Numbers 5:7

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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:

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

את אשמו בראשו [HE SHALL RESTORE] THAT WHEREIN HE IS GUILTY, AS BEING THE CHIEF SUM — This means, he shall restore the principal about which he has sworn falsely (Bava Kamma 110a).

לאשר אשם לו [AND HE SHALL RESTORE THE PRINCIPAL … AND GIVE UNTO HIM] TO WHOM HE IS GUILTY — i.e. unto him to whom he (the claimant) owes money (Ketubot 19a).

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.

They shall confess. Whether it was a man or a woman.

The principal amount. As it is and no less.

And add one fifth to that amount. If he confesses on his own. If there are witnesses, he must add two fifths (Vayikro 5:24: “And an additional fifth”). Our Sages said, though, he must bring an additional fifth of that fifth, or a twenty-fifth.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.