They must confess their sin and make full restitution for what they have done, adding an additional 20 percent and returning it to the person who was wronged.
Parallel translations
- WEB then he shall confess his sin which he has done, and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add to it the fifth part of it, and give it to him in respect of whom he has been guilty.
- KJV Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.
- BSB and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution, add a fifth to its value, and give all this to the one he has wronged.
- NKJV then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged.
- NASB then he shall confess his sin which he has committed, and he shall make restitution in full for his wrong and add to it a fifth of it, and give it to him whom he has wronged.
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
The guilty person must confess the sin, make full restitution, and add a fifth as compensation. Genuine repentance includes both confession and restoring what was wronged.
Overview
True dealing with sin involved owning it openly and repairing the harm done, plus an additional fifth as recompense. This combination of confession and restitution reflects God's concern for both the heart and tangible justice. It foreshadows the gospel pattern in which true repentance bears fruit, even as Christ alone makes the ultimate restitution for sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Lev 5:5It shall be, when he is guilty of one of these, he shall confess that in which he has sinned:
- Josh 7:19Joshua said to Achan, “My son, please give glory to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and make confession to him. Tell me now what you have done! Don’t hide it from me!”
- Lev 26:40“‘If they confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their trespass which they trespassed against me, and also that, because they walked contrary to me,
- Luke 19:8Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.”
- Prov 28:13He who conceals his sins doesn’t prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
- 1 Jn 1:8–10If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- Job 33:27–28He sings before men, and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it didn’t profit me.
- Ps 32:5I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn’t hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
- Lev 7:7“‘As is the sin offering, so is the trespass offering; there is one law for them. The priest who makes atonement with them shall have it.
- Lev 6:4–7then it shall be, if he has sinned, and is guilty, he shall restore that which he took by robbery, or the thing which he has gotten by oppression, or the deposit which was committed to him, or the lost thing which he found,
- Lev 5:15“If anyone commits a trespass, and sins unwittingly, in the holy things of Yahweh; then he shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh, a ram without defect from the flock, according to your estimation in silver by shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering.
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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 5:7 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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