the whole congregation: This may refer to some oversight in acts of religious worship, or to some transgression of the letter of the law, which arose out of the peculiar circumstances in which they were found, as in the case mentioned in 1 Samuel 14:32, et seq. The sacrifices and rites in this case were the same as in the preceding; only here the elders laid their hands on the head of the victim, in the name of all the congregation.
through ignorance: Leviticus 4:1-2, Leviticus 5:2-5, Leviticus 5:17; Numbers 15:24-29; Joshua 7:11, Joshua 7:24-26; 1 Timothy 1:13; Hebrews 10:26-29
and are guilty: Leviticus 5:2-5, Leviticus 5:17, Leviticus 6:4; Ezra 10:19; Hosea 5:15 *marg. 1 Corinthians 11:27