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Numbers 15:15-16:26
English Standard Version
Numbers 15:15-16:26
English Standard Version
15 For the assembly, (A)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 (B)“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 (C)the bread of the land, you shall present a contribution to the Lord. 20 (D)Of the first of your dough you shall present a loaf as a contribution; like a (E)contribution from the threshing floor, so shall you present it. 21 (F)Some of the first of your dough you shall give to the Lord as a contribution throughout your generations.
Laws About Unintentional Sins
22 (G)“But if you sin unintentionally,[a] 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 (H)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, (I)with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the rule, and (J)one male goat for a sin offering. 25 (K)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 (L)“If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. 28 (M)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 (N)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 (O)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 (P)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 (Q)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 (R)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, (S)“The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall (T)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 (U)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, (V)not to follow[b] after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined (W)to whore after. 40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be (X)holy to your God. 41 (Y)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.”
Korah's Rebellion
16 Now (Z)Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and (AA)Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. 2 And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. 3 (AB)They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, (AC)“You have gone too far! For (AD)all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 4 When Moses heard it, (AE)he fell on his face, 5 and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show (AF)who is his,[c] and who is (AG)holy, and will bring him near to him. The one (AH)whom he chooses he will (AI)bring near to him. 6 Do this: take (AJ)censers, Korah and all his company; 7 put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. (AK)You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” 8 And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 is it (AL)too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has (AM)separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, 10 and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? 11 Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is (AN)Aaron that you grumble against him?”
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it (AO)a small thing that you have brought us up out of (AP)a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also (AQ)make yourself a prince over us? 14 Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.” 15 And Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, (AR)“Do not respect their offering. (AS)I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.”
16 And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, (AT)before the Lord, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. 17 And (AU)let every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the Lord his censer, (AV)250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.” 18 So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. (AW)And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.
20 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 21 (AX)“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them (AY)in a moment.” 22 And they (AZ)fell on their faces and said, “O God, (BA)the God of the spirits of all flesh, (BB)shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?” 23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, (BC)“Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 15:22 Or by mistake; also verses 24, 27, 28, 29
- Numbers 15:39 Hebrew to spy out
- Numbers 16:5 Septuagint The Lord knows those who are his
Numbers 15:15-16:26
New International Version
Numbers 15:15-16:26
New International Version
15 The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.(A) You and the foreigner shall be the same before the Lord: 16 The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.(B)’”
17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land to which I am taking you(C) 19 and you eat the food of the land,(D) present a portion as an offering to the Lord.(E) 20 Present a loaf from the first of your ground meal(F) and present it as an offering from the threshing floor.(G) 21 Throughout the generations to come(H) you are to give this offering to the Lord from the first of your ground meal.(I)
Offerings for Unintentional Sins
22 “‘Now if you as a community unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands the Lord gave Moses(J)— 23 any of the Lord’s commands to you through him, from the day the Lord gave them and continuing through the generations to come(K)— 24 and if this is done unintentionally(L) without the community being aware of it,(M) then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering(N) as an aroma pleasing to the Lord,(O) along with its prescribed grain offering(P) and drink offering,(Q) and a male goat for a sin offering.[a](R) 25 The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven,(S) for it was not intentional(T) and they have presented to the Lord for their wrong a food offering(U) and a sin offering.(V) 26 The whole Israelite community and the foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, because all the people were involved in the unintentional wrong.(W)
27 “‘But if just one person sins unintentionally,(X) that person must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering.(Y) 28 The priest is to make atonement(Z) before the Lord for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made, that person will be forgiven.(AA) 29 One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you.(AB)
30 “‘But anyone who sins defiantly,(AC) whether native-born or foreigner,(AD) blasphemes the Lord(AE) and must be cut off from the people of Israel.(AF) 31 Because they have despised(AG) the Lord’s word and broken his commands,(AH) they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.(AI)’”
The Sabbath-Breaker Put to Death
32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness,(AJ) a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.(AK) 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him.(AL) 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die.(AM) The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.(AN)” 36 So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him(AO) to death,(AP) as the Lord commanded Moses.(AQ)
Tassels on Garments
37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come(AR) you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments,(AS) with a blue cord on each tassel. 39 You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember(AT) all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves(AU) by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts(AV) and eyes. 40 Then you will remember to obey all my commands(AW) and will be consecrated to your God.(AX) 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God.(AY) I am the Lord your God.(AZ)’”
Korah, Dathan and Abiram
16 Korah(BA) son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram(BB), sons of Eliab,(BC) and On son of Peleth—became insolent[b] 2 and rose up against Moses.(BD) With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.(BE) 3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron(BF) and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy,(BG) every one of them, and the Lord is with them.(BH) Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”(BI)
4 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.(BJ) 5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy,(BK) and he will have that person come near him.(BL) The man he chooses(BM) he will cause to come near him. 6 You, Korah, and all your followers(BN) are to do this: Take censers(BO) 7 and tomorrow put burning coals(BP) and incense(BQ) in them before the Lord. The man the Lord chooses(BR) will be the one who is holy.(BS) You Levites have gone too far!”
8 Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites! 9 Isn’t it enough(BT) for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?(BU) 10 He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.(BV) 11 It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble(BW) against him?(BX)”
12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram,(BY) the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come!(BZ) 13 Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey(CA) to kill us in the wilderness?(CB) And now you also want to lord it over us!(CC) 14 Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey(CD) or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards.(CE) Do you want to treat these men like slaves[c]?(CF) No, we will not come!(CG)”
15 Then Moses became very angry(CH) and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey(CI) from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”
16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.(CJ) 17 Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before the Lord. You and Aaron are to present your censers also.(CK)” 18 So each of them took his censer,(CL) put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 19 When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them(CM) at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord(CN) appeared to the entire assembly. 20 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves(CO) from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”(CP)
22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown(CQ) and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things,(CR) will you be angry with the entire assembly(CS) when only one man sins?”(CT)
23 Then the Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”
25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel(CU) followed him. 26 He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men!(CV) Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away(CW) because of all their sins.(CX)”
Footnotes
- Numbers 15:24 Or purification offering; also in verses 25 and 27
- Numbers 16:1 Or Peleth—took men
- Numbers 16:14 Or to deceive these men; Hebrew Will you gouge out the eyes of these men
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.