Numbers 15
The Voice
15 The Eternal One spoke to Moses about sacrifices.
Eternal One: 2 Give the Israelites these instructions: “When you enter the land I determined would be yours, where you’ll settle and make your homes, 3-4 and when you burn a food offering, burnt offering, or sacrifice of meat from the herd or flock to make a pleasing aroma for Me; you should always accompany it with a grain offering—about two quarts of really good flour mixed with about one quart of oil. Do this whether your offering is a sworn vow or something you’re freely offering during the appointed festival. 5 Oh, and give a drink offering of some wine: about one quart for each lamb whenever you make a sacrifice or offering. 6 For bigger animals like a ram offer about four quarts of flour and about one and one-quarter quarts of oil, 7 and make about one and one-quarter quarts for the drink offering of wine. All of this will be a soothing aroma to Me. 8 For a bull (whether burnt or simply as a sacrifice to satisfy a promise or as an offering of well-being), 9 about six quarts of flour mixed with about two quarts of oil, 10 and make the drink offering two quarts of wine. Offer it by fire to make a soothing smell to Me. 11 This is how you should offer oxen or rams, male lambs, or young goats. 12 The specified accompaniments are for a single animal, so increase it based on the number of offerings you make. 13-14 Every Israelite should follow these instructions for an offering by fire to make a soothing smell for Me. Others who happen to be living among you temporarily or permanently should offer sacrifices in the same way. 15-16 There should be no difference throughout the community in this matter—Israelite or not—forever. You and the foreigner dwelling with you are the same, as I see it, so you all should follow the same rules and regulations.”
17 (to Moses) 18 Tell the Israelites this as well: “After you’ve entered the land that I’m taking you to, 19 whenever you enjoy the land’s bread, give a contribution to Me by raising up your offering to Me. 20-21 Just as you set aside a little grain on the threshing floor, so you and your descendants should set aside a little cake loaf from the first batch, as an offering to Me.
22 “If, somehow, someone overlooked or otherwise accidentally failed to do what I spelled out through Moses for the congregation 23 (all those commandments from the first day I gave them to you and throughout coming generations), 24-26 and it only came to the attention of the community after the fact, then the whole congregation should offer a bull together. Offer all of it by fire so that it smells good to Me along with the requisite grain and drink offerings, and sacrifice a male goat since it was a sin of sorts. In the process, the priest will cover all the Israelites, and they’ll be forgiven, for it was an unintentional offense. So, if they do all the right things to rectify the situation, then everyone (and not just native Israelites but even all the other people who happen to be living with them at the time) will be forgiven.
A constant theme as God instructs His people is to remember or to have a memorial: the family of Abraham builds monuments of stacked stones almost everywhere they go, and these people will do the same as they enter the land. Each child is given a name with clear meaning about either the character of the child or about the faithfulness of God. Each town is given a name that recalls something of significance, maybe the founder or a great war. Likewise, the foods they eat in their feasts have meaning or help them recall a shared memory. The offerings of the Israelites and the later sacraments of the church all serve as memorials or remembrances.
Here God instructs the people to alter their garments as a reminder of His commands and their own responsibilities to obey. Since the punishment for unbelief or disobedience is severe, God in His grace builds reminders into everyday life so the people do not have to struggle to remember these critical rules or truths.
27 “If an individual sins by accident (and the congregation catches it in time), he should offer a female yearling goat as the sin offering. 28 Thereby the priest shall cover that individual who sins accidentally in front of Me. Now that the mistake is covered, that person shall be forgiven. 29 This is the way it should be for Israelites and outsiders alike—for anyone who accidentally errs. 30-31 If it’s not an accident—the guilty person simply didn’t care about abiding by the instructions I gave to the Israelites through Moses and knowingly disregarded them—that’s different. Such a person, whether an Israelite or a stranger, has essentially rejected God. The community will ostracize him, and he’ll have to bear the burden of his guilt.”
32 One time, when the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, it was discovered that somebody had broken the Sabbath rest commandment by gathering firewood. 33 The people who saw the man brought him to Moses and Aaron and the gathered congregation. 34 They weren’t sure what to do with him because nothing had been declared yet, so they kept him confined. 35 The Eternal One told Moses the man should be killed, that the whole congregation should take him outside the camp and stone him to death. 36 So they did just as the Eternal told them to do and executed him.
37 Once again the Eternal One spoke to Moses.
Eternal One: 38 Tell the Israelites to make fringes on each corner of their clothes and include a blue thread in each fringe. They should do this forever, 39 as it will bring to mind all My commandments and remind them not to wander off to do whatever their eyes see or hearts desire, and pursue them without restraint. 40 Instead, they will remember and do all of My commandments and be holy to your God.
41 I, the Eternal One, am your True God, the One who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Eternal One, your True God.
Numbers 15
Lexham English Bible
Various Sacrifices and Offerings
15 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the Israelites[a] and say to them, ‘When you come into the land of your dwellings that I am about to give to you, 3 you will make an offering by fire for Yahweh from the cattle or from the flock, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or as a freewill offering or at your feasts, to make a fragrance of appeasement for Yahweh. 4 And the one who presents an offering[b] for Yahweh, he will present a grain offering of finely milled flour; a tenth will be mixed with a fourth of the liquid measure of oil; 5 and you will add a fourth of wine for the libation upon the burnt offering, or to the sacrifice for each ram-lamb. 6 Or for the ram you will make a grain offering of two-tenths of finely milled flour mixed into a third of a liquid measure of oil. 7 You will present a third of the liquid measure of wine for the libation, a fragrance of appeasement for Yahweh. 8 When you prepare a bull[c] as a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a vow or a fellowship offering for Yahweh, 9 you will present with the bull[d] a grain offering of three-tenths of finely milled flour mixed with half a liquid measure of oil, 10 and you will present half a liquid measure of wine as a libation, as an offering made by fire, a fragrance of appeasement for Yahweh.
11 “‘This is how it should be done for each bull, or for the each ram, or for the small four-footed mammal, or ram-lambs, or goats. 12 According to the number that you prepare, so should you do to each according to their number. 13 Every native must do these things to present an offering made by fire, a fragrance of appeasement for Yahweh. 14 If an alien dwells among you, or whoever is in your midst throughout your generations,[e] and prepares an offering made by fire, a fragrance of appeasement for Yahweh, he should do as you do. 15 For the assembly, there will be one decree for you and for the alien who dwells among you; it is an eternal decree for all your generations. You as well as the alien[f] will be before Yahweh.[g] 16 There will be one law and one stipulation for you and for the alien dwelling among you.’”
17 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to the Israelites[h] and say to them, ‘When you come into the land to which I am about to bring you, 19 whenever you eat from the food of the land, you will lift up a contribution to Yahweh. 20 You must lift up a contribution of the first batch of your ring-shaped dough bread; you must lift it up as a contribution of the threshing floor. 21 You will give to Yahweh a contribution from the first of your dough throughout your generations.[i]
22 “‘But if you go astray and you do not follow[j] all these commandments that Yahweh commanded to Moses, 23 all that Yahweh commanded you by the hand of Moses[k] from the day that Yahweh commanded and beyond, throughout your generations,[l] 24 and if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge[m] of the community, then the entire community must prepare one young bull[n] as a burnt offering, as a fragrance of appeasement for Yahweh, and its grain offering and its libation, according to the stipulation, and one male goat as a sin offering. 25 The priest will make atonement for all of the community of the Israelites,[o] and they will be forgiven[p] because it was unintentional; they will bring their offering, an offering made by fire for Yahweh, their sin offering before Yahweh[q] for their unintentional sin. 26 All of the community of the Israelites[r] will be forgiven, as well as the alien that dwells in their midst, because the whole community was involved in the unintentional wrong.
27 “‘If one person sins unintentionally, that person will present a female goat in its first year[s] as a sin offering. 28 And the priest will make atonement for the person who sinned unintentionally[t] before Yahweh,[u] to make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven. 29 For the native among the Israelites[v] and the alien that dwells in their midst, there will be one law for anyone who commits an unintentional wrong. 30 But the one who acts presumptuously[w] from among the native or alien blasphemes against Yahweh, and that person must be cut off from the midst of the people. 31 Because he despised the word of Yahweh and broke his command, that person will be surely cut off and bear the guilt.’”
Violation of the Sabbath
32 When the Israelites[x] were in the desert, they found a man who was gathering wood on the day of the Sabbath. 33 The ones who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses, Aaron, and to all the community. 34 And they put him under watch because it was not made clear what should be done to him. 35 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Surely the man must be put to death by stoning him; all the community must stone him with stones from outside the camp.” 36 So the entire community brought him out to a place outside the camp, and they stoned him to death[y] just as Yahweh commanded Moses.
Garment Fringes
37 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 38 “Speak to the Israelites,[z] and tell them to make for themselves tassels[aa] on the hems of their garments throughout their generations[ab] and to put a blue cord on the tassel of the hem. 39 You will have a tassel for you to look at[ac] and remember all the commands of Yahweh and do them, and not follow after the unfaithfulness of your own heart and eyes,[ad] 40 so that you will remember and do all my commandments, and you will be holy for your God. 41 I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am Yahweh your God.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 15:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Numbers 15:4 Hebrew “his offering”
- Numbers 15:8 Literally “a son of cattle”
- Numbers 15:9 Literally “the son of the cattle”
- Numbers 15:14 Hebrew “for your generations”
- Numbers 15:15 Literally “like you like the alien”
- Numbers 15:15 Literally “in the presence of Yahweh”
- Numbers 15:18 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Numbers 15:21 Hebrew “for your generations”
- Numbers 15:22 Or “do”
- Numbers 15:23 Or “through Moses”
- Numbers 15:23 Hebrew “for your generations”
- Numbers 15:24 Literally “from the eyes”
- Numbers 15:24 Literally “a bull a son of cattle”
- Numbers 15:25 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Numbers 15:25 Literally “it will be forgiven to them”
- Numbers 15:25 Literally “in the presence of Yahweh”
- Numbers 15:26 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Numbers 15:27 Literally “a daughter of a year”
- Numbers 15:28 Literally “sinned unintentionally when sinning an unintentional wrong”
- Numbers 15:28 Literally “in the presence of Yahweh”
- Numbers 15:29 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Numbers 15:30 Literally “who acts with a high hand”
- Numbers 15:32 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Numbers 15:36 Literally “they stoned him with stones and he died”
- Numbers 15:38 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Numbers 15:38 Hebrew “tassel”
- Numbers 15:38 Hebrew “for their generations”
- Numbers 15:39 Literally “and you will look at it”
- Numbers 15:39 Literally “after your heart and after your eyes, which you are unfaithful after them”
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software