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15. Supplementary Offerings

¹ The 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 ³ and 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— ⁴ then the person who brings an offering shall present to the LORD a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah That is, probably about 3 1/2 pounds or about 1.6 kilograms of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin That is, about 1 quart or about 1 liter; also in verse 5 of olive oil. ⁵ With 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 ephah That is, probably about 7 pounds or about 3.2 kilograms of the finest flour mixed with a third of a hin That is, about 1 1/3 quarts or about 1.3 liters; also in verse 7 of olive oil, ⁷ and 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, ⁹ bring with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah That is, probably about 11 pounds or about 5 kilograms of the finest flour mixed with half a hin That is, about 2 quarts or about 1.9 liters; also in verse 10 of olive oil, ¹⁰ and also bring half a hin of wine as a drink offering. This will be a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. ¹¹ Each bull or ram, each lamb or young goat, is to be prepared in this manner. ¹² Do 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. ¹⁴ For 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. ¹⁵ The 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: ¹⁶ The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.’”

¹⁷ The LORD said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land to which I am taking you ¹⁹ and you eat the food of the land, present a portion as an offering to the LORD. ²⁰ Present a loaf from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor. ²¹ Throughout 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— ²³ any of the LORD’s commands to you through him, from the day the LORD gave them and continuing through the generations to come— ²⁴ and 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. Or purification offering; also in verses 25 and 27 ²⁵ The 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. ²⁶ The 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. ²⁸ The 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. ²⁹ One 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. ³¹ Because 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

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

Tassels on Garments

³⁷ The 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. ³⁹ You 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. ⁴⁰ Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. ⁴¹ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.’”

22. And if ye have erred. He teaches by what kind of sacrifice the sins of the whole people or of each individual are to be expiated, although he enumerates only two of the four classes which are mentioned in Leviticus; for a special atonement is there enjoined both on the priest and the ruler. But neither is the ceremony of sacrificing here described, since Moses only wished to refresh their memories by the way as to the manner in which, either publicly or privately, they were to be reconciled to God. This word “error,” ²⁶⁴²⁶⁴ “Ce mot d’inadvertence.” — Fr. as we have said, extends to incogitancy, which partakes of contempt of God, and arises from too great security, when men inconsiderately fall into the sins to which their lusts invite them; for deliberate impiety is afterwards brought into contrast with error, when men designedly rush into violations of the law. But since nothing is more easy than for men to err, this remedy was most necessary, lest they who had sinned should fall into despair. Lest, then, the people or private individuals, when they saw their guilt, should despair of pardon and throw away the pursuit of holiness, God anticipates them, and shews them by what means He is to be propitiated, so that the sins which had occurred should not interrupt His service. Since, however, Moses here only repeats what has already been explained, there is no need of dwelling largely upon it, except that in one point he seems to deliver a law different from the former one; for he there commands two bullocks to be slain for the reconciliation of the people, ²⁶⁵²⁶⁵ “This law differs from Leviticus 4:13, 14. Outram thinks the bullock was to be offered under that law when the whole congregation of Israel, though in other respects retaining their own rites and following the worship of the true God, yet, led away by one common error, transgressed, without knowing it, some prohibitory precept. The kid for a sin-offering, accompanied with a bullock for a burnt-offering, (see ver. 24,) Outram says he apprehends to have been required when the people, neglecting their ancient rites and unmindful of the divine laws, (which often happened under wicked kings,) were seduced into strange worship. What is recorded in 2 Chronicles 28:24, 29:3, 21, 24, Outram thinks adds much probability to his opinion. See Outram, D. 1, ch. 14, Section 2.” — Brightwell in loco. the one as a burnt-offering, the other as a sin-offering; yet, if the second were not easily obtained, the permission was given to substitute a goat. In Leviticus, therefore, the regular and perfect rite was delivered; the permissive alteration is only added here; nor does Moses contradict himself, though, for the sake of brevity, he only refers to one of the two modes. At the end a clearer explanation is subjoined, viz., that the same law should be common to all, since it was by no means expedient to introduce any diversity.