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THREE SINFUL RESPONSES TO UNRIGHTEOUSNESS


Leviticus 5:1-6

5:1 “‘If anyone sins, in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, he being a witness, whether he has seen or known, if he doesn’t report it, then he shall bear his iniquity.
2 “‘Or if anyone touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean animal, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and it is hidden from him, and he is unclean, then he shall be guilty.
3 “‘Or if he touches the uncleanness of man, whatever his uncleanness is with which he is unclean, and it is hidden from him; when he knows of it, then he shall be guilty.
4 “‘Or if anyone swears rashly with his lips to do evil or to do good—whatever it is that a man might utter rashly with an oath, and it is hidden from him; when he knows of it, then he will be guilty of one of these.
5 It shall be, when he is guilty of one of these, he shall confess that in which he has sinned;
6 and he shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh for his sin which he has sinned: a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin.
Romans 1:32

1:32 who, knowing the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.

The Leviticus passage addresses three sins: knowing yet withholding, willing contact with impurity, and rash utterance of oaths. These correspond to Paul’s three responses of unrighteousness. While TJCs treat them as distinct sins, Paul presents them as a sequence.
Translations
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Commentary
Just as a witness knows what happened and does not report it, Paul writes they know the ordinance but take no action to restrain it (echo 1).
Translations
update new database-driven translations to match (see old for reference)
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LXX:

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Commentary
Just as one who touches human uncleanness, Paul writes they commit the same unclean acts (echo 2).
Translations
update new database-driven translations to match (see old for reference)
Hebrew:

LXX:

Greek:
Commentary
A person who “approves of those” who practice evil deeds, expresses that approval by some form of communication, and may soon, if not already, be committing those same deeds themselves. Therefore “but also approve of those” corresponds to “if anyone swears rashly with his lips to do evil” (echo 3). The Jewish concept of Lashon Ha Ra (evil speech in about or against others) is a considered comparable to murder. The prohibition covers any negative communication—verbal, written or implied—that causes damage, even if the information is accurate. Therefore even if they do not physically become partakers in the evil actions others, their verbal approval has already made them partakers in their evil. Stepping back, Paul’s treatment of Romans 1:32, written as the conclusion to the four-stage downward spiral of sin in Romans 1:21–31, raises the question of whether he viewed verse 32 as a distinct fifth stage of sin. Leviticus Ch. 4 clearly presents four stages, followed by the three sins of Leviticus 5:1–6, which echo Romans 1:32. While TJCs do not typically connect these sections, Paul seems to have done so. One argument for viewing verse 32 as a fifth stage is the five-stage pattern of penalties in Leviticus 26:14–33, where four stages of national sin are followed by a fifth stage of exile. On the other hand, Leviticus Ch. 26 also presents these as four major transitions, linked by the repeated warning that if the nation does not repent, God will punish them “seven times more.”