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
Numbers 15
Common English Bible
Immigrants in the land of Canaan
15 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land where you will live, which I am giving you, 3 and you make a food gift[a] to the Lord as a soothing smell for the Lord from the herd or the flock—whether an entirely burned offering, or a sacrifice to fulfill a solemn promise, or a spontaneous gift, or at your sacred seasons— 4 the one presenting the offering to the Lord will bring a grain offering of one-tenth of a measure of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin[b] of oil. 5 You will also offer one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering with either the entirely burned offering or the sacrifice, for each lamb. 6 For a ram you will offer a grain offering of two-tenths of a measure of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil. 7 You will also present one-third of a hin of wine for a drink offering as a soothing smell for the Lord. 8 When you offer a bull for an entirely burned offering, or a sacrifice to fulfill a solemn promise, or a well-being sacrifice to the Lord, 9 you will present[c] with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of a measure of fine flour mixed with a half hin of oil. 10 You will present a half hin of wine for a drink offering as a food gift that is a soothing smell to the Lord. 11 So will it be done with each ox, each ram, or for any sheep or goat. 12 However many you offer, you will do the same for each one.
13 Every citizen will perform these rituals in bringing a food gift that is a soothing smell to the Lord. 14 If an immigrant lives with you or has settled among you for many years and would also like to offer a food gift that is a soothing smell to the Lord, that person must do just as you do. 15 The assembly will have the same regulation for you and for the immigrant. The regulation will be permanent for all time. You and the immigrant will be the same in the Lord’s presence. 16 There will be one set of instructions and one legal norm for the immigrant and for you.
17 The Lord spoke to Moses: 18 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land to which I’m bringing you, 19 whenever you eat the land’s food you will present a gift offering to the Lord. 20 You will present a gift offering from the first bread you bake just like you present a gift offering from the threshing floor. 21 You will give a gift offering from the first bread you bake for all time.
Offerings for accidental sin
22 If by accident you don’t obey all these commands that the Lord spoke to Moses, 23 or everything that the Lord commanded you through Moses from the day of the Lord’s command onward for all time, 24 then if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the community, the entire community must offer one bull from the herd as an entirely burned offering, a soothing smell to the Lord, with its grain and drink offering according to the specific instruction, and one male goat for a purification offering. 25 The priest will seek reconciliation for the entire Israelite community. They will be forgiven, because it was unintentional and because they brought their food gift to the Lord, along with their purification offering in the Lord’s presence for their accidental error. 26 The entire Israelite community and the immigrant residing among them will be forgiven, because all the people acted unintentionally.
27 If an individual sins unintentionally, that person must present a one-year-old female goat for a purification offering. 28 The priest will seek reconciliation in the Lord’s presence for the person who sinned unintentionally, when the sin is an accident, seeking reconciliation so that person will be forgiven. 29 There will be one set of instructions for the Israelite citizen and the immigrant residing with you for anyone who commits an unintentional sin.
Punishment for intentional sin
30 But the person who acts deliberately,[d] whether a citizen or an immigrant, and insults the Lord, that person will be cut off from the people 31 for despising the Lord’s word and breaking his commands. That person will be completely cut off and bear the guilt.
Instructions for Sabbath observance
32 When the Israelites were in the desert, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses, Aaron, and the entire community. 34 They placed him in custody, because it wasn’t clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses: The man should be put to death. The entire community should stone him outside the camp. 36 The entire community took him outside the camp and stoned him. He died as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Fringes on garments
37 The Lord said to Moses: 38 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: Make fringes on the edges of your clothing for all time. Have them put blue cords on the fringe on the edges. 39 This will be your fringe. You will see it and remember all the Lord’s commands and do them. Then you won’t go exploring the lusts of your own heart or your eyes. 40 In this way you’ll remember to do all my commands. Then you will be holy to 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 Or offering by fire (cf Lev 3:11)
- Numbers 15:4 One hin is approximately one gallon.
- Numbers 15:9 Or he will present
- Numbers 15:30 Or with a high hand
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible