Leviticus 3:1-17

If the offering is a sacrifice of well-being,¹ if you offer an animal of the herd, whether male or female,² you shall offer one without blemish³ before the Lord. You shall lay your hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance of the tent of meeting; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall dash the blood against all sides of the altar. You shall offer from the sacrifice of well-being, as an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is around the entrails; the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.⁴ Then Aaron’s sons shall turn these into smoke on the altar, with the burnt offering that is on the wood on the fire, as an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the Lord.

If your offering for a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord is from the flock, male or female, you shall offer one without blemish. If you present a sheep as your offering, you shall bring it before the Lord and lay your hand on the head of the offering. It shall be slaughtered before the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar. You shall present its fat from the sacrifice of well-being, as an offering by fire to the Lord: the whole broad tail, which shall be removed close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is around the entrails; the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which you shall remove with the kidneys. Then the priest shall turn these into smoke on the altar as a food offering by fire to the Lord.

If your offering is a goat, you shall bring it before the Lord and lay your hand on its head; it shall be slaughtered before the tent of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar. You shall present as your offering from it, as an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is around the entrails; the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which you shall remove with the kidneys. Then the priest shall turn these into smoke on the altar as a food offering by fire for a pleasing odor.

All fat is the Lord’s.⁵ It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your settlements: you must not eat any fat or any blood.⁶
1 This “sacrifice of well-being” is somehow different from the “burnt offering” that Leviticus started with.

2 This type of sacrifice can be male or female.

3 Yet again, the perfection of the sacrifice to God is emphasized.

4 The fat, and to some degree the innards, are emphasized as the things that are burned for God.

5 This explains the focus on the fat, while still leaving the reason for that focus a little bit of a mystery. My Study Bible points out that the descriptions relate to the “suet fat” the hard fat in the body cavity and tail, not the other fat that is found throughout the meat.

6 “Don't eat fat” is tied into “don't eat blood”.


Take-home: A second sacrifice of the flock/herd is described, the “sacrifice of well-being” (“peace offering” or “covenant offering” in some translations). The burning of the suet fat and entrails of this sacrifice as a gift devoted to God is emphasized.