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Numbers 6
New Catholic Bible
Numbers 6
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 6
Nazirite Laws.[a] 1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘If a man or a woman dedicates himself or herself with a vow, a Nazirite vow to dedicate himself or herself unto the Lord, 3 that person will abstain from wine and strong drink. He will not drink any vinegar made from wine or from strong drink, nor will he drink any grape juice, nor will he eat grapes or raisins. 4 He is not to eat anything that comes from the vine, not even the seeds or the skins as long as he is a Nazirite. 5 No razor will touch his head all throughout the time of his vow. He is to be holy until the days of his vow have been completed. He will let the hair on his head grow long. 6 He is not to approach any dead body during the entire period of his vow to the Lord. 7 He is not to make himself unclean even for his father or mother if they were to die, nor his brother or sister, for the consecration of God is upon his head. 8 He is to be holy to the Lord all the days of his vow.
9 “ ‘But if someone were to die suddenly in his presence and defile his consecrated head, he is to shave his head on the day of his cleansing and he will shave it again on the seventh day. 10 Then on the eighth day he will bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 11 The priest will offer one of them as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering making atonement for the uncleanness caused by the dead person. On that same day he is to consecrate his head[b] 12 and he will dedicate his days of consecration unto the Lord. He will bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. The days that preceded this incident will not count, however, for his dedicated head had been defiled.
13 “ ‘This is the law concerning Nazirites when the time of their dedication is completed. He is to be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting. 14 He will bring a year-old male lamb without defect unto the Lord as a burnt offering, and a one-year-old ewe lamb without defect for a sin offering, and a one-year-old ram without defect as a peace offering 15 and a basket of unleavened bread made from fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers of bread with oil spread on them, and a cereal offering, and a drink offering. 16 The priest will bring them before the Lord and he will offer his sin offering and his burnt offering. 17 He will offer the ram as the sacrifice of a peace offering unto the Lord together with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest will also offer the cereal offering and the drink offering. 18 The Nazirite will shave his head at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He will take the hair that grew during the period when he was vowed and put it on the fire under the sacrifice of the peace offering. 19 The priest will take a shoulder of the ram that has been boiled, and an unleavened cake out of the basket, and an unleavened wafer, and he will put them into the hands of the Nazirite who has shaved off the hair of his vow. 20 The priest will wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. It is holy and will belong to the priest, along with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh that was presented. After this the Nazirite can drink wine. 21 This is the law of the Nazirite who has vowed his offering unto the Lord for his consecration (apart from what else he can afford). He must fulfill what he has vowed to do by the Nazirite law.’ ”
22 The Priests’ Blessing.[c] The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is how you will bless the people of Israel, saying to them,
24 “ ‘ “The Lord bless you and keep you.
25 The Lord shine his face upon you and be gracious to you.
26 The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace.” ’[d]
27 They will invoke my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 6:1 A Nazirite is a person consecrated to God by a vow. Samson was one (Jdg 13:5), as was the prophet Samuel (1 Sam 1:11); in the New Testament, perhaps John the Baptist (Lk 1:15) and Jesus himself (Mt 2:23) were Nazirites.
This state as a consecrated person is often mentioned in the Bible, but it underwent an evolution: initially it was regarded as a permanent gift but in the period in which the Book of Numbers was edited, it had become a temporary choice (see Acts 18:18; 21:23f, 26). - Numbers 6:11 The guilt here is purely legal.
- Numbers 6:22 Invoke my name upon the people of Israel means to make God benevolently present among the people. It is understandable that this text should have been adopted in the recent liturgical reform as an (optional) amplification of the blessing that the priest gives when he dismisses the people at the end of the Mass.
- Numbers 6:26 Give you peace: the Hebrew word is shalom and expresses a state of unanimity that can only be found through the Lord.
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
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