Numbers 15
Expanded Bible
Rules About Sacrifices
15 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] and say to them, ‘When you enter the land that I am giving you as a home, 3 give the Lord offerings made by fire. These may be from your herds or flocks, as a smell pleasing to the Lord. These may be burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] or sacrifices for ·special promises [a vow], or as gifts to him, or as festival offerings. 4 The one who brings the offering shall also give the Lord a ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [Lev. 2:1]. It should be ·two quarts [L one-tenth of an ephah] of ·fine [choice] flour mixed with ·one quart [L one-fourth of a hin] of olive oil. 5 Each time you offer a lamb as a burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] or sacrifice, also prepare ·one quart [L one-fourth of a hin] of wine as a drink offering.
6 “‘If you are giving a ·male sheep [ram], also prepare a ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [Lev. 2:1] of ·four quarts [L two-tenths of an ephah] of ·fine [choice] flour mixed with ·one and one-fourth quarts [L one-third of a hin] of olive oil. 7 Also prepare ·one and one-fourth quarts [L one-third of a hin] of wine as a drink offering. Its smell will be pleasing to the Lord.
8 “‘If you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] or sacrifice, whether it is for a ·special promise [vow] or a ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offering [Lev. 3:1] to the Lord, 9 bring a ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [Lev. 2:1] with the bull. It should be ·six quarts [L three-tenths of an ephah] of ·fine [choice] flour mixed with ·two quarts [L half a hin] of olive oil. 10 Also bring ·two quarts [L half a hin] 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 [ram], lamb or young goat this way. 12 Do this for every one of the animals you bring.
13 “‘All ·citizens [natives] 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 [L Throughout your generations] if ·foreigners [resident aliens] who live among you want to make offerings by fire so the smell will be pleasing to the Lord, they must offer them the same way you do. 15 As for the ·people [community; congregation; assembly], the ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] is the same for you and for ·foreigners [resident aliens], and it will be ·from now on [a perpetual requirement]; you and the ·foreigners [resident aliens] are alike before the Lord. 16 The ·teachings [instructions; laws] and ·rules [regulations] are the same for you and for the ·foreigners [resident aliens] among you.’”
17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Tell the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]: ‘You are going to another land, where I am taking you. 19 When you eat the food there, ·offer [elevate] part of it to the Lord. 20 ·Offer [Elevate] a loaf of bread from the first of your ·grain [or dough], which will be your ·offering [elevation offering] from the threshing floor. 21 ·From now on [L Throughout your generations] ·offer [elevate] to the Lord the first part of your ·grain [or dough].
22 “‘Now what if you ·forget [unintentionally fail] to ·obey [do] any of these commands the Lord gave Moses? 23 These are the Lord’s commands given to you through Moses, which began the day the Lord ·gave them to [commanded] you and will continue ·from now on [L throughout your generations]. 24 If the ·people [community; congregation; assembly] ·forget [unintentionally fail] to ·obey [do] one of these commands, all the ·people [community; congregation; assembly] must offer a young bull as a burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17], a smell pleasing to the Lord. By law you must also give the ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [Lev. 2:1] and the drink offering with it, and you must bring a male goat as a ·sin [or purification; Lev. 4:3] offering.
25 “‘The priest will ·remove that sin for all the Israelites so they will belong to the Lord [L atone for all the community/congregation/assembly of the sons/T children of Israel]. They are forgiven, because they ·didn’t know they were sinning [sinned unintentionally]. For the unintentional wrong they did they brought offerings to the Lord, an offering by fire and a ·sin [or purification; Lev. 4:3] offering. 26 So all of the ·people [community; congregation; assembly] of ·Israel [L the sons/T children of Israel] and the ·foreigners [resident aliens] living among them will be forgiven. ·No one meant to do wrong [They were all involved in unintentional sin].
27 “‘If just one person sins ·without meaning to [unintentionally], a year-old female goat must be brought for a ·sin [or purification; Lev. 4:3] offering. 28 The priest will ·remove [atone for] the sin of the person who sinned ·accidentally [unintentionally]. He will ·remove it before the Lord [atone for him]; and the person will be forgiven. 29 The same ·teaching [instruction; law] is for everyone who sins ·accidentally [unintentionally]—for those ·born Israelites [natives] and for ·foreigners [resident aliens] living among you.
30 “‘But anyone who sins ·on purpose [L with a high hand; C knowingly] ·is against [insults] the Lord and must be cut off from the people, whether it is ·someone born among you [a native] or a ·foreigner [resident alien]. 31 That person has ·turned against [despised] the Lord’s word and has ·not obeyed [broken] his commands. Such a person must surely be cut off from the others. He is guilty.’”
A Man Worked on the Sabbath
32 When the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] were still in the ·desert [wilderness], they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day [Gen. 2:2–3; Ex. 20:8–11; 35:2; Deut. 5:13–15]. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and all the people. 34 They held the man under guard, because they did not know what to do with him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must surely die. All the ·people [community; congregation; assembly] must kill him by ·throwing stones at [stoning] him outside the camp.” 36 So all the ·people [community; congregation; assembly] took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses.
The Tassels
37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] and tell them this: ‘·Tie several pieces of thread together and attach them to [Make fringes/tassels on] the corners of your clothes. Put a blue thread ·in each one of these tassels [L on the fringe/tassel of each corner]. Wear them ·from now on [L throughout your generations]. 39 You will have these ·tassels [fringes] to look at to remind you of all the Lord’s commands. Then you will obey them and not ·be disloyal by following what your bodies and eyes want [L follow after your own heart or your own eyes to be unfaithful/play the harlot after them]. 40 Then you will remember to obey all my commands, and you will be God’s holy people. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God [Ex. 12–15]. I am the Lord your God.’”
Numbers 15
New American Standard Bible
Laws for Canaan
15 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “(A)Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land [a]where you are going to live, which I am giving you, 3 and you make (B)an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to [b](C)fulfill a special vow, or as a [c]voluntary offering or at your (D)appointed times, to make a (E)soothing aroma to the Lord from the herd or from the flock, 4 then (F)the one who presents his offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an [d]ephah of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a [e]hin of oil, 5 and you shall prepare wine for the drink offering, a fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for (G)each lamb. 6 Or for a ram you shall prepare as 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 as a soothing aroma to the Lord. 8 And when you prepare (H)a bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to [f]fulfill a special vow, or for peace offerings to the Lord, 9 then you shall offer 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 as the drink offering half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the Lord.
11 ‘This is how it shall be done for each ox, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the goats. 12 According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do for each one according to their number. 13 Everyone who is a native shall do these things in this way, in presenting an offering by fire as a soothing aroma to the Lord.
Law for the Stranger
14 Now if a stranger resides among you, or one who may be among you throughout your generations, and he wants to make an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the Lord, just as you do so shall he do. 15 As for the assembly, there shall be (I)one statute for you and for the stranger who resides among you, a permanent statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. 16 There is to be (J)one law and one ordinance for you and for the stranger who resides with you.’”
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where I am bringing you, 19 then it shall be, that when you eat from the [g](K)food of the land, you shall lift up an [h]offering to the Lord. 20 (L)Of the first of your [i]dough you shall lift up a loaf as an [j]offering; as (M)an [k]offering of the threshing floor, so you shall lift it up. 21 From the first of your [l]dough you shall give to the Lord an [m]offering throughout your generations.
22 ‘But when you (N)unintentionally do wrong and fail to [n]comply with all these commandments which the Lord has spoken to Moses, 23 that is, all that the Lord has commanded you [o]through Moses from the day that the Lord gave commandments and onward, throughout your generations, 24 then it shall be, if it is done (O)unintentionally, [p]without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one bull as a burnt offering, as a soothing aroma to the Lord, (P)with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat as a sin offering. 25 Then (Q)the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they will be forgiven; for it was an unintentional wrong, and they have brought their offering, an offering by fire to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their unintentional wrong. 26 So all the congregation of the sons of Israel will be forgiven, as well as the stranger who resides among them, for guilt was attributed to all the people through an (R)unintentional wrong.
27 ‘Also, if one person sins (S)unintentionally, then he shall offer a one-year-old female goat as a sin offering. 28 And (T)the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who goes astray by an unintentional sin, making atonement for him [q]so that he may be forgiven. 29 You shall have one law for the native among the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them, for one who does anything wrong unintentionally. 30 But the person who does wrong [r](U)defiantly, whether he is a native or a stranger, that one is blaspheming the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Since he has (V)despised the word of the Lord and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; (W)his [s]guilt will be on him.’”
Sabbath-breaking Punished
32 Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man (X)gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation; 34 and they placed him in custody, (Y)because it had not been decided what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must be put to death; (Z)all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” 36 So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him [t]to death with stones, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
37 The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, 38 “Speak to the sons of Israel and tell them that they shall make for themselves (AA)tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a [u]violet thread. 39 It shall be a tassel for you [v]to look at and (AB)remember all the commandments of the Lord, so that you will do them and not [w]follow your own heart and your own eyes, [x]which led you to prostitute yourselves, 40 so that you will remember and do all My commandments and (AC)be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 15:2 Lit of your dwellings
- Numbers 15:3 Or make a special votive offering
- Numbers 15:3 Or freewill offering
- Numbers 15:4 An ephah was about 7.4 gallons or 28 liters
- Numbers 15:4 A hin also was about 1 gallon or 3.8 liters
- Numbers 15:8 Or make a special votive offering
- Numbers 15:19 Lit bread
- Numbers 15:19 Or uplifted offering
- Numbers 15:20 Or coarse meal
- Numbers 15:20 Or uplifted offering
- Numbers 15:20 Or uplifted offering
- Numbers 15:21 Or coarse meal
- Numbers 15:21 Or uplifted offering
- Numbers 15:22 Lit perform all
- Numbers 15:23 Lit by the hand of
- Numbers 15:24 Lit away from the eyes of the congregation
- Numbers 15:28 Or and he shall
- Numbers 15:30 Lit with upraised hand
- Numbers 15:31 Or wrongdoing
- Numbers 15:36 Lit with stones and he died
- Numbers 15:38 Or bluish; LXX hyacinth in color, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 15:39 Lit and you shall look at it
- Numbers 15:39 Lit seek
- Numbers 15:39 Lit after which you played
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
