And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘If one person sins unwittingly, then he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering.
- BSB Also, if one person sins unintentionally, he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering.
- NKJV ‘And if a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering.
- NASB ‘Also, if one person sins unintentionally, then he shall offer a one-year-old female goat as a sin offering.
- NLT “If one individual commits an unintentional sin, the guilty person must bring a one-year-old female goat for a sin offering.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
An individual who sinned unintentionally was to bring a year-old female goat as a sin offering. Personal sin, even unintended, required atonement.
Overview
Moving from corporate to individual sin, God provides a means of atonement scaled to the single worshiper. The requirement of a sacrifice for even accidental sin underscores the seriousness of any offense against a holy God. The need for blood to cover sin points to the once-for-all offering of Christ (Hebrews 9:22, 28).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Lev 4:27–28And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty;
- Acts 3:17And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
- Acts 17:30And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
- 1 Tim 1:13Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 15:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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