Bible Strands
Numbers 15:28
And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the person who erred by sinning unintentionally; and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelite community in the wilderness, codifying the procedural response for individuals who commit transgressions without deliberate intent.
The words — כִפֶּר (kipper) describes the priest’s formal act of making atonement, while שְׁגָגָה (shegagah) restricts the provision to sins committed through inadvertence rather than willful rebellion.
The thread — This atonement procedure parallels the sin offering instructions in Leviticus 4:35 and extends the identical legal standard to both native-born Israelites and foreigners in Numbers 15:29.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that forgiveness is contingent upon the priest completing the prescribed mediation, establishing a fixed sequence where ritual action precedes pardon.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the Lord, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 4:35 And he shall remove all the fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the peace offerings, and he shall burn it on the altar along with the food offerings to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.