The Aramaic Bible · the Torah
Targum Onkelos Leviticus · chapter 3
Aramaic public domain · English Bible (BSB)What is the Aramaic Bible?
After the exile, most Jews spoke Aramaic, not Hebrew, so in the synagogue each Scripture reading was followed by an Aramaic translation read aloud, so ordinary people could follow. Those translations are the Aramaic Bible. Scholars call them the Targums.
Why it’s worth reading: a Targum doesn’t just translate, it quietly explains as it goes. So it’s a window into how the first Jewish readers actually understood a passage. Famously, the Aramaic of Isaiah 53 names the servant “the Messiah” outright.
Tap any Aramaic word to trace it to its Jastrow dictionary entry.
“If one’s offering is a peace offering and he offers an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he must present it without blemish before the LORD.
He is to lay his hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall splatter the blood on all sides of the altar.
From the peace offering he is to bring a food offering to the LORD: the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them,
both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he is to remove with the kidneys.
Then Aaron’s sons are to burn it on the altar atop the burnt offering that is on the burning wood, as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
If, however, one’s peace offering to the LORD is from the flock, he must present a male or female without blemish.
If he is presenting a lamb for his offering, he must present it before the LORD.
He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splatter its blood on all sides of the altar.
And from the peace offering he shall bring a food offering to the LORD consisting of its fat: the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them,
both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he is to remove with the kidneys.
Then the priest is to burn them on the altar as food, a food offering to the LORD.
If one’s offering is a goat, he is to present it before the LORD.
He must lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splatter its blood on all sides of the altar.
And from his offering he shall present a food offering to the LORD: the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them,
both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he is to remove with the kidneys.
Then the priest is to burn the food on the altar as a food offering, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the LORD’s.
This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.”
Aramaic. Targum Onkelos, Aramaic: 'Onkelos Leviticus' (public domain), served by the Sefaria v3 API (sefaria.org)
English. The Masoretic Torah verse (Berean Standard Bible, public domain), shown for reference, Targum Onkelos is the ancient Aramaic rendering of this verse.
We show the license-cleared original Aramaic and an established English translation, each Aramaic word traceable to a public-domain lexicon. We never machine-translate a primary text.