Numbers
Chapter 15

1

The LORD said to Moses,

2

¹ "Give the Israelites these instructions: When you have entered the land that I will give you for your homesteads,

3

if you make to the LORD a sweet-smelling oblation from the herd or from the flock, in holocaust, in fulfillment of a vow, or as a freewill offering, or for one of your festivals,

4

whoever does so shall also present to the LORD a cereal offering consisting of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a hin of oil,

5

as well as a libation of a fourth of a hin of wine, with each lamb sacrificed in holocaust or otherwise.

6

With each sacrifice of a ram you shall present a cereal offering of two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil,

7

and a libation of a third of a hin of wine, thus making a sweet-smelling offering to the LORD.

8

When you sacrifice an ox as a holocaust, or in fulfillment of a vow, or as a peace offering to the LORD,

9

with it you shall present a cereal offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil,

10

and a libation of half a hin of wine, as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD.

11

The same is to be done for each ox, ram, lamb or goat.

12

Whatever the number you offer, do the same for each of them.

13

"All the native-born shall make these offerings in the same way, whenever they present a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD.

14

Likewise, in any future generation, any alien residing with you permanently or for a time, who presents a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD, shall do as you do.

15

There is but one rule for you and for the resident alien, a perpetual rule for all your descendants. Before the LORD you and the alien are alike,

16

with the same law and the same application of it for the alien residing among you as for yourselves."

17

The LORD said to Moses,

18

"Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land into which I will bring you

19

and begin to eat of the food of that land, you shall offer the LORD a contribution

20

² consisting of a cake of your first batch of dough. You shall offer it just as you offer a contribution from the threshing floor.

21

Throughout your generations you shall give a contribution to the LORD from your first batch of dough.

22

³ "When through inadvertence you fail to carry out any of these commandments which the LORD gives to Moses,

23

and through Moses to you, from the time the LORD first issues the commandment down through your generations:

24

if the community itself unwittingly becomes guilty of the fault of inadvertence, the whole community shall offer the holocaust of one young bull as a sweet-smelling oblation pleasing to the LORD, along with its prescribed cereal offering and libation, as well as one he-goat as a sin offering.

25

Then the priest shall make atonement for the whole Israelite community; thus they will be forgiven the inadvertence for which they have brought their holocaust as an oblation to the LORD.

26

Not only the whole Israelite community, but also the aliens residing among you, shall be forgiven, since the fault of inadvertence affects all the people.

27

"However, if it is an individual who sins inadvertently, he shall bring a yearling she-goat as a sin offering,

28

and the priest shall make atonement before the LORD for him who sinned inadvertently; when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven.

29

You shall have but one law for him who sins inadvertently, whether he be a native Israelite or an alien residing with you.

30

"But anyone who sins defiantly, whether he be a native or an alien, insults the LORD, and shall be cut off from among his people.

31

Since he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken his commandment, he must be cut off. He has only himself to blame."

32

While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was discovered gathering wood on the sabbath day.

33

Those who caught him at it brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly.

34

⁴ But they kept him in custody, for there was no clear decision as to what should be done with him.

35

Then the LORD said to Moses, "This man shall be put to death; let the whole community stone him outside the camp."

36

So the whole community led him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

37

The LORD said to Moses,

38

⁵ "Speak to the Israelites and tell them that they and their descendants must put tassels on the corners of their garments, fastening each corner tassel with a violet cord.

39

When you use these tassels, let the sight of them remind you to keep all the commandments of the LORD, without going wantonly astray after the desires of your hearts and eyes.

40

Thus you will remember to keep all my commandments and be holy to your God.

41

I, the LORD, am your God who, as God, brought you out of Egypt that I, the LORD, may be your God."

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Footnotes

¹ [2-16] These laws on sacrifice are complementary to those of Lev 1-3. Since the food of the Israelites consisted not only of meat but also of bread, oil and wine, so, besides the animal oblations, they offered flour, wine and oil in sacrifice to the Lord.

² [20] Dough: some render, "barley grits." This word is used elsewhere only in Ezekiel 44:30 and Nehemiah 10:33; a related Hebrew word is used in Lev 2:14.

³ [22-24] Although no moral guilt is incurred by an inadvertent violation of God's commandments, the sanctity of the law can require some reparation even for such violations.

⁴ [34] No clear decision: they already knew that a willful violation of the sabbath was a capital offense, but they did not yet know how the death penalty was to be inflicted.

⁵ [38] Tassels: at the time of Christ these tassels were worn by all pious Jews, including our Lord (Matthew 9:20-21; Mark 6:56); the Pharisees wore very large ones in ostentation of their zeal for the law (Matthew 23:5).

New American Bible Copyright © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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