Numbers 15:22
in Numbers 15Now if you stray unintentionally and do not obey all these commandments that the LORD has spoken to Moses—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when ye shall err, and not observe all these commandments, which Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses,
KJV
And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the Lord hath spoken unto Moses,
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This verse in Numbers 15
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The heavy punishments which had already overtaken the people might naturally give rise to apprehensions for the future, especially in view of the fact that on the approaching entrance into Canaan the complete observance of the Law in all its details would become imperative on them. To meet such apprehensions a distinction is emphatically drawn between sins of ignorance (Lev 4:13 ff) and those of presumption Num 15:30-31. The passage deals separately with imperfections of obedience which would be regarded as attaching to the whole nation Num 15:22-26, and those of individuals Num 15:27-
This site's exposition
if you stray unintentionally
on Numbers 15:22-26
The error in view is national, the whole congregation straying unintentionally from what the LORD commanded through Moses. Leviticus 4:14 had given a bull as the sin offering, and now a male goat is the sin offering and the bull the burnt offering.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
If they failed in one part of the ceremony, they must make it up by the observance of another part, which was in the nature of a remedial law. The case is put of a national sin, committed through ignorance, and become customary through a vulgar error (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And if ye have erred,.... Gone astray from the law of God, and any of its precepts; every sin is an error, a missing of the mark, a wandering from the way of God's commandments.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, &c.--respecting the performance of divine worship, and the rites and ceremonies that constitute the holy service. The law relates only to any omission and consequently is quite different from that laid down in Le 4:13, which implies a transgression or positive neglect of some observances required.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכִ֣י | vekhi | and if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תִשְׁגּ֔וּ | tishgu | you will err | H7686 → | |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַעֲשׂ֔וּ | taasu | you will observe | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֵ֥ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַמִּצְוֹ֖ת | hamitzvot | the commandments | H4687 → | 181 times |
| הָאֵ֑לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּ֥ר | diber | he has spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶֽׁה׃ | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
וְכִ֣יand if
vekhiH3588 →4482 times
תִשְׁגּ֔וּyou will err
tishguH7686 →
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תַעֲשׂ֔וּyou will observe
taasuH6213 →2628 times
אֵ֥ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַמִּצְוֹ֖תthe commandments
hamitzvotH4687 →181 times
הָאֵ֑לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּ֥רhe has spoken
diberH1696 →1141 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶֽׁה׃Moses
moshehH4872 →765 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 19:12Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
it leads to
- Psalms 90:8
You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
- Psalms 139:23–24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
- Job 6:24
Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand how I have erred.
- Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
- Psalms 40:12
For evils without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed within me.
- Psalms 90:8
Through
Leviticus 4:27And if one of the common people sins unintentionally and does what is prohibited by any of the LORD’s commandments, he incurs guilt.
it leads to
- Leviticus 4:2
“Tell the Israelites to do as follows with one who sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s commandments and does what is forbidden by them:
- Numbers 15:27
Also, if one person sins unintentionally, he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering.
- Leviticus 4:2
Through
Leviticus 4:2“Tell the Israelites to do as follows with one who sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s commandments and does what is forbidden by them:
it leads to
- Psalms 19:12
Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
- Psalms 19:12
Where this verse is studied
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.