then he shall confess his sin which he has done; and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, add to it the fifth part of it, and give it to him in respect of whom he has been guilty.
Parallel Translations
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then he shall confess his sin which he has done; and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, add to it the fifth part of it, and give it to him in respect of whom he has been guilty.
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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.
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then they shall confess their sin which they have done; and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him in respect of whom he hath been guilty.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Commandments (1)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Numbers 5:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Leviticus 5:5 It shall be, when he is guilty of one of these, he shall confess that in which he has sinned;
- Leviticus 26:40 “ ‘If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, in their trespass which they trespassed against me; and also that because they walked contrary to me,
- Joshua 7:19 Joshua said to Achan, “My son, please give glory to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and make confession to him. Tell me now what you have done! Don’t hide it from me!”
- Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins doesn’t prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
- Luke 19:8 Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.”
- Leviticus 5:15 “If anyone commits a trespass, and sins unwittingly regarding Yahweh’s holy things, then he shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh: a ram without defect from the flock, according to your estimation in silver by shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering.
- Leviticus 6:4-7 then it shall be, if he has sinned, and is guilty, he shall restore that which he took by robbery, or the thing which he has gotten by oppression, or the deposit which was committed to him, or the lost thing which he found, or any thing about which he has sworn falsely: he shall restore it in full, and shall add a fifth part more to it. He shall return it to him to whom it belongs in the day of his being found guilty. He shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh: a ram without defect from the flock, according to your estimation, for a trespass offering, to the priest. The priest shall make atonement for him before Yahweh, and he will be forgiven concerning whatever he does to become guilty.”
- Leviticus 7:7 “ ‘As is the sin offering, so is the trespass offering; there is one law for them. The priest who makes atonement with them shall have it.
- Job 33:27-28 He sings before men, and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it didn’t profit me. He has redeemed my soul from going into the pit. My life will see the light.’
- Psalms 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn’t hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
- 1 John 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we haven’t sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Num 5:7 Then they shall confess their sin which…
Num 5:7 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.
Ver. 7. Then they shall confess their sin.] So they were bound to do, all their sins. {Pro 28:13 Job 33:27-28} Confessio peccati est medicina peccati, saith Nazianzen; a sin acknowledged is half amended.
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And he shall recompense his trespass.] Restitution must be made of goods unjustly detained, or else you shall cough in hell, said Mr Latimer. Our King Henry VII, in his last will and testament, after the disposing of his soul and body, he devised and willed restitution should be made, of all such moneys as had unjustly been levied by his officers. {a} So did Selymus the great Turk give orders at his death for the restoring and recompensing of the great treasure he had taken from the Persian merchants. {b}
{a} Speed’s Hist., fol. 995.
{b} Turk. Hist., fol. 767.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain They shall not continue in the denial of the…
They shall not continue in the denial of the fact, as such persons oft do, but shall give glory to God, and take shame to themselves, by acknowledging their sin with grief and remorse. See Lev 5:5; 6:4.
With the principal thereof; i.e. the thing he took away, or what is equivalent to it.
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The fifth part thereof is added both as a compensation to the injured person for the want of his goods so long, and for his trouble for the supposed utter loss of them, and as a penalty upon the injurious dealer to discourage others from such attempts.
Quest. How doth this agree with that law, Exo 22:1?
Answer. That law was made against notorious and obstinate thieves, who were legally convicted of their crime, and this against more modest thieves, whose necessities might induce them to steal, and whose consciences are affected with their sin.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then they shall confess their sin which they have…
Then they shall confess their sin which they have done,.... The form of which confession, according to Fagius, was, O Lord, I am guilty of death, I have deserved to be stoned for this sin, or to be strangled for this trespass, or to be burnt for this crime, &c.
and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof; paying the whole of whatsoever he had in any manner defrauded his neighbour of, to which he was to add a fifth part of that; that is, as Aben Ezra interprets it, it he confesses of himself, but if there are witnesses of it he must add two fifths, and some say a fifth of a fifth:
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and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed; as a satisfaction for the injury done him.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain They shall confess their sin - They shall not…
They shall confess their sin - They shall not continue in the denial of the fact, but give glory to God, and take shame to themselves by acknowledging it. The principal - That is, the thing he took away, or what is equivalent to it. And add - Both as a compensation to the injured person for the want of his goods so long, and as a penalty upon the injurious dealer, to discourage others from such attempts.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 7. Shall confess their sin] Without confession or…
Verse 7. Shall confess their sin] Without confession or acknowledgment of sin, there was no hope of mercy held out.
He shall recompense] For without restitution, in every possible case, God will not for give the iniquity of a man's sin. How can any person in a case of defraud, with his neighbour's property in his possession, expect to receive mercy from the hand of a just and holy God?
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See this subject considered in Clarke's notes on "Ge 42:38".
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Num 5:7. They shall confess their sin — They…
Num 5:7. They shall confess their sin — They shall not continue in the denial of the fact, but give glory to God, and take shame to themselves by acknowledging it. The principal — That is, the thing he took away, or what is equivalent to it. And add — Both as a compensation to the injured person for want of his goods so long, and as a penalty upon the injurious dealer, to discourage others from such attempts.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Shall confess. This confession and satisfaction, ordained in the…
Shall confess. This confession and satisfaction, ordained in the old law, was a figure of the sacrament of penance. (Challoner) --- A special confession of their sin, with satisfaction, and a sacrifice, are required. So Christ orders us to lay open our consciences to his priests, St. John. xx., &c. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 7. They shall confess their sin — This was…
7. They shall confess their sin — This was not a forced acknowledgment of a person detected in dishonesty which he is trying to hide, but a voluntary confession of a truly penitent heart conscious of guilt. Confession is the ordained manifestation of sincere sorrow for sin.
The principal… and fifth part — Restitution, if possible, must always accompany true repentance. To confess and still clutch the “guilty prize” is a mockery of God and man. The fifth part of the value was to be added to compensate the injured person, If the crime had not been voluntarily confessed, but had been lawfully proven, the convicted thief would have been liable to a fine of fourfold if the thing had been sold or the animal slain, and there was no possibility of voluntary restitution. Exo_22:1. The difference is, that the one is directed against flagrant and wilful thieves, and the other against those who have committed fraud through extreme want and strong temptation, and against the light of conscience which is now giving them no rest, but is prompting them to confession.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 7. make restitution for his guilt] lit. ‘restore his…
7. make restitution for his guilt] lit. ‘restore his guilt,’ abstract for concrete; he shall restore that which he guiltily holds in possession; and similarly in Num_5:8.
the fifth part] The same compensation is enjoined in other cases—the eating of sacred food unwittingly (Lev_22:14), the redemption of an unclean animal that has been vowed (Lev_27:11-13), or that is a firstling (id. 27), and the redemption of tithe (id. 31).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 5:7 This restitution and the guilt offering (see Lev…
5:7 This restitution and the guilt offering (see Lev 6–7) associated with the sin was intended to inculcate a heightened sense of individual responsibility to God’s holiness.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.