Numbers 5:6
in Numbers 5“Tell the Israelites that when a man or woman acts unfaithfully against the LORD by committing any sin against another, that person is guilty
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, so as to trespass against Jehovah, and that soul shall be guilty;
KJV
Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord, and that person be guilty;
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This verse in Numbers 5
Commentary
6 notes on this verseWhat does this mean: "if any man or woman commits one of all the human sins"?Scripture call the smaller sins human. It is not possible for human nature, subject to change as it is, to be delivered from every sin. For "no one is clean …
This site's exposition
when a man or woman acts unfaithfully against the LORD
on Numbers 5:6-7
Leviticus 6:1-5 already required full restitution plus a fifth. Numbers adds confession, for the guilty one “must confess the sin he has committed”, which Clarke reads as the condition of any hope of mercy. It also calls a wrong done to another an act done “unfaithfully against the LORD”.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Any sin that men commit - Hebrew. any sins of men, that is, sins against men, as deceits or wrongs, whereby other men are injured, of which he manifestly speaks. Against the Lord - Which words may be added, to shew that such injuries done to men are also sins against God, who hath commanded justice to men, as well as religion to himself.
), because it is common among men; a sin of man, that is, a sin against man, so it is thought it should be translated and understood. If a man overreach or defraud his brother in any matter, it is to be looked upon as a trespass against the Lord, who is the protector of right, the punisher of wrong, and who strictly charges and commands us to do justly.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Speak unto the children of Israel,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The difference between the law recorded in that passage and this is that the one was enacted against flagrant and determined thieves, the other against those whose necessities might have urged them into fraud, and whose consciences were distressed by their sin.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דַּבֵּר֮ | daber | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֽוֹ־ | ʾov- | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| אִשָּׁ֗ה | ʾishah | a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יַעֲשׂוּ֙ | yaasu | they will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מִכָּל־ | mikol | any of all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חַטֹּ֣את | chatot | [the] sins of | H2403 → | 295 times |
| הָֽאָדָ֔ם | haadam | <the> humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| לִמְעֹ֥ל | limol | by acting unfaithfully | H4603 → | 36 times |
| מַ֖עַל | maal | unfaithfulness | H4604 → | 28 times |
| בַּיהוָ֑ה | bayahweh | against Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְאָֽשְׁמָ֖ה | veashemah | and it will be guilty | H816 → | |
| הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ | hanefesh | the person | H5315 → | 754 times |
| הַהִֽוא׃ | hahiv' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
דַּבֵּר֮speak
daberH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֒Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אִ֣ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֽוֹ־or
ʾov-H176 →321 times
אִשָּׁ֗הa woman
ʾishahH802 →781 times
כִּ֤יif
kiH3588 →4482 times
יַעֲשׂוּ֙they will do
yaasuH6213 →2628 times
מִכָּל־any of all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
חַטֹּ֣את[the] sins of
chatotH2403 →295 times
הָֽאָדָ֔ם<the> humankind
haadamH120 →551 times
לִמְעֹ֥לby acting unfaithfully
limolH4603 →36 times
מַ֖עַלunfaithfulness
maalH4604 →28 times
בַּיהוָ֑הagainst Yahweh
bayahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְאָֽשְׁמָ֖הand it will be guilty
veashemahH816 →
הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁthe person
hanefeshH5315 →754 times
הַהִֽוא׃<the> that
hahiv'H1931 →1879 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, QUESTIONS ON NUMBERS 9.