Discovery BoxNumbers 15:28-30 
Context15:28 And 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. 15:29 You 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.
15:30 “‘But the person 1 who acts defiantly, 2 whether native-born or a resident foreigner, insults 3 the Lord. 4 That person 5 must be cut off 6 from among his people.
1 tn Heb “soul.”
2 tn The sin is described literally as acting “with a high hand” – בְּיָד רָמָה (bÿyad ramah). The expression means that someone would do something with deliberate defiance, with an arrogance in spite of what the
3 tn The verb occurs only in the Piel; it means “to blaspheme,” “to revile.”
4 tn The word order in the Hebrew text places “Yahweh” first for emphasis – it is the
5 tn Heb “soul.”
6 tn 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.
