Numbers 15
Complete Jewish Bible
15 Adonai said to Moshe, 2 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘When you have come into the land where you are going to live, which I am giving to you, 3 and want to make an offering by fire to Adonai — a burnt offering or sacrifice to fulfill a special vow, or to be a voluntary offering, or at your designated times, to make a fragrant aroma for Adonai — then, whether it is comes from the herd or from the flock, 4 the person bringing the offering is to present Adonai with a grain offering consisting of two quarts of fine flour mixed with one quart of olive oil, 5 and one quart of wine for the drink offering. This is what you are to prepare with the burnt offering or for each lamb sacrificed.
6 “‘For a ram, prepare one gallon of fine flour mixed with one-and-one-third quarts of olive oil; 7 while for the drink offering, you are to present one-and-one-third quarts of wine as a fragrant aroma for Adonai.
(v) 8 “‘When you prepare a bull as a burnt offering, as a sacrifice to fulfill a special vow or as peace offerings for Adonai, 9 there is to be presented with the bull a grain offering of one-and-a-half gallons of fine flour mixed with two quarts of olive oil. 10 For the drink offering, present two quarts of wine for an offering made by fire, a fragant aroma for Adonai.
11 “‘Do it this way for each bull, ram, male lamb or kid. 12 For as many animals as you prepare, do this for each one, regardless of how many animals there are.
13 “‘Every citizen is to do these things in this way when presenting an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for Adonai. 14 If a foreigner stays with you — or whoever may be with you, through all your generations — and he wants to bring an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for Adonai, he is to do the same as you. 15 For this community there will be the same law for you as for the foreigner living with you; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations; the foreigner is to be treated the same way before Adonai as yourselves. 16 The same Torah and standard of judgment will apply to both you and the foreigner living with you.’”
(vi) 17 Adonai said to Moshe, 18 “Speak to the people of Isra’el; tell them, ‘When you enter the land where I am bringing you 19 and eat bread produced in the land, you are to set aside a portion as a gift for Adonai. 20 Set aside from your first dough a cake as a gift; set it aside as you would set aside a portion of the grain from the threshing-floor. 21 From your first dough you will give Adonai a portion as a gift through all your generations.
22 “‘If by mistake you fail to observe all these mitzvot that Adonai has spoken to Moshe, 23 yes, everything that Adonai has ordered you to do through Moshe, from the day Adonai gave the order and onward through all your generations, 24 then, if it was done by mistake by the community and was not known to them, the whole community is to offer one young bull for a burnt offering as a fragrant aroma to Adonai, with its grain and drink offerings, in keeping with the rule, and one male goat as a sin offering. 25 The cohen is to make atonement for the whole community of the people of Isra’el; and they will be forgiven; because it was a mistake; and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire, to Adonai, and their sin offering before Adonai for their mistake. 26 The whole community of the people of Isra’el will be forgiven, likewise the foreigner staying with them; because for all the people it was a mistake.
(vii) 27 “‘If an individual sins by mistake, he is to offer a female goat in its first year as a sin offering. 28 The cohen will make atonement before Adonai for the person who makes a mistake by sinning inadvertently; he will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven — 29 no matter whether he is a citizen of Isra’el or a foreigner living with them. You are to have one law for whoever it is that does something wrong by mistake.
30 “‘But an individual who does something wrong intentionally, whether a citizen or a foreigner, is blaspheming Adonai. That person will be cut off from his people. 31 Because he has had contempt for the word of Adonai and has disobeyed his command, that person will be cut off completely; his offense will remain with him.’”
32 While the people of Isra’el were in the desert, they found a man gathering wood on Shabbat. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moshe, Aharon and the whole congregation. 34 They kept him in custody, because it had not yet been decided what to do to him. 35 Then Adonai said to Moshe, “This man must be put to death; the entire community is to stone him to death outside the camp.” 36 So the whole community brought him outside the camp and threw stones at him until he died, as Adonai had ordered Moshe.
(Maftir) 37 Adonai said to Moshe, 38 “Speak to the people of Isra’el, instructing them to make, through all their generations, tzitziyot on the corners of their garments, and to put with the tzitzit on each corner a blue thread. 39 It is to be a tzitzit for you to look at and thereby remember all of Adonai’s mitzvot and obey them, so that you won’t go around wherever your own heart and eyes lead you to prostitute yourselves; 40 but it will help you remember and obey all my mitzvot and be holy for your God. 41 I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt in order to be your God. I am Adonai your God.”
Haftarah Shlach L’kha: Y’hoshua (Joshua) 2:1–24
B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Shlach L’kha: Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 3:7–19
Numbers 15
New King James Version
Laws of Grain and Drink Offerings
15 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 (A)“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you have come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you, 3 and you (B)make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering or a sacrifice, (C)to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or (D)in your appointed feasts, to make a (E)sweet[a] aroma to the Lord, from the herd or the flock, 4 then (F)he who presents his offering to the Lord shall bring (G)a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed (H)with one-fourth of a hin of oil; 5 (I)and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering you shall prepare with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each (J)lamb. 6 (K)Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil; 7 and as a drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a sweet aroma to the Lord. 8 And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering, or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or as a (L)peace offering to the Lord, 9 then shall be offered (M)with the young bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil; 10 and you shall bring as the drink offering half a hin of wine as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.
11 (N)‘Thus it shall be done for each young bull, for each ram, or for each lamb or young goat. 12 According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do with everyone according to their number. 13 All who are native-born shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. 14 And if a stranger [b]dwells with you, or whoever is among you throughout your generations, and would present an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord, just as you do, so shall he do. 15 (O)One [c]ordinance shall be for you of the assembly and for the stranger who dwells with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. 16 One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you.’ ”
17 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 (P)“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land to which I bring you, 19 then it will be, when you eat of (Q)the bread of the land, that you shall offer up a heave offering to the Lord. 20 (R)You shall offer up a cake of the first of your ground meal as a heave offering; as (S)a heave offering of the threshing floor, so shall you offer it up. 21 Of the first of your ground meal you shall give to the Lord a heave offering throughout your generations.
Laws Concerning Unintentional Sin
22 (T)‘If you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments which the Lord has spoken to Moses— 23 all that the Lord has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day the Lord gave commandment and onward throughout your generations— 24 then it will be, (U)if it is unintentionally committed, [d]without the knowledge of the congregation, that the whole congregation shall offer one young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the Lord, (V)with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and (W)one kid of the goats as a sin offering. 25 (X)So the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, for it was unintentional; they shall bring their offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their unintended sin. 26 It shall be forgiven the whole congregation of the children of Israel and the stranger who dwells among them, because all the people did it unintentionally.
27 ‘And (Y)if a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering. 28 (Z)So the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the Lord, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. 29 (AA)You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them.
Law Concerning Presumptuous Sin
30 (AB)‘But the person who does anything [e]presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one [f]brings reproach on the Lord, and he shall be [g]cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has (AC)despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his [h]guilt shall be upon him.’ ”
Penalty for Violating the Sabbath(AD)
32 Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, (AE)they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. 34 They put him (AF)under guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him.
35 Then the Lord said to Moses, (AG)“The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall (AH)stone him with stones outside the camp.” 36 So, as the Lord commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died.
Tassels on Garments
37 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 38 “Speak to the children of Israel: Tell (AI)them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. 39 And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and (AJ)remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you (AK)may not (AL)follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, 40 and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be (AM)holy for your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 15:3 pleasing
- Numbers 15:14 As a resident alien
- Numbers 15:15 statute
- Numbers 15:24 Lit. away from the eyes
- Numbers 15:30 defiantly, lit. with a high hand
- Numbers 15:30 blasphemes
- Numbers 15:30 Put to death
- Numbers 15:31 iniquity
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
