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It happened that some men[a] who were ceremonially defiled[b] by the dead body of a man[c] could not keep[d] the Passover on that day, so they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day. And those men said to Moses,[e] “We are ceremonially defiled by the dead body of a man; why are we kept back from offering the Lord’s offering at its appointed time among the Israelites?” So Moses said to them, “Remain[f] here and I will hear[g] what the Lord will command concerning you.”

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 9:6 tn In the Hebrew text the noun has no definite article, and so it signifies “some” or “certain” men.
  2. Numbers 9:6 tn The meaning, of course, is to be ceremonially unclean, and therefore disqualified from entering the sanctuary.
  3. Numbers 9:6 tn Or “a human corpse” (so NAB, NKJV). So also in v.7; cf. v. 10.
  4. Numbers 9:6 tn This clause begins with the vav (ו) conjunction and negative before the perfect tense. Here is the main verb of the sentence: They were not able to observe the Passover. The first part of the verse provides the explanation for their problem.
  5. Numbers 9:7 tn Heb “him”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  6. Numbers 9:8 tn The verb is simply “stand,” but in the more general sense of waiting to hear the answer.
  7. Numbers 9:8 tn The cohortative may be subordinated to the imperative: “stand…[that I] may hear.”

But some of them could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were ceremonially unclean(A) on account of a dead body.(B) So they came to Moses and Aaron(C) that same day and said to Moses, “We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the Lord’s offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?(D)

Moses answered them, “Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you.”(E)

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