^15:27“ ‘If any person²⁹ sins unintentionally, then he must bring a yearling female goat for a purification offering. ^15:28And the priest must make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally—when he sins unintentionally before the Lord—to make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven. ^15:29You must have one law for the person who sins unintentionally, both for the native-born among the Israelites and for the resident foreigner who lives among them.

Deliberate Sin

^15:30“ ‘But the person³⁰ who acts defiantly,³¹ whether native-born or a resident foreigner, insults³² the Lord.³³ That person³⁴ must be cut off³⁵ from among his people. ^15:31Because he has despised³⁶ the word of the Lord and has broken³⁷ his commandment, that person³⁸ must be completely cut off.³⁹ His iniquity will be on him.’ ”⁴⁰

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Footnotes

29 The Hebrew text has וְאִם־נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת (vé’im-nefesh ’akhat), sometime translated “and if any soul.” But the word describes the whole person, the soul in the body; it refers here to the individual who sins.
30 Heb “soul.”
31 The sin is described literally as acting “with a high hand”—בְּיָד רָמָה (béyad ramah). The expression means that someone would do something with deliberate defiance, with an arrogance in spite of what the Lord said. It is as if the sinner was about to attack God, or at least lifting his hand against God. The implication of the expression is that it was done in full knowledge of the Law (especially since this contrasts throughout with the sins of ignorance). Blatant defiance of the word of the Lord is dealt with differently. For similar expressions, see Exod 14:8 and Num 33:3.
32 The verb occurs only in the Piel; it means “to blaspheme,” “to revile.”
33 The word order in the Hebrew text places “Yahweh” first for emphasis—it is the Lord such a person insults.
34 Heb “soul.”
35 The clause begins with “and” because the verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. As discussed with Num 9:13, to be cut off could mean excommunication from the community, death by the community, or death by divine intervention.
36 The verb בָּזָה (bazah, “to despise”) means to treat something as worthless, to treat it with contempt, to look down the nose at something as it were.
37 The verb פָּרַר (parar, “to break”) can mean to nullify, break, or violate a covenant.
38 Heb “soul.”
39 The construction uses the Niphal imperfect with the modifying Niphal infinitive absolute. The infinitive makes the sentence more emphatic. If the imperfect tense is taken as an instruction imperfect, then the infinitive makes the instruction more binding. If it is a simple future, then the future is certain. In either case, there is no exclusion from being cut off.
40 The point is that the person’s iniquity remains with him—he must pay for his sin. The judgment of God in such a case is both appropriate and unavoidable.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally, to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“ ‘But if just one person sins unintentionally, that person must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering. The priest is to make atonement before the Lord for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made, that person will be forgiven. One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you.

“ ‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the Lord and must be cut off from the people of Israel. Because they have despised the Lord’s word and broken his commands, they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.’ ”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“If one person sins unintentionally, he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering. The priest will then make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the person who acts in error sinning unintentionally, and when he makes atonement for him, he will be forgiven. You are to have the same law for the person who acts in error, whether he is an Israelite or an alien who resides among you.

“But the person who acts defiantly, whether native or resident alien, blasphemes the Lord. That person is to be cut off from his people. He will certainly be cut off, because he has despised the Lord’s word and broken his command; his guilt remains on him.”

NLTNew Living Translation

“If one individual commits an unintentional sin, the guilty person must bring a one-year-old female goat for a sin offering. The priest will sacrifice it to purify the guilty person before the Lord, and that person will be forgiven. These same instructions apply both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you.

“But those who brazenly violate the Lord’s will, whether native-born Israelites or foreigners, have blasphemed the Lord, and they must be cut off from the community. Since they have treated the Lord’s word with contempt and deliberately disobeyed his command, they must be completely cut off and suffer the punishment for their guilt.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“ ‘If one person sins unintentionally, that person will present a female goat in its first year as a sin offering. And the priest will make atonement for the person who sinned unintentionally before Yahweh, to make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven. For the native among the Israelites and the alien that dwells in their midst, there will be one law for anyone who commits an unintentional wrong. But the one who acts presumptuously from among the native or alien blasphemes against Yahweh, and that person must be cut off from the midst of the people. Because he despised the word of Yahweh and broke his command, that person will be surely cut off and bear the guilt.’ ”

KJV 1900King James Version

And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. 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. Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.

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