Numbers 15
International Children’s Bible
Rules About Sacrifices
15 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘You will enter a land that I am giving you as a home. 3 There give the Lord offerings made by fire. These may be from your herds or flocks. And the smell will be pleasing to the Lord. These offerings may be burnt offerings or sacrifices for special promises. They may be offerings which are gifts to the Lord. Or they may be festival offerings. 4 And the one who brings his offering shall also give the Lord a grain offering. It should be two quarts of fine flour mixed with one quart of olive oil. 5 Each time you offer a lamb as a burnt offering or sacrifice, also prepare a quart of wine. This is a drink offering.
6 “‘If you are giving a male sheep, also prepare a grain offering. It should be four quarts of fine flour mixed with one and one-fourth quarts of olive oil. 7 Also prepare one and one-fourth quarts of wine. This is a drink offering. Offer it to the Lord. Its smell is pleasing to him.
8 “‘You might prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice. This might be for a fellowship offering or for a special promise to the Lord. 9 Bring a grain offering with the bull. It should be six quarts of fine flour mixed with two quarts of olive oil. 10 Also bring two quarts of wine as a drink offering. This offering is made by fire. And its smell will be pleasing to the Lord. 11 Prepare each bull or male sheep, lamb or young goat this way. 12 Do this for every one of the animals you bring.
13 “‘All citizens must do these things in this way. And the smell of their offerings by fire will be pleasing to the Lord. 14 From now on foreigners will live among you. They will make offerings by fire so the smell will be pleasing to the Lord. They must offer them the same way you do. 15 The law is the same for you and for foreigners. It will be a law from now on. You and the foreigners are alike before the Lord. 16 The teachings and rules are the same for you and for the foreigners among you.’”
17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Tell the Israelites: ‘You are going to another land. I am taking you there. 19 When you eat the food there, offer part of it to the Lord. 20 Offer a loaf of bread from the first of your grain. That will be your offering from the threshing floor. 21 From now on offer to the Lord the first part of your grain.
22 “‘Now what if you forget to obey any of these commands the Lord gave Moses? 23 These are the Lord’s commands given to you through Moses. They began the day the Lord gave them to you. And they will continue from now on. 24 But you might forget to obey one of these commands. The people might not remember the command. Then all the people must offer a young bull as a burnt offering. Its smell is pleasing to the Lord. By law you must also give the grain offering and the drink offering with it. And you must bring a male goat as a sin offering.
25 “‘The priest will remove that sin for all the Israelites so they will belong to God. They are forgiven. They didn’t know they were sinning. For the wrong they did they brought offerings to the Lord. They brought an offering by fire and a sin offering. 26 All of the people of Israel and the foreigners living among them will be forgiven. No one meant to do wrong.
27 “‘Just one person might sin without meaning to. He must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering. 28 The priest will remove the sin of the person who sinned without meaning to. That person will belong to the Lord again. He will be forgiven. 29 The same teaching is for everyone who sins without meaning to. It is the same for those born Israelites and for foreigners living among you.
30 “‘But anyone who sins on purpose is against the Lord. That person must be separated from his people. It is the same for someone born among you or a foreigner. 31 That person has turned against the Lord’s word. He has not obeyed the Lord’s commands. He must surely be separated from the others. He is guilty.’”
A Man Worked on the Sabbath
32 This happened when the Israelites were still in the desert. They found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and all the people. 34 They held the man under guard. They did not know what to do with him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. All the people must kill him with stones outside the camp.” 36 So the people took him outside the camp. They killed him with stones as the Lord commanded Moses.
The Tassels
37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the Israelites. Tell them this: ‘Tie several pieces of thread together. And tie them to the corners of your clothes. Put a blue thread in each one of these tassels. Wear them from now on. 39 You will have these tassels to look at. They will remind you of the Lord’s commands. Then you will obey them. And you won’t follow what your bodies want and what your eyes wish for. 40 Remember to obey all my commands. Then you will be God’s holy people. 41 I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.’”
Numbers 15
English Standard Version
Laws About Sacrifices
15 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, (A)When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you, 3 and (B)you offer to the Lord from the herd or from the flock a food offering[a] or a burnt offering or a sacrifice, (C)to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or (D)at your appointed feasts, to make a (E)pleasing aroma to the Lord, 4 then (F)he who brings his offering shall offer to the Lord (G)a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah[b] of fine flour, (H)mixed with a quarter of a hin[c] of oil; 5 and you shall offer with the burnt offering, or for the sacrifice, a quarter of a hin of (I)wine for the drink offering for each lamb. 6 (J)Or for a ram, you shall offer for a grain offering two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil. 7 And for the drink offering you shall offer a third of a hin of wine, a (K)pleasing aroma to the Lord. 8 And when you offer a bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, to (L)fulfill a vow or for (M)peace offerings to the Lord, 9 then one shall offer (N)with the bull a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with half a hin of oil. 10 And you shall offer for the drink offering half a hin of wine, as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
11 (O)“Thus it shall be done for each bull or ram, or for each lamb or young goat. 12 As many as you offer, so shall you do with each one, as many as there are. 13 Every native Israelite shall do these things in this way, in offering a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 14 And if a stranger is sojourning with you, or anyone is living permanently among you, and he wishes to offer a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord, he shall do as you do. 15 For the assembly, (P)there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the Lord. 16 One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.”
17 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 (Q)“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land to which I bring you 19 and when you eat of (R)the bread of the land, you shall present a contribution to the Lord. 20 (S)Of the first of your dough you shall present a loaf as a contribution; like a (T)contribution from the threshing floor, so shall you present it. 21 (U)Some of the first of your dough you shall give to the Lord as a contribution throughout your generations.
Laws About Unintentional Sins
22 (V)“But if you sin unintentionally,[d] and do not observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses, 23 all that the Lord has commanded you by Moses, from the day that the Lord gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations, 24 then if it was done unintentionally (W)without the knowledge of the congregation, all the congregation shall offer one bull from the herd for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord, (X)with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the rule, and (Y)one male goat for a sin offering. 25 (Z)And the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the people of Israel, and they shall be forgiven, because it was a mistake, and they have brought their offering, a food offering to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord for their mistake. 26 And all the congregation of the people of Israel shall be forgiven, and the stranger who sojourns among them, because the whole population was involved in the mistake.
27 (AA)“If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. 28 (AB)And the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally, to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. 29 (AC)You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. 30 (AD)But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has (AE)despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”
A Sabbathbreaker Executed
32 While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man (AF)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 (AG)They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. 35 And the Lord said to Moses, (AH)“The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall (AI)stone him with stones outside the camp.” 36 And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Tassels on Garments
37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to (AJ)make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. 39 And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, (AK)not to follow[e] after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined (AL)to whore after. 40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be (AM)holy to your God. 41 (AN)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 Or an offering by fire; so throughout Numbers
- Numbers 15:4 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
- Numbers 15:4 A hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters
- Numbers 15:22 Or by mistake; also verses 24, 27, 28, 29
- Numbers 15:39 Hebrew to spy out
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
