Offerings for Unintentional Sins

22 “‘Now if you as a community unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands the Lord gave Moses(A) 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(B) 24 and if this is done unintentionally(C) without the community being aware of it,(D) then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering(E) as an aroma pleasing to the Lord,(F) along with its prescribed grain offering(G) and drink offering,(H) and a male goat for a sin offering.[a](I) 25 The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven,(J) for it was not intentional(K) and they have presented to the Lord for their wrong a food offering(L) and a sin offering.(M) 26 The whole Israelite community and the foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, because all the people were involved in the unintentional wrong.(N)

27 “‘But if just one person sins unintentionally,(O) that person must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering.(P) 28 The priest is to make atonement(Q) before the Lord for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made, that person will be forgiven.(R) 29 One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you.(S)

30 “‘But anyone who sins defiantly,(T) whether native-born or foreigner,(U) blasphemes the Lord(V) and must be cut off from the people of Israel.(W) 31 Because they have despised(X) the Lord’s word and broken his commands,(Y) they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.(Z)’”

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 15:24 Or purification offering; also in verses 25 and 27

22 “But suppose you unintentionally fail to carry out all these commands that the Lord has given you through Moses. 23 And suppose your descendants in the future fail to do everything the Lord has commanded through Moses. 24 If the mistake was made unintentionally, and the community was unaware of it, the whole community must present a young bull for a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It must be offered along with its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering and with one male goat for a sin offering. 25 With it the priest will purify the whole community of Israel, making them right with the Lord,[a] and they will be forgiven. For it was an unintentional sin, and they have corrected it with their offerings to the Lord—the special gift and the sin offering. 26 The whole community of Israel will be forgiven, including the foreigners living among you, for all the people were involved in the sin.

27 “If one individual commits an unintentional sin, the guilty person must bring a one-year-old female goat for a sin offering. 28 The priest will sacrifice it to purify[b] the guilty person before the Lord, and that person will be forgiven. 29 These same instructions apply both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you.

30 “But those who brazenly violate the Lord’s will, whether native-born Israelites or foreigners, have blasphemed the Lord, and they must be cut off from the community. 31 Since they have treated the Lord’s word with contempt and deliberately disobeyed his command, they must be completely cut off and suffer the punishment for their guilt.”

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Footnotes

  1. 15:25 Or will make atonement for the whole community of Israel.
  2. 15:28 Or to make atonement for.

22 And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the Lord hath spoken unto Moses,

23 Even all that the Lord hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the Lord commanded Moses, and henceforward among your generations;

24 Then it shall be, if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour unto the Lord, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering.

25 And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their ignorance:

26 And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourneth among them; seeing all the people were in ignorance.

27 And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering.

28 And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the Lord, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.

29 Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them.

30 But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

31 Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.

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