Numbers 15:11-16

New International Version - UK

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.^{[a] 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, utters blasphemy against 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.”’

Korah, Dathan and Abiram

16 Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites – Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth – became insolent^{[b] 2} and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. ³ They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, ‘You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?’

⁴ When Moses heard this, he fell face down. ⁵ Then he said to Korah and all his followers: ‘In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will make that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him. ⁶ You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: take censers ⁷ and tomorrow put burning coals and incense in them before the Lord. The man the Lord chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!’

⁸ Moses also said to Korah, ‘Now listen, you Levites! ⁹ Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them? ¹⁰ He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too. ¹¹ It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?’