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Numbers 6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Numbers 6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Nazirites
6 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When either men or women make a special vow, the vow of a nazirite, to separate themselves to the Lord,(A) 3 they shall separate themselves from wine and strong drink; they shall drink no wine vinegar or other vinegar and shall not drink any grape juice or eat grapes, fresh or dried. 4 All their days as nazirites they shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.
5 “All the days of their nazirite vow no razor shall come upon the head; until the time is completed for which they separate themselves to the Lord, they shall be holy; they shall let the locks of the head grow long.(B)
6 “All the days that they separate themselves to the Lord they shall not go near a corpse.(C) 7 Even if their father or mother, brother or sister, should die, they may not defile themselves, because their consecration to God is upon the head. 8 All their days as nazirites they are holy to the Lord.
9 “If someone suddenly dies nearby, defiling the head of the nazirite, then they shall shave the head on the day of their cleansing; on the seventh day they shall shave it. 10 On the eighth day they shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting,(D) 11 and the priest shall offer one as a purification offering and the other as a burnt offering and make atonement for them, because they incurred guilt by reason of the corpse. They shall sanctify the head that same day 12 and separate themselves to the Lord for their days as nazirites and bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering. The former time shall be void because the nazarite was defiled.(E)
13 “This is the law for the nazirites when the time of their consecration has been completed: they shall be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting,(F) 14 and they shall offer their gift to the Lord, one male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering, one ewe lamb a year old without blemish as a purification offering, one ram without blemish as an offering of well-being,(G) 15 and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of choice flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, with their grain offering and their drink offerings.(H) 16 The priest shall present them before the Lord and offer their purification offering and burnt offering 17 and offer the ram as a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest also shall make the accompanying grain offering and drink offering. 18 Then the nazirites shall shave the consecrated head at the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall take the hair from the consecrated head and put it on the fire under the sacrifice of well-being.(I) 19 The priest shall take the shoulder of the ram, when it is boiled, and one unleavened cake out of the basket and one unleavened wafer and shall put them in the palms of the nazirites, after they have shaved the consecrated head. 20 Then the priest shall elevate them as an elevation offering before the Lord; they are a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast that is elevated and the thigh that is offered. After that the nazirites may drink wine.
21 “This is the law for the nazirites who take a vow. Their offering to the Lord must be in accordance with the nazirite vow, apart from what else they can afford. In accordance with whatever vow they take, so they shall do, following the law for their consecration.”
The Priestly Benediction
22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them:(J)
24 The Lord bless you and keep you;(K)
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;(L)
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.(M)
27 “So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”(N)
Numbers 6
New American Standard Bible 1995
Numbers 6
New American Standard Bible 1995
Law of the Nazirites
6 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a [a]special vow, the vow of (A)a [b]Nazirite, to [c]dedicate himself to the Lord, 3 he shall (B)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. 4 All the days of his [d]separation he shall not eat anything that is produced by the grape vine, from the seeds even to the skin.
5 ‘All the days of his vow of separation (C)no razor shall pass over his head. He shall be holy until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord; he shall let the locks of hair on his head grow long.
6 ‘(D)All the days of his separation to the Lord he shall not go near to a dead person. 7 He (E)shall not make himself unclean for his father or for his mother, for his brother or for his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. 8 All the days of his separation he is holy to the Lord.
9 ‘But if a man dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his dedicated head of hair, then (F)he shall shave his head on the day when he becomes clean; (G)he shall shave it on the seventh day. 10 Then on the eighth day he shall bring (H)two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting. 11 The priest shall offer (I)one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him [e]concerning his sin because of the dead person. And that same day he shall consecrate his head, 12 and shall dedicate to the Lord his days [f]as a [g]Nazirite, and shall bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering; but the former days will be void because his separation was defiled.
13 ‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite (J)when the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall bring [h]the offering to the doorway of the tent of meeting. 14 He shall present his offering to the Lord: one male lamb a year old without defect for a burnt offering and one (K)ewe-lamb a year old without defect for a sin offering and one ram without defect for a peace offering, 15 and a basket of (L)unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers spread with oil, along with (M)their grain offering and their drink offering. 16 Then the priest shall present them before the Lord and shall offer his sin offering and his burnt offering. 17 He shall also offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened cakes; the priest shall likewise offer its grain offering and its drink offering. 18 (N)The Nazirite shall then shave his dedicated head of hair at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and take the dedicated hair of his head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings. 19 (O)The priest shall take the ram’s shoulder when it has been boiled, and one unleavened cake out of the basket and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the [i]hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his [j]dedicated hair. 20 Then the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. It is holy for the priest, together with the breast offered by waving and the thigh offered by lifting up; and (P)afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.’
21 “This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord according to his separation, in addition to what else [k]he can afford; according to his vow which he takes, so he shall do according to the law of his separation.”
Aaron’s Benediction
22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus (Q)you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them:
27 So they shall [l](X)invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 6:2 Or difficult
- Numbers 6:2 I.e. one separated
- Numbers 6:2 Or live as a Nazirite
- Numbers 6:4 Or living as a Nazirite, and so through v 21
- Numbers 6:11 Lit because of that which he sinned
- Numbers 6:12 Or of dedication
- Numbers 6:12 I.e. one separated
- Numbers 6:13 Lit it
- Numbers 6:19 Lit palms
- Numbers 6:19 Or separated
- Numbers 6:21 Lit his hand can reach
- Numbers 6:27 Lit put
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
Numbers 6
Contemporary English Version
Numbers 6
Contemporary English Version
Rules for Nazirites
6 The Lord told Moses 2 to say to the people of Israel:
If any of you want to dedicate yourself to me by vowing to become a Nazirite, 3 (A) you must no longer drink any wine or beer or use any kind of vinegar. Don't drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins— 4 not even the seeds or skins.
5 The hair of a Nazirite is sacred to me, and as long as you are a Nazirite, you must never cut your hair.
6 During the time that you are a Nazirite, you must never go close to a dead body, 7-8 not even that of your father, mother, brother, or sister. That would make you unclean. Your hair is the sign that you are dedicated to me, so remain holy.
9 If someone suddenly dies near you, your hair is no longer sacred, and you must shave it seven days later during the ceremony to make you clean. 10 Then on the next day, bring two doves or two pigeons to the priest at the sacred tent. 11 He will offer one of the birds as a sacrifice for sin and the other as a sacrifice to please me.[a] You will then be forgiven for being too near a dead body, and your hair will again become sacred. 12 But the dead body made you unacceptable, so you must make another vow to become a Nazirite and be dedicated once more. Finally, a year-old ram must be offered as the sacrifice to make things right.
13 (B) When you have completed your promised time of being a Nazirite, go to the sacred tent 14 and offer three animals that have nothing wrong with them: a year-old ram as a sacrifice to please me, a year-old female lamb as a sacrifice for sin, and a full-grown ram as a sacrifice to ask my blessing.[b] 15 Wine offerings and grain sacrifices must also be brought with these animals. Finally, you are to bring a basket of bread made with your finest flour and olive oil, but without yeast. Also bring some thin wafers brushed with oil.
16 The priest will take these gifts to my altar and offer them, so that I will be pleased and will forgive you. 17 Then he will sacrifice the ram and offer the wine, grain, and bread.
18 After that, you will stand at the entrance to the sacred tent, shave your head, and put the hair in the fire where the priest has offered the sacrifice to ask my blessing.
19 Once the meat from the ram's shoulder has been boiled, the priest will take it, along with one loaf of bread and one wafer brushed with oil, and give them to you. 20 You will hand them back to the priest, who will lift them up[c] in dedication to me. Then he can eat the meat from the ram's shoulder, its choice ribs, and its hind leg, because this is his share of the sacrifice. After this, you will no longer be a Nazirite, and you will be free to drink wine.
21 These are the requirements for Nazirites. However, if you can afford to offer more, you must do so.
The Blessing for the People
22 The Lord told Moses, 23 “When Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel, they must say:
24 I pray that the Lord
will bless and protect you,
25 and that he will show you mercy
and kindness.
26 May the Lord be good to you
and give you peace.”
27 Then the Lord said, “If Aaron and his sons ask me to bless the Israelites, I will give them my blessing.”
Footnotes
- 6.11 sacrifice to please me: This sacrifice has traditionally been called a “whole burnt offering,” because the whole animal was burned on the altar. A main purpose of such a sacrifice was to please the Lord with the smell of the sacrifice, and so in the CEV it is often called “a sacrifice to please the Lord.”
- 6.14 sacrifice to ask my blessing: This sacrifice has traditionally been called a “peace offering” or an “offering of well-being.” A main purpose of such a sacrifice was to ask the Lord's blessing, and so in the CEV it is often called a “sacrifice to ask the Lord's blessing.”
- 6.20 lift them up: See the note at 5.25.
Numbers 6
King James Version
Numbers 6
King James Version
6 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord:
3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
6 All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body.
7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head.
8 All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord.
9 And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it.
10 And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
11 And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day.
12 And he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.
13 And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
14 And he shall offer his offering unto the Lord, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings,
15 And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings.
16 And the priest shall bring them before the Lord, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering:
17 And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat offering, and his drink offering.
18 And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings.
19 And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven:
20 And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord: this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazarite may drink wine.
21 This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the Lord for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation.
22 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
27 And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.