Numbers 15
Christian Standard Bible
Laws about Offerings
15 The Lord instructed Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you to settle in,(A) 3 and you make a food offering(B) to the Lord from the herd or flock—either a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow,(C) or as a freewill offering, or at your appointed festivals—to produce a pleasing aroma for the Lord,(D) 4 the one presenting his offering to the Lord is also to present a grain offering of two quarts[a] of fine flour mixed with a quart[b] of oil. 5 Prepare a quart of wine as a drink offering(E) with the burnt offering or sacrifice of each lamb.
6 “If you prepare a grain offering with a ram, it is to be four quarts[c] of fine flour mixed with a third of a gallon[d] of oil.(F) 7 Also present a third of a gallon of wine for a drink offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
8 “If you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow, or as a fellowship offering to the Lord, 9 a grain offering of six quarts[e] of fine flour mixed with two quarts[f] of oil is to be presented with the bull.(G) 10 Also present two quarts of wine as a drink offering. It is a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 11 This is to be done for each ox, ram, lamb, or goat. 12 This is how you are to prepare each of them, no matter how many.
13 “Every Israelite is to prepare these things in this way when he presents a food offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 14 When an alien resides with you or someone else is among you and wants to prepare a food offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, he is to do exactly as you do throughout your generations. 15 The assembly is to have the same statute for both you and the resident alien as a permanent statute throughout your generations.(H) You and the alien will be alike before the Lord. 16 The same law and the same ordinance will apply to both you and the alien who resides with you.”(I)
17 The Lord instructed Moses, 18 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: After you enter the land where I am bringing you, 19 you are to offer a contribution to the Lord when you eat from the food of the land. 20 You are to offer a loaf from your first batch of dough(J) as a contribution; offer it just like a contribution from the threshing floor.(K) 21 Throughout your generations, you are to give the Lord a contribution from the first batch of your dough.
22 “When you sin unintentionally and do not obey all these commands that the Lord spoke to Moses(L)— 23 all that the Lord has commanded you through Moses, from the day the Lord issued the commands and onward throughout your generations— 24 and if it was done unintentionally without the community’s awareness, the entire community is to prepare one young bull for a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, with its grain offering and drink offering according to the regulation, and one male goat as a sin offering. 25 The priest will then make atonement for the entire Israelite community so that they may be forgiven,(M) for the sin was unintentional. They are to bring their offering, a food offering to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord for their unintentional sin. 26 The entire Israelite community and the alien who resides among them will be forgiven, since it happened to all the people unintentionally.
27 “If one person sins unintentionally,(N) he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering. 28 The priest will then make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the person who acts in error sinning unintentionally, and when he makes atonement for him, he will be forgiven. 29 You are to have the same law for the person who acts in error, whether he is an Israelite or an alien who resides among you.
30 “But the person who acts defiantly,[g] whether native or resident alien, blasphemes the Lord.(O) That person is to be cut off from his people. 31 He will certainly be cut off, because he has despised the Lord’s word and broken his command; his guilt remains on him.”
Sabbath Violation
32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day.(P) 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses, Aaron, and the entire community. 34 They placed him in custody because it had not been decided what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord told Moses, “The man is to be put to death. The entire community is to stone him outside the camp.”(Q) 36 So the entire community brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Tassels for Remembrance
37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout their generations they are to make tassels(R) for the corners of their garments, and put a blue cord on the tassel at each corner. 39 These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the Lord’s commands and obey them and not prostitute yourselves by following your own heart(S) and your own eyes.(T) 40 This way you will remember and obey all my commands and 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.”(U)
Numbers 15
GOD’S WORD Translation
Grain and Wine Made Part of the Sacrifices to the Lord
15 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: Once you’re settled in the land I’m giving you, 3 you may bring offerings by fire to the Lord. They may be burnt offerings or any other kind of sacrifice. They may be offered to fulfill a vow, as a freewill offering, or as one of your festival offerings. They may be cattle, sheep, or goats—offerings that are a soothing aroma to the Lord. 4 Whoever brings the offering must also give the Lord a grain offering of eight cups of flour mixed with one quart of olive oil. 5 With each sheep or goat for the burnt offering or any other sacrifice, also give an offering of one quart of wine.
6 “With a ram, give a grain offering of 16 cups of flour mixed with 1¼ quarts of oil 7 and an offering of 1¼ quarts of wine. Offer them as a soothing aroma to the Lord.
8 “Suppose you sacrifice a young bull as a burnt offering to the Lord or make any other kind of sacrifice—to keep a vow or as a fellowship offering. 9 Offer with the young bull a grain offering of 24 cups of flour mixed with two quarts of olive oil. 10 Also give an offering of two quarts of wine. It is an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord. 11 Do this for each bull, each ram, and each sheep or goat. 12 Do it for each animal, however many you sacrifice. 13 All native-born Israelites must do it this way when they bring an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord.
14 “Suppose foreigners are visiting you or living among you in future generations. If they bring an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord, they must do as you do. 15 There is one law for the whole assembly: for you and foreigners who are living with you. It is a permanent law for future generations. As far as the Lord is concerned, you and foreigners are the same. 16 The instructions and rules are the same for you as well as foreigners who are living with you.”
Offering the First Bread Dough to the Lord
17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land where I’m taking you 19 and eat any of the food from the land, give some of it as a contribution to the Lord. 20 Shape one part of your dough into a ring the same way you do with the contribution you make from the threshing floor.[a] 21 For generations to come, you must give one part of your dough as a contribution to the Lord.
What Is to Be Done about Unintentional and Intentional Wrongdoings
22 “Suppose you unintentionally do something wrong by not obeying all these commands the Lord gave Moses. 23 (Everything the Lord commanded you through Moses holds as true for generations to come as it did the day the Lord gave the commands.) 24 If it was unintentional and no one else knows about it, the whole community must sacrifice a young bull as a burnt offering, a soothing aroma to the Lord, along with the proper grain and wine offerings, and a male goat as an offering for sin. 25 The priest will make peace with the Lord for the whole community of Israel. Then they will be forgiven because the wrongdoing was unintentional and they brought these two offerings to the Lord for their sin: an offering by fire and an offering for sin. 26 So the whole community of Israel will be forgiven, including foreigners who are living among them, since all the people were involved in the unintentional wrongdoing.
27 “If one person unintentionally does something wrong, a one-year-old female goat must be sacrificed as an offering for sin. 28 The priest will offer the sacrifice to make peace with the Lord for that person, and that person will be forgiven. 29 You must give the same instructions to everyone who does something wrong unintentionally, whether they are native-born Israelites or not.
30 “But any native-born Israelite or foreigner who deliberately does something wrong insults the Lord and must be excluded from the people. 31 That person has despised the Lord’s word and broken the Lord’s command. He must be excluded completely. He remains guilty.”
A Man Breaks the Rules for the Day of Rest
32 While the Israelites were in the desert, they found a man gathering wood on the day of rest—a holy day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole community. 34 They kept him in custody until they decided what to do with him.
35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “This man must be put to death. The whole community must take him outside the camp and stone him.” 36 So the whole community took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses.
The Israelites Are Commanded to Wear Tassels
37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: For generations to come they must wear tassels on the corners of their clothes with violet threads in each tassel. 39 Whenever you look at the threads in the tassel, you will remember all the Lord’s commands and obey them. Then you won’t do whatever you want and go after whatever you see, as if you were chasing after prostitutes. 40 You will remember to obey all my commands, and you will be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.”
Footnotes
- 15:20 A threshing floor is an outdoor area where grain is separated from its husks.
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