Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Because he has despised Yahweh’s word, and has broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off. His iniquity shall be on him.’”
- BSB He shall certainly be cut off, because he has despised the word of the LORD and broken His commandment; his guilt remains on him.”
- NKJV Because he has despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.’ ”
- NASB Since he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him.’ ”
- NLT Since they have treated the Lord’s word with contempt and deliberately disobeyed his command, they must be completely cut off and suffer the punishment for their guilt.”
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
Because such a person has despised the LORD's word and broken his command, he is to be cut off and bears his own guilt. Rejecting God's word carries grave consequences.
Overview
The defiant sinner is judged because he has scorned God's revealed word, and the guilt rests squarely on him. This underscores the seriousness of treating God's commands with contempt. Yet the gospel reveals that for those who trust Christ, he bears the guilt that would otherwise rest upon the sinner (Isaiah 53:6, 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 2 Sam 12:9Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
- Prov 13:13Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.
- Ezek 18:20The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
- 1 Th 4:8He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.
- Ps 119:126It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.
- Lev 5:1And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity.
- 2 Pet 2:21For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
- Lev 26:43The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.
- 1 Pet 2:24Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
- Lev 26:15And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
- Isa 30:12Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:
- Isa 53:6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
- Heb 10:28–29He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
- Ps 38:4For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 15:31 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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