🔢WEB · Numbers 15:26
What does Numbers 15:26 mean?
"All the congregation of the children of Israel shall be forgiven, as well as the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them; for with regard to all the people, it was done unwittingly."
— Numbers 15:26 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
even all that Yahweh has commanded you by Moses, from the day that Yahweh gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations;
then it shall be, if it was done unwittingly, without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bull for a burnt offering, for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh, with its meal offering, and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat for a sin offering.
The priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and they shall be forgiven; for it was an error, and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire to Yahweh, and their sin offering before Yahweh, for their error.
All the congregation of the children of Israel shall be forgiven, as well as the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them; for with regard to all the people, it was done unwittingly.
“‘If one person sins unwittingly, then he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering.
The priest shall make atonement for the soul who errs, when he sins unwittingly before Yahweh, to make atonement for him; and he shall be forgiven.
You shall have one law for him who does anything unwittingly, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them.
Explanation
Numbers 15:26 speaks to a specific situation: when the whole community of Israel unintentionally fails to follow one of God's commands. The verse promises that if the sin was unwitting—done in ignorance or by mistake, not in willful defiance—then the entire congregation, including foreigners living among them, will be forgiven once the prescribed offering is made. The preceding verses (15:22-25) explain that this forgiveness comes through a specific atonement ritual: a young bull offered as a burnt offering along with its grain and drink offerings, plus a male goat as a sin offering, presented by the priest on behalf of the whole assembly.
To understand this verse rightly, it helps to know its context. The book of Numbers records Israel's wilderness journey after the exodus from Egypt, and chapter 15 comes right after the disastrous episode of the twelve spies, where the people's unbelief led to judgment and a forty-year delay before entering the Promised Land. In the middle of that heavy narrative, God gives instructions about future life in the land, including how to handle unintentional sin. This section distinguishes between sins committed "unwittingly" (by mistake or ignorance) and sins committed "with a high hand" (in deliberate, defiant rebellion, addressed in verses 30-31). The inclusion of "the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them" is notable—it shows that the same provision for atonement and forgiveness applied not only to native Israelites but also to non-Israelites residing within the community, reflecting a consistent principle of one law
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