Numbers 15:22-29
English Standard Version
Laws About Unintentional Sins
22 (A)“But if you sin unintentionally,[a] 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 (B)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, (C)with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the rule, and (D)one male goat for a sin offering. 25 (E)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 (F)“If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. 28 (G)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 (H)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.
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- Numbers 15:22 Or by mistake; also verses 24, 27, 28, 29
Numbers 15:22-29
New English Translation
Rules for Unintentional Offenses
22 [a] “‘If you[b] sin unintentionally and do not observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses— 23 all that the Lord has commanded you by the authority[c] of Moses, from the day that the Lord commanded Moses and continuing through your future generations— 24 then if anything is done unintentionally[d] without the knowledge of[e] the community, the whole community must prepare one young bull for a burnt offering—for a pleasing aroma to the Lord—along with its grain offering and its customary drink offering, and one male goat for a purification offering. 25 And the priest is to make atonement[f] for the whole community of the Israelites, and they will be forgiven, because it was unintentional and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord, and their purification offering before the Lord, for their unintentional offense. 26 And the whole community[g] of the Israelites and the resident foreigner who lives among them will be forgiven, since all the people were involved in the unintentional offense.
27 “‘If any person[h] sins unintentionally, then he must bring a yearling female goat for a purification offering. 28 And the priest must make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally—when he sins unintentionally before the Lord—to make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven. 29 You must have one law for the person who sins unintentionally, both for the native-born among the Israelites and for the resident foreigner who lives among them.
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- Numbers 15:22 sn These regulations supplement what was already ruled on in the Levitical code for the purification and reparation offerings. See those rulings in Lev 4-7 for all the details. Some biblical scholars view the rules in Leviticus as more elaborate and therefore later. However, this probably represents a misunderstanding of the purpose of each collection.
- Numbers 15:22 tn The verb is the plural imperfect; the sin discussed here is a sin committed by the community, or the larger part of the community.
- Numbers 15:23 tn Heb “hand.”
- Numbers 15:24 tn The idea of לִשְׁגָגָה (lishgagah) seems to be that of “inadvertence” or “without intent.” The text gives no indication of how this offense might be committed, or what it might include. It probably describes any transgressions done in ignorance of the Law that involved a violation of tabernacle procedure or priestly protocol or social misdemeanor. Even though it was done unintentionally, it was still a violation and called for ritual purification.
- Numbers 15:24 tn Heb “[away] from the eyes of the community.”
- Numbers 15:25 tn The verb is the Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive (וְכִפֶּר, vekhipper) to continue the instruction of the passage: “the priest shall make atonement,” meaning the priest is to make atonement for the sin (thus the present translation). This verb means “to expiate,” “to atone for,” “to pacify.” It describes the ritual events by which someone who was separated from the holy Lord God could find acceptance into his presence through the sacrificial blood of the substitutionary animal. See Lev 1 and Num 16:41-50.
- Numbers 15:26 tn Again, rather than translate literally “and it shall be forgiven [to] them” (all the community), one could say, “they (all the community) will be forgiven.” The meaning is the same.
- Numbers 15:27 tn The Hebrew text has וְאִם־נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת (veʾim nefesh ʾakhat), sometime translated “and if any soul.” But the word describes the whole person, the soul in the body; it refers here to the individual who sins.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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