Leviticus 5:1
And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity. And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity.
The soul in view hears the voice of swearing or oath and is a witness, whether by what he has seen or by what he has known, and if he withholds what he knows he bears guilt. In the surrounding chapters souls are also seen confessing sins, bringing offerings, finding what was lost, taking things by violence, deceiving neighbors, and making amends. The guilt is for withholding testimony after hearing an oath that calls for testimony when the person knows or has witnessed the matter.
Silence in the face of wrongdoing makes a person share its guilt, as when one hears God's name blasphemed and gives no sign of disapproval. A witness who has seen or known the truth and refuses to speak bears his iniquity, for silence when testimony would save is itself guilt. It is like knowing that one's word would free an innocent friend on trial for his life, yet staying silent when asked to give reason why sentence should not be passed, so that the man is condemned. Applied to Christ, to remain silent about Him is to testify against Him and to deny one's best Friend. Therefore those newly come to faith and just starting the Christian life need wise, earnest instruction on speaking, and one ready for church membership is ready to testify to satisfaction in a new-found Saviour and seeks opportunity to do so.
The verse belongs to the instructions for individual sin and trespass offerings in Leviticus 4 and 5 and the first seven chapters of Leviticus. These govern the special offerings people brought for their individual sins during the year as part of the daily ministration and main features of the sanctuary service. When a person sinned, he brought an unblemished animal to the tabernacle as a substitute, confessed the sin by laying a hand on its head, and brought and slew the victim himself as the required offering. A person who knew of a sin remained responsible and bore his iniquity until he brought the required offering and the victim was slain. Guilt in the cases described must be confessed before an individual atonement can be made, with trespass against another person requiring confession and restitution including an added fifth.
The priest does not slay the sacrifice or serve as the sin offering, but performs the atoning work as priest with the offering's blood in the sanctuary, using its blood to make atonement for the individual's forgiveness of sins, resulting in forgiveness. Through the sacrifice the sin was transferred in figure to the sanctuary, with its blood bearing the sin and guilt being carried in and sprinkled there or in some cases its flesh representing the transfer. The forgiven sin was represented as remaining there until the yearly cleansing. As part of the offerings and earthly sanctuary service, the verse teaches that God hates sin and sin demands a penalty, that the offerings are shadows of Jesus Christ, and that the earthly sanctuary is a pattern, shadow and object-lesson of God's temple in heaven and Christ's priestly service there. It was given for learning, to give patience, comfort and hope, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, revealing God's way, power and glory and giving clearer views of the Saviour and His work in behalf of men. Failing to speak does not remove guilt, for sin remains sin even when a person does not recognize it, and recognized sin must be confessed, repented of, and put away.