Leviticus 5:11

וְאִם־לֹא תַשִּׂיג יָדוֹ לִשְׁתֵּי תֹרִים אוֹ לִשְׁנֵי בְנֵי־יוֹנָה וְהֵבִיא אֶת־קָרְבָּנוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא עֲשִׂירִת הָאֵפָה סֹלֶת לְחַטָּאת לֹא־יָשִׂים עָלֶיהָ שֶׁמֶן וְלֹא־יִתֵּן עָלֶיהָ לְבֹנָה כִּי חַטָּאת הִֽיא׃

✦ Hebrew interlinear

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✦ The same verse in five languages

Hebrew

וְאִם־לֹא֩ תַשִּׂ֨יג יָד֜וֹ לִשְׁתֵּ֣י תֹרִ֗ים אוֹ֮ לִשְׁנֵ֣י בְנֵי־יוֹנָה֒ וְהֵבִ֨יא אֶת־קָרְבָּנ֜וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָטָ֗א עֲשִׂירִ֧ת הָאֵפָ֛ה סֹ֖לֶת לְחַטָּ֑את לֹא־יָשִׂ֨ים עָלֶ֜יהָ שֶׁ֗מֶן וְלֹא־יִתֵּ֤ן עָלֶ֙יהָ֙ לְבֹנָ֔ה כִּ֥י חַטָּ֖את הִֽיא׃

Greek (Septuagint)

Ἐὰν δὲ μὴ εὑρίσκῃ αὐτοῦ ἡ χεὶρ ζεῦγος τρυγόνων ἢ δύο νοσσοῦς περιστερῶν, καὶ οἴσει τὸ δῶρον αὐτοῦ περὶ οὗ ἥμαρτεν τὸ δέκατον τοῦ οἰφὶ σεμιδάλεως περὶ ἁμαρτίας· οὐκ ἐπιχεεῖ ἐπ’ αὐτὸ ἔλαιον οὐδὲ ἐπιθήσει ἐπ’ αὐτὸ λίβανον, ἅτι περὶ ἁμαρτίας ἐστίν·

Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0

Latin (Vulgate)

Quod si non quiverit manus ejus duos offerre turtures, aut duos pullos columbarum, offeret pro peccato suo similæ partem ephi decimam: non mittet in eam oleum, nec thuris aliquid imponet, quia pro peccato est.

Spanish

“‘Pero si no tiene recursos para las dos tórtolas o los dos pichones, entonces traerá como ofrenda por su pecado la décima parte de un efa de harina fina como ofrenda por el pecado. No le pondrá aceite ni incienso, porque es una ofrenda por el pecado.

Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)

Mas si su posibilidad no alcanzare para dos tórtolas, ó dos palominos, el que pecó traerá por su ofrenda la décima parte de un epha de flor de harina por expiación. No pondrá sobre ella aceite, ni sobre ella pondrá incienso, porque es expiación.

English

But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he may bring a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering. He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, because it is a sin offering.

✦ What the text says

Summary

Leviticus 5:11 describes the third and lowest tier of the graduated sin offering: someone unable to afford even two turtledoves or two young pigeons brings a tenth of an ephah of fine flour instead. This flour offering must not receive oil or frankincense, because it functions as a chattat ("sin offering", H2403H).

Key words

tasSig ("it will reach", H5381) — hiphil imperfect of the verb "to reach/attain," used idiomatically with yad ("hand", H3027T) to express financial ability: literally "his hand does not reach."
yad ("hand", H3027T) — construct singular noun; paired with the negated verb above, the phrase lo tassig yado means "he cannot afford."
asirit ("tenth of", H6224) — construct ordinal number governing ha'ephah ("the ephah", H0374), specifying the exact quantity of flour required.
chattat ("a sin offering", H2403H) — appears twice (lines 27, 40), first naming the purpose of the flour offering, then closing the verse as a summary clause explaining why oil and frankincense are excluded.
hi ("it", H1931) — independent personal pronoun closing the verse, emphatically restating the offering's identity as a chattat.

What the text says

The verse opens with a conditional clause, ve'im lo tassig yado ("and if his hand does not reach"), an idiom built from the negated hiphil verb tassig (H5381) and the construct noun yad (H3027T) with a third-person suffix, meaning the person lacks the means for the previous offering (two turtledoves or two young pigeons, mentioned via the construct chains in lines 8-14). The main clause then shifts to a sequential perfect verb, hevi' ("he will bring", H0935P), which continues the narrative logically as a future obligation despite its perfect form — a common feature of legal/case law style in this text. The object brought is specified through a construct chain: asirit ha'ephah solet ("a tenth of the ephah, fine flour"), with asirit (H6224) governing the definite noun ha'ephah (H0374).

The final section states two prohibitions using parallel negated qal imperfects, lo yasim ("he will not place", H7760H) and lo yiten ("he will not put", H5414H), each governing shemen ("oil", H8081) and levonah ("frankincense", H3828) respectively. The verse closes with a causal clause introduced by ki ("for", H3588A), followed by chattat hi ("it [is] a sin offering," H2403H + H1931), where the pronoun hi placed after the noun gives emphatic, identifying force to the statement.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders tassig yado ("his hand reaches") as heuriskē autou hē cheir ("his hand finds"), a comparable idiom for ability but using "find" rather than "reach." The Vulgate renders the same phrase as si non quiverit manus ejus ("if his hand is not able"), shifting to a modal verb "to be able" rather than preserving the Hebrew hand-idiom directly.

This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.