Bible Strands
Numbers 5:7
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses delivers this directive to the Israelites as part of the ceremonial law governing interpersonal offenses. The instruction activates immediately after a person is identified as guilty of committing a sin against another individual.
The words — The Hebrew verb וְהִתְוַדּוּ (ve-hitvadu) means "and they will confess," and וְהֵשִׁיב (ve-hešiv) translates to "and he will repay." These terms bind the offender's response to both spoken admission and material compensation.
The thread — The command to confess the sin committed appears in Leviticus 5:5 and Joshua 7:19, while the pattern of confessing iniquity is repeated in Leviticus 26:40. These passages treat verbal acknowledgment as the initial step before any atonement or restitution occurs.
Why it lands — The text requires the offender to name the specific wrong and transfer full financial restoration plus twenty percent to the victim. It demands measurable action rather than internal regret.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 5:5 If someone incurs guilt in one of these ways, he must confess the sin he has committed,
- Leviticus 26:40 But if they will confess their iniquity and that of their fathers in the unfaithfulness that they practiced against Me, by which they have also walked in hostility toward Me—
- Joshua 7:19 So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
- Leviticus 6:4 once he has sinned and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost property he found,
- Leviticus 7:7 The guilt offering is like the sin offering; the same law applies to both. It belongs to the priest who makes atonement with it.
- Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- Luke 19:8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”
- Leviticus 5:15 “If someone acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s holy things, he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD: an unblemished ram from the flock, of proper value in silver shekels according to the sanctuary shekel; it is a guilt offering.
- Job 33:27 Then he sings before men with these words: ‘I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved.
- Psalms 32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah