Numbers 15 – NIV & NIRV

New International Version

Numbers 15:1-41

Supplementary Offerings

1The Lord said to Moses, 2“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘After you enter the land I am giving you as a home 3and you present to the Lord food offerings from the herd or the flock, as an aroma pleasing to the Lord—whether burnt offerings or sacrifices, for special vows or freewill offerings or festival offerings— 4then the person who brings an offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah15:4 That is, probably about 3 1/2 pounds or about 1.6 kilograms of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin15:4 That is, about 1 quart or about 1 liter; also in verse 5 of olive oil. 5With each lamb for the burnt offering or the sacrifice, prepare a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering.

6“ ‘With a ram prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah15:6 That is, probably about 7 pounds or about 3.2 kilograms of the finest flour mixed with a third of a hin15:6 That is, about 1 1/3 quarts or about 1.3 liters; also in verse 7 of olive oil, 7and a third of a hin of wine as a drink offering. Offer it as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

8“ ‘When you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, for a special vow or a fellowship offering to the Lord, 9bring with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah15:9 That is, probably about 11 pounds or about 5 kilograms of the finest flour mixed with half a hin15:9 That is, about 2 quarts or about 1.9 liters; also in verse 10 of olive oil, 10and also bring half a hin of wine as a drink offering. This will be a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 11Each bull or ram, each lamb or young goat, is to be prepared in this manner. 12Do this for each one, for as many as you prepare.

13“ ‘Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when they present a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 14For the generations to come, whenever a foreigner or anyone else living among you presents a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord, they must do exactly as you do. 15The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the Lord: 16The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.’ ”

17The Lord said to Moses, 18“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land to which I am taking you 19and you eat the food of the land, present a portion as an offering to the Lord. 20Present a loaf from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor. 21Throughout the generations to come you are to give this offering to the Lord from the first of your ground meal.

Offerings for Unintentional Sins

22“ ‘Now if you as a community unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands the Lord gave Moses— 23any of the Lord’s commands to you through him, from the day the Lord gave them and continuing through the generations to come— 24and if this is done unintentionally without the community being aware of it, then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord, along with its prescribed grain offering and drink offering, and a male goat for a sin offering.15:24 Or purification offering; also in verses 25 and 27 25The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven, for it was not intentional and they have presented to the Lord for their wrong a food offering and a sin offering. 26The whole Israelite community and the foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, because all the people were involved in the unintentional wrong.

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

30“ ‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the Lord and must be cut off from the people of Israel. 31Because they have despised the Lord’s word and broken his commands, they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.’ ”

The Sabbath-Breaker Put to Death

32While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. 35Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” 36So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Tassels on Garments

37The Lord said to Moses, 38“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. 39You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. 40Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. 41I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.’ ”

New International Reader’s Version

Numbers 15:1-41

Other Offerings

1Here is what the Lord said to Moses. 2“Say to the Israelites, ‘You are going to enter the land I am giving you as a home. 3When you do, you will present food offerings to the Lord. The animals must come from your herd or flock. The smell of the offerings will please the Lord. They can be either burnt offerings or sacrifices. They can be either for special promises or for feast offerings. Or they can be for offerings you choose to give. 4With each of the offerings, the person who brings it must present to the Lord a grain offering. It must be eight cups of the finest flour. It must be mixed with a quart of olive oil. 5Also prepare a quart of wine as a drink offering. You must present it with each lamb that you bring for the burnt offering or the sacrifice.

6“ ‘Prepare a grain offering to present along with a ram. The grain offering must be 16 cups of the finest flour. It must be mixed with two and a half pints of olive oil. 7You must bring two and a half pints of wine as a drink offering. Offer everything as a smell that pleases the Lord.

8“ ‘Suppose you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice. You prepare it to keep a special promise to the Lord. Or you prepare it to present as a friendship offering. 9Then bring a grain offering with the bull. The grain offering must be 24 cups of the finest flour. It must be mixed with two quarts of olive oil. 10Also bring two quarts of wine as a drink offering. It will be a food offering. Its smell will please the Lord. 11Each bull or ram must be prepared in the same way. Each lamb or young goat must also be prepared in that way. 12Do it for each animal. Do it for as many animals as you prepare.

13“ ‘Everyone in Israel must do those things in that way. He must do them when he presents a food offering. The smell of offerings like that pleases the Lord. 14Everyone must always do what the law requires. It does not matter whether they are an outsider or anyone else living among you. They must do exactly as you do when they present a food offering. The smell of offerings like that pleases the Lord. 15The community must have the same rules for you and for any outsider living among you. This law will last for all time to come. In the sight of the Lord, the law applies both to you and any outsider. 16The same laws and rules will apply to you and to any outsider living among you.’ ”

17The Lord said to Moses, 18“Speak to the Israelites. Say to them, ‘You are going to enter the land I am taking you to. 19You will eat its food. When you do, present part of it as an offering to the Lord. 20Present a loaf made from the first flour you grind. Present it as an offering from the threshing floor. 21You must present the offering to the Lord. You must present it from the first grain you grind. You must do it for all time to come.

Offerings for Sins That Aren’t Committed on Purpose

22“ ‘Suppose you as a community fail to keep any of the commands the Lord gave Moses. And suppose you do it without meaning to. 23That applies to any of the commands the Lord told Moses to give you. And they are in effect from the day the Lord gave them and for all time to come. 24Suppose the community sins without meaning to. And suppose they do not know they have sinned. Then the whole community must offer a young bull. They must sacrifice it for a burnt offering. Its smell will please the Lord. Along with it, they must offer its required grain offering and drink offering. They must also sacrifice a male goat for a sin offering. 25With it the priest will pay for the sin of the whole community of Israel. Then they will be forgiven. They did not mean to commit that sin. And they have presented to the Lord a food offering for the wrong thing they did. They have brought a sin offering with it. 26The Lord will forgive the whole community of Israel and the outsiders living among them. All the people had a part in the sin, even though they did not mean to do it.

27“ ‘But suppose just one person sins without meaning to. Then that person must bring a female goat for a sin offering. It must be a year old. 28With it the priest will pay for the person’s sin in front of the Lord. The priest will do it for the one who did wrong by sinning without meaning to. When the sin is paid for, that person will be forgiven. 29The same law applies to everyone who sins without meaning to. It does not matter whether they are an Israelite or an outsider.

30“ ‘But suppose someone sins on purpose. It does not matter whether they are an Israelite or an outsider. They speak evil things against the Lord. They must be separated from the community of Israel. 31They have not respected what the Lord has said. They have broken the Lord’s commands. They must certainly be separated from the community. They are still guilty.’ ”

A Man Works on the Sabbath Day

32The Israelites were in the desert. One Sabbath day, people saw a man gathering wood. 33They brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole community. 34They kept him under guard. It wasn’t clear what should be done to him. 35Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole community must kill him by throwing stones at him. They must do it outside the camp.” 36So the people took the man outside the camp. There they killed him by throwing stones at him. They did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Tassels on Clothes

37The Lord said to Moses, 38“Say to the Israelites, ‘You must make tassels on the corners of your clothes. A blue cord must be on each tassel. You must do it for all time to come. 39You will have the tassels to look at. They will remind you to obey all the Lord’s commands. Then you will be faithful to him. You will not chase after what your own hearts and eyes wish for. 40You will remember to obey all my commands. And you will be set apart for your God. 41I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.’ ”