Leviticus 3

1 “‘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 defect before the LORD.

2 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 sprinkle the blood around on the altar.

3 He shall offer of the sacrifice of peace offerings an offering made by fire to the LORD. The fat that covers the innards, and all the fat that is on the innards,

4 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the cover on the liver, with the kidneys, he shall take away.

5 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 a pleasant aroma to the LORD.

6 “‘If his offering for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD is from the flock, either male or female, he shall offer it without defect.

7 If he offers a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before the LORD;

8 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 on the altar.

9 He shall offer from the sacrifice of peace offerings an offering made by fire to the LORD; its fat, the entire tail fat, he shall take away close to the backbone; and the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails,

10 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the cover on the liver, with the kidneys, he shall take away.

11 The priest shall burn it on the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire to the LORD.

12 “‘If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD.

13 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 altar.

14 He shall offer from it as his offering, an offering made by fire to the LORD; the fat that covers the innards, and all the fat that is on the innards,

15 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the cover on the liver, with the kidneys, he shall take away.

16 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 the LORD’s.

17 “‘It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings, that you shall eat neither fat nor blood.’”

Around Leviticus 3

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

Leviticus 3 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

The peace offering is the third kind. A person brings a bull or cow, a lamb, or a goat, male or female, without defect. He lays his hand on its head and kills it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and the priests sprinkle the blood around the altar. The fat that covers the innards, the two kidneys and the cover of the liver are burned on the altar, an offering by fire of a pleasant aroma. For a lamb, the fat tail is included as well. The text calls this the food of the offering, and says plainly that all the fat is the LORD's. The chapter ends with a rule for all generations and all dwellings: “you shall eat neither fat nor blood.”

Background

Leviticus 7 shows that a peace offering is the one where the worshiper shares in a meal, so it is often read as an offering of fellowship or thanks. The chapter itself stays with the rules for the fat, which belongs to the LORD, and the blood. Jewish tradition has treated the rule against eating blood as lasting; many Christians point to Acts 15 when discussing it. Readers differ on how these rules apply today.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 23 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes