1And the Lord said to Moses, 2Say to the children of Israel, When you have come into the land which I am giving to you for your resting-place, 3And are going to make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burned offering or an offering in connection with an oath, or an offering freely given, or at your regular feasts, an offering for a sweet smell to the Lord, from the herd or the flock: 4Then let him who is making his offering, give to the Lord a meal offering of a tenth part of a measure of the best meal mixed with a fourth part of a hin of oil: 5And for the drink offering, you are to give with the burned offering or other offering, the fourth part of a hin of wine for every lamb. 6Or for a male sheep, give as a meal offering two tenth parts of a measure of the best meal mixed with a third part of a hin of oil: 7And for the drink offering give a third part of a hin of wine, for a sweet smell to the Lord. 8And when you make ready a young ox for a burned or other offering, or for the effecting of an oath, or for peace-offerings to the Lord: 9Then with the ox give a meal offering of three tenth parts of a measure of the best meal mixed with half a hin of oil. 10And for the drink offering: give half a hin of wine, for an offering made by fire for a sweet smell to the Lord. 11This is to be done for every young ox and for every male sheep or he-lamb or young goat. 12Whatever number you make ready, so you are to do for every one. 13All those who are Israelites by birth are to do these things in this way, when giving an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord. 14And if a man from another country or any other person living among you, through all your generations, has the desire to give an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord, let him do as you do. 15There is to be one law for you and for the man of another country living with you, one law for ever from generation to generation; as you are, so is he to be before the Lord. 16The law and the rule are to be the same for you and for those from other lands living with you. 17And the Lord said to Moses, 18Say to the children of Israel, When you come into the land where I am guiding you, 19Then, when you take for your food the produce of the land, you are to give an offering lifted up before the Lord. 20Of the first of your rough meal you are to give a cake for a lifted offering, lifting it up before the Lord as the offering of the grain-floor is lifted up. 21From generation to generation you are to give to the Lord a lifted offering from the first of your rough meal. 22And if in error you go against any of these laws which the Lord has given to Moses, 23All the laws which the Lord has given you by the hand of Moses, from the day when the Lord gave them, and ever after from generation to generation; 24Then, if the wrong is done in error, without the knowledge of the meeting of the people, let all the meeting give a young ox as a burned offering, a sweet smell to the Lord, with its meal offering and its drink offering, as is ordered in the law, together with a he-goat for a sin-offering. 25So the priest will make the people free from sin, and they will have forgiveness; for it was an error, and they have given their offering made by fire to the Lord, and their sin-offering before the Lord, on account of their error: 26And all the meeting of the children of Israel, as well as those from other lands living among them, will have forgiveness; for it was an error on the part of the people. 27And if one person does wrong, without being conscious of it, then let him give a she-goat of the first year for a sin-offering. 28And the priest will take away the sin of the person who has done wrong, if the wrong was done unconsciously, and he will have forgiveness. 29The law in connection with wrong done unconsciously is to be the same for him who is an Israelite by birth and for the man from another country who is living among them. 30But the person who does wrong in the pride of his heart, if he is one of you or of another nation by birth, is acting without respect for the Lord, and will be cut off from his people. 31Because he had no respect for the word of the Lord, and did not keep his law, that man will be cut off without mercy and his sin will be on him. 32Now while the children of Israel were in the waste land, they saw a man who was getting sticks on the Sabbath day. 33And those who saw him getting sticks took him before Moses and Aaron and all the people. 34And they had him shut up, because they had no directions about what was to be done with him. 35Then the Lord said to Moses, Certainly the man is to be put to death: let him be stoned by all the people outside the tent-circle. 36So all the people took him outside the tent-circle and he was stoned to death there, as the Lord gave orders to Moses. 37And the Lord said to Moses, 38Say to the children of Israel that through all their generations they are to put on the edges of their robes an ornament of twisted threads, and in every ornament a blue cord; 39So that, looking on these ornaments, you may keep in mind the orders of the Lord and do them; and not be guided by the desires of your hearts and eyes, through which you have been untrue to me: 40And that you may keep in mind all my orders and do them and be holy to your God. 41I am the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt, so that I might be your God: I am the Lord your God.
Matthew Henry's Commentary
The law of the meat-offering and the drink-offering The stranger under the same law. (1-21) The sacrifice for the sin of ignorance. (22-29) The punishment of presumption The sabbath-breaker stoned. (30-36) The law for fringes on garment. (37-41) 1-21 Full instructions are given about the meat-offerings and drink-offerings. The beginning of this law is very encouraging, When ye come into the land of your habitation which I give unto you. This was a plain intimation that God would secure the promised land to their seed. It was requisite, since the sacrifices of acknowledgment were intended as the food of God's table, that there should be a constant supply of bread, oil, and wine, whatever the flesh-meat was. And the intent of this law is to direct the proportions of the meat-offering and drink-offering. Natives and strangers are placed on a level in this as in other like matters. It was a happy forewarning of the calling of the Gentiles, and of their admission into the church. If the law made so little difference between Jew and Gentile, much less would the gospel, which broke down the partition-wall, and reconciled both to God. 22-29 Though ignorance will in a degree excuse, it will not justify those who might have known their Lord's will, yet did it not. David prayed to be cleansed from his secret faults, those sins which he himself was not aware of. Sins committed ignorantly, shall be forgiven through Christ the great Sacrifice, who, when he offered up himself once for all upon the cross, seemed to explain one part of the intention of his offering, in that prayer, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. It looked favourably upon the Gentiles, that this law of atoning for sins of ignorance, is expressly made to extend to those who were strangers to Israel. 30-36 Those are to be reckoned presumptuous sinners, who sin designedly against God's will and glory. Sins thus committed are exceedingly sinful. He that thus breaks the commandment reproaches the Lord. He also despises the word of the Lord. Presumptuous sinners despise it, thinking themselves too great, too good, and too wise, to be ruled by it. A particular instance of presumption in the sin of sabbath-breaking is related. The offence was gathering sticks on the sabbath day, to make a fire, whereas the people were to bake and seethe what they had occasion for, the day before, #Ex 16:23|. This was done as an affront both to the law and to the Lawgiver. God is jealous for the honour of his sabbaths, and will not hold him guiltless who profanes them, whatever men may do. God intended this punishment for a warning to all, to make conscience of keeping holy the sabbath. And we may be assured that no command was ever given for the punishment of sin, which, at the judgment day, shall not prove to have come from perfect love and justice. The right of God to a day of devotion to himself, will be disputed and denied only by such as listen to the pride and unbelief of their hearts, rather than to the teaching of the Spirit of truth and life. Wherein consists the difference between him who was detected gathering sticks in the wilderness on the day of God, and the man who turns his back upon the blessings of sabbath appointments, and the promises of sabbath mercies, to use his time, his cares, and his soul, in heaping up riches; and waste his hours, his property, and his strength in sinful pleasure? Wealth may come by the unhallowed effort, but it will not come alone; it will have its awful reward. Sinful pursuits lead to ruin. 37-41 The people are ordered by the Lord to make fringes on the borders of their garments. The Jews were distinguished from their neighbours in their dress, as well as in their diet, and thus taught not to be conformed to the way of the heathen in other things. They proclaimed themselves Jews wherever they were, as not ashamed of God and his law. The fringes were not appointed for trimming and adorning their clothes, but to stir up their minds by way of remembrance, #2Pe 3:1|. If they were tempted to sin, the fringe would warn them not to break God's commandments. We should use every means of refreshing our memories with the truths and precepts of God's word, to strengthen and quicken our obedience, and arm our minds against temptation. Be holy unto your God; cleansed from sin, and sincerely devoted to his service; and that great reason for all the commandments is again and again repeated, "I am the Lord your God."