If a person commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the Lord; then he shall bring for his guilt to the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flocks, by value (two) silver shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering. And he shall make amends for the wrong that he has done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part to it, and give it to the priest: and the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and it shall be forgiven him. (Leviticus 5:15-16)

The Sages teach that there are certain consecrated items not subject to the prohibition of misuse of consecrated property. One must clarify from which of these items he is permitted to derive benefit, and from which it is prohibited for him to derive benefit but if he did derive benefit he is not liable for misuse. For items of the second type one is not obligated to pay the additional one-fifth as a penalty for unintentional misuse of consecrated property, nor must he bring an offering. With regard to those items that are subject to misuse, it is necessary to establish which are subject by Torah law and which by rabbinic law.

The chapter begins by discussing the five sin offerings, which, for various reasons, are not sacrificed on the altar but are left to die, and which are not subject to the prohibition of misuse. One is prohibited to derive benefit from them. The chapter then turns to the issue of misuse of consecrated property in various contexts of inherent sanctity: Money that a nazirite designated for the offerings he is obligated to bring upon completion of his naziriteship, both in a case where he is still alive and in a case where he is no longer alive; money designated for bird offerings; blood of sacrificial animals; libations; the ashes removed from the altar; the limbs of the scapegoat; the priestly vestments that had been worn by the High Priest on Yom Kippur; the heifer whose neck is broken; and ash removed from the inner incense altar and from the Candelabrum.

Another series of questions relates to the halakha of misuse of items that are unfit to be sacrificed on the altar and cannot be used for Temple maintenance either, e.g., if one consecrates a cistern, trash heap, or field. These issues relate both to the items themselves and to their contents and what grows from them.

The chapter also addresses the topic of sacred fields. Does the prohibition of misuse of consecrated property apply to one who threshes his legumes in a consecrated field? What is the halakha with regard to the roots of a tree that emerge from a non-sacred field into a sacred field, or vice versa? A similar question is asked about a spring that flows in a sacred field or one that emerges from that field and flows outside of it. Questions likewise arise with regard to the prohibition of misuse in the context of the special mitzvot of the festival of Sukkot, such as the water libation and the placing of the willow branches at the side of the altar.

There is a separate discussion about the prohibition of misuse of consecrated property, relating to the material used for Temple maintenance, such as the wood and stones used for repairs and enhancements in the Temple, and the scraps of such material. In this context the chapter discusses the proper method of consecration for the purpose of such construction, and clarifies when the construction material should be consecrated and how the artisans are to be paid their wages.