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Numbers 6
Christian Standard Bible
Numbers 6
Christian Standard Bible
The Nazirite Vow
6 The Lord instructed Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow,(A) to consecrate himself to the Lord, 3 he is to abstain 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. 4 He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during the period of his consecration.
5 “You must not cut his hair[a] throughout the time of his vow of consecration. He may 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. 6 He must not go near a dead body during the time he consecrates himself to the Lord.(C) 7 He is not to defile himself for his father or mother, or his brother or sister, when they die, while the mark of consecration to his God is on his head. 8 He is holy to the Lord(D) during the time of consecration.
9 “If someone suddenly dies near him, defiling his consecrated head, 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 incurred guilt because of the corpse. On that day he is to consecrate 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 guilt offering.(I) But do not count the initial period of consecration because it became defiled.
13 “This is the law of the Nazirite: On the day his time of consecration is completed, he is to 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 present 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 “These are the instructions about 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 instructions for his consecration.”
The Priestly Blessing
22 The Lord spoke to Moses: 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. You should say to them,
24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you;(S)
25 may the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;(T)
26 may the Lord look with favor on you[b]
and give you peace.”’(U)
27 In this way they will pronounce my name over[c] the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
Numbers 6
Amplified Bible
Numbers 6
Amplified Bible
Law of the Nazirites
6 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘When a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, that is, one separated and dedicated to the Lord, 3 he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes.(A) 4 [a]All the time of his separation he shall not eat anything produced from the grapevine, from the seeds even to the skins.
5 ‘All the time of the vow of his separation no razor shall be used on his head. Until the time of his separation to the Lord is completed, he shall be holy, and shall let the hair of his head grow long.
6 ‘All the time that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. 7 He shall not make himself [ceremonially] unclean for his father, mother, brother, or sister, when they die, because [the responsibility for] his separation to God is on his head. 8 All the time of his separation he is holy to the Lord.
9 ‘If a man dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his dedicated head, then he shall shave his head on the day that he becomes [ceremonially] clean; he shall shave it on the seventh day [the end of the purification period]. 10 On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). 11 The priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering and make atonement for him concerning his sin because of the [dead] body. He shall consecrate his head the same day, 12 and he shall dedicate himself to the Lord for the time of his separation and shall bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering; but the previous days will be void and lost, because his separation was defiled.
13 ‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the days of his separation and dedication are fulfilled: he shall bring the offering to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). 14 and he shall offer his gift to the Lord: one male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering, and one female lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one ram without blemish as a peace offering, 15 and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread spread with oil, along with their grain offering and their drink offering. 16 Then the priest shall present them before the Lord and shall offer the person’s sin offering and his burnt offering. 17 He shall also offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall offer also its grain offering and its drink offering. 18 The Nazirite shall shave his dedicated head at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and take the dedicated hair of his head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings. 19 The priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened [ring-shaped] loaf out of the basket, and one unleavened flat cake and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his dedicated hair. 20 Then the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord; they are a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is offered by lifting up; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.’
21 “This is the law for the [b]Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord for his separation, besides what else [c]he is able to afford, according to the vow which he has vowed; so shall he do according to the law for his separation and abstinence [as a Nazirite].”(B)
Aaron’s Benediction
22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24
The Lord bless you, and keep you [protect you, sustain you, and guard you];
25
The Lord make His face shine upon you [with favor],
And be gracious to you [surrounding you with lovingkindness];
26
The Lord lift up His countenance (face) upon you [with divine approval],
And give you peace [a tranquil heart and life].’
27 So Aaron and his sons shall put My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 6:4 Lit All the days of his consecration and so throughout.
- Numbers 6:21 Normally, the Nazirite vow was for a limited duration (usually two weeks). Samson’s Nazirite vow was special in that it seemed to have involved a lifetime commitment (Judg 13:1-16:31).
- Numbers 6:21 Lit his hand can reach.
Numbers 6
New International Version
Numbers 6
New International Version
The Nazirite
6 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man or woman wants to make a special vow(A), a vow of dedication(B) to the Lord as a Nazirite,(C) 3 they must abstain from wine(D) and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar(E) made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes(F) or raisins. 4 As long as they remain under their Nazirite vow, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
5 “‘During the entire period of their Nazirite vow, no razor(G) may be used on their head.(H) They must be holy until the period of their dedication to the Lord is over; they must let their hair grow long.
6 “‘Throughout the period of their dedication to the Lord, the Nazirite must not go near a dead body.(I) 7 Even if their own father or mother or brother or sister dies, they must not make themselves ceremonially unclean(J) on account of them, because the symbol of their dedication to God is on their head. 8 Throughout the period of their dedication, they are consecrated to the Lord.
9 “‘If someone dies suddenly in the Nazirite’s presence, thus defiling the hair that symbolizes their dedication,(K) they must shave their head on the seventh day—the day of their cleansing.(L) 10 Then on the eighth day(M) they must bring two doves or two young pigeons(N) to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting.(O) 11 The priest is to offer one as a sin offering[a](P) and the other as a burnt offering(Q) to make atonement(R) for the Nazirite because they sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day they are to consecrate their head again. 12 They must rededicate themselves to the Lord for the same period of dedication and must bring a year-old male lamb(S) as a guilt offering.(T) The previous days do not count, because they became defiled during their period of dedication.
13 “‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the period of their dedication is over.(U) They are to be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting.(V) 14 There they are to present their offerings to the Lord: a year-old male lamb without defect(W) for a burnt offering, a year-old ewe lamb without defect for a sin offering,(X) a ram(Y) without defect for a fellowship offering,(Z) 15 together with their grain offerings(AA) and drink offerings,(AB) and a basket of bread made with the finest flour and without yeast—thick loaves with olive oil mixed in, and thin loaves brushed with olive oil.(AC)
16 “‘The priest is to present all these(AD) before the Lord(AE) and make the sin offering and the burnt offering.(AF) 17 He is to present the basket of unleavened bread and is to sacrifice the ram as a fellowship offering(AG) to the Lord, together with its grain offering(AH) and drink offering.(AI)
18 “‘Then at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the Nazirite must shave off the hair that symbolizes their dedication.(AJ) They are to take the hair and put it in the fire that is under the sacrifice of the fellowship offering.
19 “‘After the Nazirite has shaved off the hair that symbolizes their dedication, the priest is to place in their hands a boiled shoulder of the ram, and one thick loaf and one thin loaf from the basket, both made without yeast.(AK) 20 The priest shall then wave these before the Lord as a wave offering;(AL) they are holy(AM) and belong to the priest, together with the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented.(AN) After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.(AO)
21 “‘This is the law of the Nazirite(AP) who vows offerings to the Lord in accordance with their dedication, in addition to whatever else they can afford. They must fulfill the vows(AQ) they have made, according to the law of the Nazirite.’”
The Priestly Blessing
22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless(AR) the Israelites. Say to them:
24 “‘“The Lord bless you(AS)
and keep you;(AT)
25 the Lord make his face shine on you(AU)
and be gracious to you;(AV)
26 the Lord turn his face(AW) toward you
and give you peace.(AX)”’
27 “So they will put my name(AY) on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 6:11 Or purification offering; also in verses 14 and 16
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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New International Version (NIV) 
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