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Numbers 19:7-9
New English Translation
Numbers 19:7-9
New English Translation
7 Then the priest must wash[a] his clothes and bathe himself[b] in water, and afterward he may come[c] into the camp, but the priest will be ceremonially unclean until evening. 8 The one who burns it[d] must wash his clothes in water and bathe himself in water. He will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
9 “‘Then a man who is ceremonially clean must gather up the ashes of the red heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept[e] for the community of the Israelites for use in the water of purification[f]—it is a purification for sin.[g]
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- Numbers 19:7 tn The sequence continues with the perfect tense and vav (ו) consecutive.
- Numbers 19:7 tn Heb “his flesh.”
- Numbers 19:7 tn This is the imperfect of permission.
- Numbers 19:8 sn Here the text makes clear that he had at least one assistant.
- Numbers 19:9 tn Heb “it will be.”
- Numbers 19:9 tn The expression לְמֵי נִדָּה (leme niddah) is “for waters of impurity.” The genitive must designate the purpose of the waters—they are for cases of impurity, and so serve for cleansing or purifying, thus “water of purification.” The word “impurity” can also mean “abhorrent” because it refers to so many kinds of impurities. It is also called a purification offering; Milgrom notes that this is fitting because the sacrificial ritual involved transfers impurity from the purified to the purifier (pp. 62-72).
- Numbers 19:9 sn The ashes were to be stored somewhere outside the camp to be used in a water portion for cleansing someone who was defiled. This is a ritual that was enacted in the wilderness; it is something of a restoring rite for people alienated from community.
New English Translation (NET)
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