22-26 “But if you should get off the beaten track and not keep the commands which God spoke to Moses, any of the things that God commanded you under the authority of Moses from the time that God first commanded you right up to this present time, and if it happened more or less by mistake, with the congregation unaware of it, then the whole congregation is to sacrifice one young bull as a Whole-Burnt-Offering, a pleasing fragrance to God, accompanied by its Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering as stipulated in the rules, and a he-goat as an Absolution-Offering. The priest is to atone for the entire community of the People of Israel and they will stand forgiven. The sin was not deliberate, and they offered to God the Fire-Gift and Absolution-Offering for their inadvertence. The whole community of Israel including the foreigners living there will be absolved, because everyone was involved in the error.

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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(A) 24 and if this is done unintentionally(B) without the community being aware of it,(C) then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering(D) as an aroma pleasing to the Lord,(E) along with its prescribed grain offering(F) and drink offering,(G) and a male goat for a sin offering.[a](H) 25 The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven,(I) for it was not intentional(J) and they have presented to the Lord for their wrong a food offering(K) and a sin offering.(L)

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 15:24 Or purification offering; also in verses 25 and 27