Numbers 15 - Easy To Read Version

¹ The Lord said to Moses,

² “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: I am giving you a land to be your home. When you enter that land,

³ you must give special offerings made by fire to the Lord. Their smell will please the Lord. You will use your cows, sheep, and goats for burnt offerings, sacrifices, special promises, special gifts, fellowship offerings, or special holidays.

⁴ “At the time a person brings his offering, he must also give a grain offering to the Lord. The grain offering will be 8 cups [188] of fine flour mixed with 1 quart [189] of olive oil.

⁵ Each time you offer a lamb as a burnt offering, you must also prepare a quart of wine as a drink offering.

⁶ “If you are giving a ram, then you must also prepare a grain offering. This grain offering should be 16 cups [190] of fine flour mixed with 1 1/4 quarts [191] of olive oil.

⁷ And you must prepare 1 1/4 quarts of wine as a drink offering. Its smell will please the Lord.

⁸ “You might prepare a young bull as a burnt offering, a sacrifice, a fellowship offering, or to keep a special promise to the Lord.

⁹ At that time, you must also bring a grain offering with the bull. That grain offering should be 24 cups [192] of fine flour mixed with 2 quarts [193] of olive oil.

¹⁰ Also bring 2 quarts of wine as a drink offering. This will be an offering made by fire. Its smell will please the Lord.

¹¹ Each bull or ram, or lamb or young goat that you give to the Lord must be prepared in this way.

¹² Do this for every one of these animals that you give.

¹³ “That is the way every citizen of Israel must give the offerings made by fire to please the Lord.

¹⁴ Foreigners will live among you. If those people give offerings made by fire to please the Lord, then they must offer them the same way you do.

¹⁵ The same rules will be for everyone—the people of Israel and the foreigners living in your country. This law will continue forever. You and the people living among you will be the same before the Lord.

¹⁶ This means that you must follow the same laws and the same rules. Those laws and rules are for you people of Israel and for the other people who are living among you.”

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses,

¹⁸ “Tell the people of Israel these things: I am taking you to another land.

¹⁹ When you eat the food that grows in that land, you must give part of that food as an offering to the Lord.

²⁰ You will gather grain and grind it into flour to make dough for bread. You must give the first of that dough as a gift to the Lord. It will be like the grain offering that comes from the threshing floor. [194]

²¹ This rule will continue forever, you must give the first of that dough as a gift to the Lord.

²² “Now what should you do if you make a mistake and forget to obey one of the commands that the Lord gave Moses?

²³ The Lord gave these commands to you through Moses. These commands started the day that the Lord gave them to you. And the commands continue forever.

²⁴ So, what do you do if you make a mistake and forget to obey all of these commands. If all the people of Israel made that mistake, then together the people must offer one young bull as a burnt offering to the Lord. Its smell will please the Lord. Also remember to give the grain offering and the drink offering that must be offered with the bull. You must also give a male goat as a sin offering.

²⁵ “So the priest must do the things that will make the people pure. [195] He must do this for all of the people of Israel. The people did not know they were sinning. But when they learned about it, they brought a gift to the Lord. They brought the offering made by fire and the sin offering. So the people will be forgiven.

²⁶ All of the people of Israel and all the other people living among them will be forgiven. They will be forgiven because they did not know they were doing wrong.

²⁷ “But if only one person makes a mistake and sins, then he must bring a female goat that is one year old. That goat will be the sin offering.

²⁸ The priest must do the things that will make the person pure. [196] That person made a mistake and sinned before the Lord. But the priest made that person pure, and he will be forgiven.

²⁹ That law is for every person who makes a mistake and sins. The same law is for the people born in the family of Israel and for the foreigners living among you.

³⁰ “But if a person sins and knows that he is doing wrong, then that person is against the Lord. That person must be separated from his people. It is the same for a person born into the family of Israel or for a foreigner living among you.

³¹ That person did not think the Lord’s word was important. He broke the Lord’s commands. That person must surely be separated from your group. That person is guilty and must be punished! [197] ”

³² At this time, the people of Israel were still in the desert. It happened that a man found some wood to burn. So the man was gathering the wood, but it was the Sabbath [198] day. Some other people saw him doing this.

³³ The people who saw him gathering the wood brought him to Moses and Aaron. And all the people gathered around.

³⁴ They kept the man there because they did not know how they should punish him.

³⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. All the people must throw stones at him outside the camp.”

³⁶ So the people took him outside the camp and killed him with stones. They did this the way that the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁷ The Lord said to Moses,

³⁸ “Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them these things: {I will give you something to remember my commands.} Tie several pieces of thread together and tie them in the corner of your clothes. Put a piece of blue thread in each one of these tassels. You must wear these things now and forever.

³⁹ You will be able to look at these tassels and remember all the commands that the Lord has given you. Then you will obey the commands. You will not do wrong by forgetting about the commands and doing the things that your own bodies and eyes want.

⁴⁰ You will remember to obey all my commands. Then you will be God’s special people.

⁴¹ I am the Lord your God. I am the One who brought you out of Egypt. I did this to be your God. I am the Lord your God.”