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Numbers 19:1-10
New American Standard Bible
Numbers 19:1-10
New American Standard Bible
Ordinance of the Red Heifer
19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an (A)unblemished red heifer in which there is no defect and (B)on which a yoke has never [a]been mounted. 3 And you shall give it to (C)Eleazar the priest, and it shall (D)be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. 4 And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and (E)sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. 5 Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; (F)its hide, its flesh, and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. 6 And the priest shall take (G)cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet material, and throw it into the midst of the [b]burning heifer. 7 The priest (H)shall then wash his clothes and bathe his [c]body in water, and afterward come into the camp; but the priest will be [d]unclean until evening. 8 The one who burns [e]the heifer shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his [f]body in water, and will be unclean until evening. 9 Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them outside the camp in a clean place, and [g]the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep them for (I)water to remove impurity; it is [h]purification from sin. 10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer (J)shall wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening; and it shall be a permanent statute for the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 19:2 Lit gone up
- Numbers 19:6 Lit burning of the heifer
- Numbers 19:7 Lit flesh
- Numbers 19:7 I.e., ritually unclean, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 19:8 Lit it
- Numbers 19:8 Lit flesh
- Numbers 19:9 Lit it shall be to the congregation...Israel, for a guarding as water of impurity
- Numbers 19:9 Or a sin offering
Numbers 19:1-10
International Standard Version
Numbers 19:1-10
International Standard Version
The Red Heifer
19 The Lord told Moses and Aaron, 2 “This is the ordinance of the law that the Lord commanded that the Israelis be told: They are to bring you a spotless red heifer, without physical defect, that has never been fitted with a yoke. 3 They are to deliver it to Eleazar the priest, and it is to be brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take blood from it with his finger and sprinkle the blood in front of the Tent of Meeting. 5 The entire heifer is to be incinerated in his presence, including its skin, its flesh, its blood, and its dung. 6 Then the priest is to take some cedar[a] wood, hyssop, and scarlet material and throw it into the middle of the burning heifer. 7 The priest is to wash his clothes and bathe himself[b] with water, after which he may enter the camp, but he is to remain unclean until evening. 8 Whoever takes part in the burning is to wash his clothes and bathe himself[c] in water and is to remain unclean until the evening. 9 Then someone[d] who is clean is to gather the ashes of the heifer and lay them outside the camp in a clean place. This is to be done for the community of Israel to use for water of purification from sin. 10 Whoever gathers the ashes of the heifer is to wash his clothes and is to remain unclean until the evening. This ordinance is to remain for the benefit of both the Israelis and the resident aliens who live among them.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 19:6 I.e. a genus of coniferous evergreen in the family Pinaceae; and so throughout the book
- Numbers 19:7 Lit. bathe his flesh
- Numbers 19:8 Lit. bathe his flesh
- Numbers 19:9 Lit. man
Numbers 19:1-10
New International Version
Numbers 19:1-10
New International Version
The Water of Cleansing
19 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer(A) without defect or blemish(B) and that has never been under a yoke.(C) 3 Give it to Eleazar(D) the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp(E) and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle(F) it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. 5 While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines.(G) 6 The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop(H) and scarlet wool(I) and throw them onto the burning heifer. 7 After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water.(J) He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. 8 The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.
9 “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer(K) and put them in a ceremonially clean place(L) outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing;(M) it is for purification from sin.(N) 10 The man who gathers up(O) the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening.(P) This will be a lasting ordinance(Q) both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.(R)
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International Standard Version (ISV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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