Charles Ellicott Commentary Leviticus 5:1

"And if any one sin, in that he heareth the voice of adjuration, he being a witness, whether he hath seen or known, if he do not utter [it], then he shall bear his iniquity." — Leviticus 5:1 (ASV)

And hear the voice of swearing. —Better, because he heard the voice of adjuration, and might be a witness, whether he has seen the offence or known of it, if he does not tell it.

Having laid down in the former chapter the regulations about the sin offering, and having shown how these regulations are to be carried out when the offence against the Divine law is inadvertently committed by the spiritual head of the people, by the whole congregation, by the sovereign ruler of the nation, and by the individual members of the community, the lawgiver now proceeds to set forth in Leviticus 5:1-13 of this chapter the trespass offering which every Israelite is to bring when he has violated certain precepts here specified.

The first instance adduced is that of failing to come forward as witness after the judicial adjuration has been uttered. It was the duty of every member of the community to aid the authorities in maintaining the integrity of the Divine law.

Hence, when an offence was committed which the constituted tribunals were unable to prove against the offender for lack of evidence, a solemn adjuration was addressed by the judge to individual members, to a district, or to the whole community. If after such an adjuration, anyone who was aware of the offence failed to come forward to testify what he knew, he was considered in the sight of God as participating in the transgression which he had thus concealed.

It is with reference to this law that we are told, whoso is partner with a thief, hateth his own soul, he heareth cursing and betrayeth it not, i.e., he hears the adjuration of the judges, and yet stifles his evidence, and thus becomes a partner with the culprit. An instance of this adjuration is recorded in Matthew 26:63, where the high priest said to Jesus, I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the son of God, and it was in recognition of the solemn obligation of this adjuration that Jesus answered the question.

Then he shall bear his iniquity. —Better, and he beareth his iniquity; that is, he is aware that he bears the load of this guilt. He has become conscious of his sin, without which he could not bring the sacrifice here prescribed.

The phrase, “and he beareth his guilt,” has the same meaning as “he,” or “they are guilty” in Leviticus 4:13, Leviticus 4:22, and other similar verses. Unlike the sins committed inadvertently, spoken of in the preceding chapter, where the sin offering is prescribed, the guilt here described is that of designed and culpable silence, and of deliberately concealing a crime.