Numbers15
English Standard Version
1The Lord to , ,
2 to the of and to them, When you the you are to , I am you,
3and you to the Lord from the or from the a food offering or a or a , to a or as a or at your , to a to the Lord,
4then he who his shall to the Lord a of a of an ephah of , with a of a of ;
5and you shall with the , or for the , a of a of for the for .
6Or for a , you shall for a of an ephah of with a of a of .
7And for the you shall a of a of , a to the Lord.
8And when you a as a or , to a or for to the Lord,
9then one shall with the a of of an ephah of , with a of .
10And you shall for the a of , as a , a to the Lord.
11 it shall be for , for young .
12As you , shall you with each , as many as there .
13 native shall these in this , in a , with a to the Lord.
14And a is with you, is living you, and he wishes to a , with a to the Lord, he shall as you .
15For the , there shall be for you and for the who with you, a throughout your . You and the shall be alike the Lord.
16 and shall be for you and for the who with you.
17The Lord to , ,
18 to the of and to them, When you come the to I you
19and when you of the of the , you shall a to the Lord.
20Of the of your you shall a as a ; like a from the , shall you it.
21 of the of your you shall to the Lord as a throughout your .
22But you sin , and do that the Lord has to ,
23 the Lord has you , the the Lord gave , and throughout your ,
24then it was the of the , the shall from the for a , a to the Lord, with its and its , according to the , and for a .
25And the shall make for the of the of , and they shall be , it was a , and they have their , a to the Lord, and their the Lord for their .
26And the of the of shall be , and the who them, the was involved in the .
27 , he shall a a for a .
28And the shall make the Lord the who makes a , when he , to make him, and he shall be .
29You shall have for him who anything , for him who is among the of and for the who them.
30But the who anything with a , he is a , the Lord, and that shall be from his .
31 he has the of the Lord and has his , that shall be ; his shall be on him.
32While the of were in the , they a on the .
33And those who him him to and and to the .
34They him in , it had not been made should be to him.
35And the Lord to , The shall put to ; the shall him with the .
36And the him the and him to with , the Lord .
37The Lord to ,
38 to the of , and them to the of their throughout their , and to a of the of each .
39And it shall be a for you to look and the of the Lord, to them, to your own and your own , you are inclined to .
40 you shall and my , and to your .
41I am the Lord your , who brought you of the of to be your : I am the Lord your .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Numbers 15.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The law of the meat-offering and the drink-offering, The stranger under the same law. (1–21). The sacrifice for the sin of ignorance. (22–29). The punishment of presumption, The sabbath-breaker stoned. (30–36). The law for fringes on garment. (37–41).
vv1-21
Full instructions are given about the meat-offerings and drink-offerings. The beginning of this law is very encouraging, When ye come into the land of your habitation which I give unto you. This was a plain intimation that God would secure the promised land to their seed. It was requisite, since the sacrifices of acknowledgment were intended as the food of God's table, that there should be a constant supply of bread, oil, and wine, whatever the flesh-meat was. And the intent of this law is to direct the proportions of the meat-offering and drink-offering. Natives and strangers are placed on a level in this as in other like matters. It was a happy forewarning of the calling of the Gentiles, and of their admission into the church. If the law made so little difference between Jew and Gentile, much less would the gospel, which broke down the partition-wall, and reconciled both to God.
vv22-29
Though ignorance will in a degree excuse, it will not justify those who might have known their Lord's will, yet did it not. David prayed to be cleansed from his secret faults, those sins which he himself was not aware of. Sins committed ignorantly, shall be forgiven through Christ the great Sacrifice, who, when he offered up himself once for all upon the cross, seemed to explain one part of the intention of his offering, in that prayer, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. It looked favourably upon the Gentiles, that this law of atoning for sins of ignorance, is expressly made to extend to those who were strangers to Israel.
vv30-36
Those are to be reckoned presumptuous sinners, who sin designedly against God's will and glory. Sins thus committed are exceedingly sinful. He that thus breaks the commandment reproaches the Lord. He also despises the word of the Lord. Presumptuous sinners despise it, thinking themselves too great, too good, and too wise, to be ruled by it. A particular instance of presumption in the sin of sabbath-breaking is related. The offence was gathering sticks on the sabbath day, to make a fire, whereas the people were to bake and seethe what they had occasion for, the day before, Ex 16:23. This was done as an affront both to the law and to the Lawgiver. God is jealous for the honour of his sabbaths, and will not hold him guiltless who profanes them, whatever men may do. God intended this punishment for a warning to all, to make conscience of keeping holy the sabbath. And we may be assured that no command was ever given for the punishment of sin, which, at the judgment day, shall not prove to have come from perfect love and justice. The right of God to a day of devotion to himself, will be disputed and denied only by such as listen to the pride and unbelief of their hearts, rather than to the teaching of the Spirit of truth and life. Wherein consists the difference between him who was detected gathering sticks in the wilderness on the day of God, and the man who turns his back upon the blessings of sabbath appointments, and the promises of sabbath mercies, to use his time, his cares, and his soul, in heaping up riches; and waste his hours, his property, and his strength in sinful pleasure? Wealth may come by the unhallowed effort, but it will not come alone; it will have its awful reward. Sinful pursuits lead to ruin.
Key Words
דָבַר: perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
מוֹשָׁב: a seat; figuratively, a site; abstractly, a session; by extension an abode (the place or the time); by implication, population
אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
נָתַן: to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.)
Cross References
Numbers 15Calvin highlights this as a parallel command for outward aids to keep God's word in memory.
Supported by John Calvin
Establishes the explicit penalty of death for Sabbath-breaking, which caused the rulers' initial embarrassment.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The foundational law stating one law shall apply to both the homeborn and the stranger.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Clarifies that the heave offering of dough is given to the priests of the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
JFB contrasts this collective omission with Leviticus 4:13's positive transgression of commands.
Supported by JFB
Henry notes gathering sticks violated the directive to prepare Sabbath food the day before.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallel command to make fringes upon the four quarters of vestments to remember commands.
Supported by Matthew Henry, John Calvin, JFB
Demonstrates that 'sacrifice' is used in the sense of a peace offering.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Defines a tenth deal as an omer, the tenth part of an ephah.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallel instance of putting an offender in ward because the judgment was not yet declared.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Christ references the scribes and Pharisees enlarging the borders (fringes) of their garments.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Poole notes oil-mingled meat offerings were typically accompaniments, except in the leper's cleansing.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Henry connects the atonement for ignorance to Christ's prayer: 'forgive them; they know not what they do.'
Supported by Matthew Henry
David prays specifically to be kept back from 'presumptuous sins' like those warned of here.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
New Testament warning against sinning wilfully after receiving knowledge of the truth.
Supported by Matthew Henry