senses, keep ourselves from both sins, and still more from every sin. For if it should happen that we are caught or fall into any one of them, we have examples of supplication and offering which it is good for the suppliant to use. "For these things happened to them as figures, but they were written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come," in Christ Jesus our Lord. To him be glory, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.