Numbers 6

Lexham English Bible

Rules Concerning Nazirites

6 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the Israelites^[a] and say to them, ‘When a man or a woman takes a special vow, a vow of a Nazirite,^[b] to keep separate for Yahweh, ³ he will abstain from wine and fermented drink; he will not drink wine vinegar or vinegar of fermented drink; he will not drink the fruit juice of grapes or eat fresh or dry grapes. ⁴ All the days of his separation^[c] you will not eat from anything that is made from the grapevine, from sour grapes to the skin of grapes.

⁵ “‘All the days of the vow of his separation a razor will not pass over his head. Until fulfilling the days that he separated himself to Yahweh he will be holy and grow long the locks of the hair of his head.

⁶ “‘All the days of keeping himself separated for Yahweh he will not go to a person who is dead; ⁷ for even his father, mother, brother, or sister he will not make himself unclean by their death,^[d] because the separation to his God is on his head. ⁸ He will be holy for Yahweh all the days of his separation.^[e]

⁹ “‘If someone dies suddenly and makes the head of his separation^[f] unclean, he will shave off the hair of his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he will shave it off. ¹⁰ On the eighth day he will bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons^[g] to the priest by the doorway of the tent of assembly, ¹¹ and the priest will offer one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering, and he will make atonement for him because he sinned concerning the corpse. He will consecrate his head on that day. ¹² He will rededicate to Yahweh the days of his separation^[h] and bring a ram-lamb in its first year^[i] as a guilt offering. The former days of his vow will fall away because his separation was defiled.

¹³ “‘This is the regulation of the Nazirite for the day of the fulfilling of the days of his separation: one will bring him to the doorway of the tent of the assembly. ¹⁴ He will present his offering to Yahweh, one ram-lamb in its first year^[j] without defect as a burnt offering, and one ewe-lamb in its first year^[k] without defect as a sin offering, and one ram without defect as a fellowship offering; ¹⁵ and a basket of unleavened bread, finely milled flour of ring-shaped bread cakes mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread smeared with oil, and their grain offering and their libations. ¹⁶ The priest will present before Yahweh^[l] and offer his sin offering, his burnt offering; ¹⁷ he will offer a ram as a sacrifice of a fellowship offering to Yahweh, in addition to the basket of the unleavened bread; the priest will offer his grain offering and his libation. ¹⁸ The Nazirite will shave off the hair of his consecrated head^[m] at the doorway of the tent of assembly, and he will take the hair of his consecrated head,^[n] and he will put it on the fire that is beneath the sacrifice of the fellowship offering. ¹⁹ The priest will take the shoulder from the ram that is boiled, and one ring-shaped bread cake of unleavened bread from the basket, and one wafer of unleavened bread, and he will put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated head.^{[o] 20} The priest will wave them as a wave offering before the presence of^[p] Yahweh; they^[q] are a holy object to the priest, in addition to the breast section of the wave offering, and in addition to the upper thigh of the contribution; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.

²¹ “‘This is the regulation of the Nazirite who has made a vow of his offering to Yahweh according to his separation, in addition to what he can afford.^[r] In accordance to the word of his vow that he vowed, he will do, concerning the instruction of his separation.’”

The Priestly Blessing

²² Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²³ “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘You will bless the Israelites:^[s] You will say to them:

²⁷ And they will put my name on the Israelites,^[t] and I will bless them.”