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And the Lord said to Moses,

Say to the Israelites, When either a man or a woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, that is, one separated and consecrated to the Lord,

He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar of wine or of strong drink, and shall drink no grape juice, or eat grapes, fresh or dried.(A)

All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing produced from the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.

All the days of the vow of his separation and abstinence there shall no razor come upon his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow long.

All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body.

He shall not make himself unclean for his father, mother, brother, or sister, when they die, because his separation and abstinence to his God is upon his head.

All the days of his separation and abstinence he is holy to the Lord.

And if any man dies very suddenly beside him, and he has defiled his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day shall he shave it.

10 On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest to the door of the Tent of Meeting,

11 And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering and make atonement for him because he sinned by reason of the dead body. He shall consecrate his head the same day,

12 And he shall consecrate and separate himself to the Lord for the days of his separation and shall bring a male lamb a year old for a trespass or guilt offering; but the previous days shall be void and lost, because his separation was defiled.

13 And this is the law of the Nazirite when the days of his separation and abstinence are fulfilled. He shall be brought to the door of the Tent of Meeting,

14 And he shall offer his gift to the Lord, one he-lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for a peace offering,

15 And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread spread with oil, and their cereal offering, and their drink offering.

16 And the priest shall present them before the Lord and shall offer the person’s sin offering and his burnt offering.

17 And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall offer also its cereal offering and its drink offering.

18 And the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall take the hair and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings.

19 And the priest shall take the boiled 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 Nazirite, after he has shaven the hair of his separation and abstinence.

20 And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord; they are a holy portion for the priest, with the breast that is waved and the thigh or shoulder that is offered; and after that the Nazirite may drink wine.

21 This is the law for the Nazirite who has made a vow. His offering to the Lord, besides what else he is able to afford, shall be 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)

22 And the Lord said to Moses,

23 Say to Aaron and his sons, This is the way you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them,

24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;

25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;

26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).

27 And they shall put My name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.

The Nazirite

The Lord said to Moses, “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) 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. 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.

“‘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.

“‘Throughout the period of their dedication to the Lord, the Nazirite must not go near a dead body.(I) 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. Throughout the period of their dedication, they are consecrated to the Lord.

“‘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

  1. Numbers 6:11 Or purification offering; also in verses 14 and 16