Numbers 15:31

Num 15:31 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.

Ver. 31. That gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day.] This he did with a high hand, as Num 15:30, in contempt of God and his law. The baser sort of people in Sweden do always break the Sabbath day, saying, that it is only for gentlemen to keep that day. {a} How much better that poor Indian in New England, who, coming by, and seeing one of the English profaning of the Lord’s day, by felling of a tree, said unto him, Do you not know that this is the Lord’s day? Much machet man, i.e., very wicked man, what! break you God’s day? {b} The best and wealthiest of the Jews, to prevent servile work on the Sabbath day, with their own hands chop the herbs, sweep the house, cleave wood, kindle the fire, &c., on the day before. {c}

{a} Mr Abbot’s Sermons.

{b} New England’s Firstfruits, p. 4.

{c} Buxtorf. Synagog.

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.

He shall sustain the punishment of his sin.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

his iniquity shall be upon him--The punishment of his sins shall fall on himself individually; no guilt shall be incurred by the nation, unless there be a criminal carelessness in overlooking the offense.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

31. his iniquity shall be upon him] with his iniquity upon him. The sinner shall be ‘cut off’ (see on Num_9:13) with the burden of his sin still attaching to him, and unatoned for. In the Christian dispensation the one great Sacrifice has procured atonement for all sinners who repent, even though, like the crucified robber, they have sinned with an high hand.

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.

And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness,.... According to Aben Ezra, in the wilderness of Sinai; for it is a common notion of the Jews, that though this fact is recorded here, yet was committed the first year the Israelites came out of Egypt, quickly after the giving the law of the sabbath: hence Jarchi remarks, that the Scripture speaks of this to the reproach of the Israelites, that they kept only the first sabbath, and on the second this man came and profaned it; but it seems rather to be in the wilderness of Paran where this fact was committed, after the business of the spies and the discomfiture of Israel, and the above laws were given; and stands here in its proper place as an instance of a presumptuous sinner, cut off from his people, according to the above law, which it immediately follows:

they found a man that gathered sticks on the sabbath day; plucking them up by the roots, as the Targum of Jonathan, as stubble and the like; for the word signifies gathering straw or stubble, or such like light things, as Ben Melech observes, and binding them in bundles for fuel; and this was done on the sabbath day, by which it appears that that was to be kept in the wilderness, though the laws before mentioned concerning sacrifices, and the cake of the first dough, were not to be put in execution until Israel came into the land of Canaan; and according to the Targum of Jonathan this man was of the house of Joseph, and in the Talmud (y) it is expressly said that he was Zelophehad, who was a descendant of Joseph.

(y) T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 96. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

i.e. The punishment shall be confined to himself, and not fall upon the congregation, as it will do, if they neglect to cut him off.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

31. Utterly be cut off — See Lev_7:20, note. This excision from the living is a foreshadowing of the capital punishment of all who have rejected Jesus Christ, the Son of God and King of angels and men. See Mat_25:46, note.

His iniquity — The punishment of his iniquity shall be upon him.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

His iniquity... upon him. Hb hnwO, "its crime upon it," i.e., the sin of that soul must come upon it in punishment.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

דבר ה׳ [BECAUSE HE HATH SCORNED] THE WORD OF THE LORD — The prohibition of idolatry (אנכי and לא יהיה לך) the people heard from the mouth of the Lord but all the other commandments from the mouth of Moses (therefore the prohibition of idolatry is called דבר ה׳ “the utterance of the Lord”) (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 112:2; Sanhedrin 99a).

עונה בה [THAT PERSON SHALL UTTERLY BE CUT OFF] HIS INIQUITY IS UPON HIM — only at the time when (under the circumstances that) his iniquity is upon him shall he be cut off, i.e., in the case that he has not repented (Sanhedrin 90b).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

HIS INIQUITY SHALL BE UPON HIM. “This means only as long as his iniquity is upon him, but not after he has repented.” This is Rashi’s language, from the words of our Rabbis. According to the plain meaning of Scripture, this expression [his iniquity shall be upon him] is like: their blood shall be upon them; they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless;, Verse 20. he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity, Verse 17. [the meaning of all these verses being that the guilty have brought the punishment upon themselves]. Now I have seen in the Pirkei Derech Eretz [the following text]: “What is [the meaning of the expression], his iniquity shall be upon him? It teaches us that the soul is cut off, and [yet] its iniquity is upon it.” That is to say, the sin attaches to it [the soul] even after it is cut off, and it is punished in suffering forever, similar to [the verse], for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.