Numbers 15:22-41

Contemporary English Version

^22-23 The Lord also told Moses to tell the people what must be done if they ever disobey his laws:

²⁴ If all of you disobey one of my laws without knowing it, you must offer a bull as a sacrifice to please me, together with a grain sacrifice, a wine offering, and a goat as a sacrifice for sin. ²⁵ Then the priest will pray and ask me to forgive you. And since you did not mean to do wrong, and you offered sacrifices, ²⁶ the sin of everyone—both Israelites and foreigners among you—will be forgiven.

^27 (A) But if one of you does wrong without knowing it, you must sacrifice a year-old female goat as a sacrifice for sin. ²⁸ The priest will then ask me to forgive you, and your sin will be forgiven.

²⁹ The law will be the same for anyone who does wrong without meaning to, whether an Israelite or a foreigner living among you.

^30-31 But if one of you does wrong on purpose, whether Israelite or foreigner, you have sinned against me by disobeying my laws. You will no longer belong to my people.

A Man Put to Death for Gathering Firewood on the Sabbath

³² Once, while the Israelites were traveling through the desert, a man was caught gathering firewood on the Sabbath.^{[a] 33} He was taken to Moses, Aaron, and the rest of the community. ³⁴ But no one knew what to do with him, so he was not allowed to leave.

³⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people to take that man outside the camp and stone him to death!” ³⁶ So he was killed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Tassels on the People's Clothes

³⁷ The Lord told Moses ^38 (B) to say to the people of Israel, “Sew tassels onto the bottom edge of your clothes and tie a blue string to each tassel. ^39-40 These will remind you that you must obey my laws and teachings. And when you do, you will be dedicated to me and won't follow your own sinful desires. ⁴¹ I am the Lord your God who led you out of Egypt.”