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1-2 The Lord gave Moses these further instructions for the people of Israel: “When either a man or a woman takes the special vow of a Nazirite, consecrating himself to the Lord in a special way, 3-4 he must not thereafter, during the entire period of his special consecration to the Lord, taste strong drink or wine or even fresh wine, grape juice, grapes, or raisins! He may eat nothing that comes from grapevines, not even the seeds or skins!

“Throughout that time he must never cut his hair, for he is holy and consecrated to the Lord; that is why he must let his hair grow.

6-7 “And he may not go near any dead body during the entire period of his vow, even if it is the body of his father, mother, brother, or sister; for his vow of consecration remains in effect, and he is consecrated to the Lord throughout the entire period. If he is defiled by having someone fall dead beside him, then seven days later he shall shave his defiled head; he will then be cleansed from the contamination of being in the presence of death. 10 The next day, the eighth day, he must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 11 The priest shall offer one of the birds for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for his defilement. And he must renew his vows that day and let his hair begin to grow again. 12 The days of his vow that were fulfilled before his defilement no longer count. He must begin all over again with a new vow, and must bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering.

13 “At the conclusion of the period of his vow of separation to the Lord, he must go to the entrance of the Tabernacle 14 and offer a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, a year-old lamb without defect. He must also offer a sin offering, a yearling ewe lamb without defect; a peace offering, a ram without defect; 15 a basket of bread made without yeast; pancakes made of fine flour mixed with olive oil; unleavened wafers spread with oil; and the accompanying grain offering and drink offerings. 16 The priest shall present these offerings before the Lord: first the sin offering and the burnt offering; 17 then the ram for a peace offering, along with the basket of bread made without yeast; and finally the grain offering along with the drink offering.

18 “Then the Nazirite shall shave his long hair—the sign of his vow of separation. This shall be done at the entrance of the Tabernacle, after which the hair shall be put in the fire under the peace offering sacrifice. 19 After the man’s head has been shaved, the priest shall take the roasted shoulder of the lamb, one of the pancakes (made without yeast), and one of the wafers (also made without yeast), and put them all into the man’s hands. 20 The priest shall then wave it all back and forth before the Lord in a gesture of offering; all of it is a holy portion for the priest, as are the rib piece and shoulder that were waved before the Lord. After that the Nazirite may again drink wine, for he is freed from his vow.

21 “These are the regulations concerning a Nazirite and his sacrifices at the conclusion of his period of special dedication. In addition to these sacrifices he must bring any further offering he promised at the time he took his vow to become a Nazirite.”

22-23 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons that they are to give this special blessing to the people of Israel: 24-26 ‘May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.’ 27 This is how Aaron and his sons shall call down my blessings[a] upon the people of Israel; and I myself will personally bless them.”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 6:27 shall call down my blessings, literally, “shall put my name upon the people of Israel.”

The Nazirite Vow

The Lord instructed Moses: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow,(A) to consecrate himself to[a] the Lord, he is to abstain[b] from wine and beer.(B) He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin,[c] during his vow.

“You must not cut his hair[d] throughout the time of his vow of consecration. He must be holy until the time is completed during which he consecrates himself to the Lord; he is to let the hair of his head grow long. He must not go near a dead body during the time he consecrates himself to the Lord.(C) He is not to defile himself for his father or mother, or his brother or sister, when they die, because the hair consecrated to his God is on his head. He is holy to the Lord(D) during the time of consecration.

“If someone suddenly dies near him, defiling his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his purification; he is to shave it on the seventh day.(E) 10 On the eighth day he is to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting.(F) 11 The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering(G) to make atonement on behalf of the Nazirite, since he sinned because of the corpse. On that day he must consecrate[e] his head again.(H) 12 He is to rededicate his time of consecration to the Lord and to bring a year-old male lamb as a restitution offering.(I) But do not count the previous period, because his consecrated hair became defiled.

13 “This is the law of the Nazirite: On the day his time of consecration is completed, he must be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting.(J) 14 He is to present an offering to the Lord(K) of one unblemished year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, one unblemished year-old female lamb as a sin offering, one unblemished ram as a fellowship offering,(L) 15 along with their grain offerings and drink offerings,(M) and a basket of unleavened cakes made from fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil.(N)

16 “The priest is to present these before the Lord and sacrifice the Nazirite’s sin offering and burnt offering. 17 He will also offer the ram as a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread. Then the priest will offer the accompanying grain offering and drink offering.

18 “The Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head at the entrance to the tent of meeting, take the hair from his head, and put it on the fire under the fellowship sacrifice. 19 The priest is to take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them into the hands(O) of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated head. 20 The priest is to wave them as a presentation offering before the Lord.(P) It is a holy portion for the priest, in addition to the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution.(Q) After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.

21 “This is the ritual of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord for his consecration,(R) in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow he makes in keeping with the ritual for his consecration.”

The Priestly Blessing

22 The Lord spoke to Moses: 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

24 May Yahweh bless you and protect you;(S)
25 may Yahweh make His face shine on you
and be gracious to you;(T)
26 may Yahweh look with favor on you[f]
and give you peace.[g](U)

27 In this way they will pronounce My name over[h] the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 6:2 Or vow, to live as a Nazirite for
  2. Numbers 6:3 In Hb, the words Nazirite, consecrate, and abstain are related and involve the idea of separation.
  3. Numbers 6:4 Or from unripe grapes to hulls
  4. Numbers 6:5 Lit A razor is not to pass over his head
  5. Numbers 6:11 Lit set apart
  6. Numbers 6:26 Lit Lord lift His face to you
  7. Numbers 6:26 Or prosperity
  8. Numbers 6:27 Or put My name on