4.Mose 6 | New International Reader’s Version

Becoming a Nazirite

1 The LORD said to Moses,

2 ‘Say to the Israelites, “Suppose a man or woman wants to make a special promise. They want to set themselves apart to the LORD for a certain period of time. They want to be Nazirites.

3 Then they must not drink any kind of wine. They must not drink vinegar made out of wine of any kind. They must not drink grape juice. They must not eat grapes or raisins.

4 As long as they are Nazirites, they must not eat anything grapevines produce. They must not even eat the seeds or skins of grapes.

5 ‘ “They must not use razors on their heads. They must not cut their hair during the whole time they have set themselves apart to the LORD. They must be holy until that time is over. They must let the hair on their heads grow long.

6 ‘ “And they must not go near a dead body during that whole time.

7 But what if their father or mother dies? Or what if their brother or sister dies? Then they must not make themselves ‘unclean’ because of them. The hair on their heads shows they are set apart for God.

8 During the whole time they are set apart they are holy to the LORD.

9 ‘ “Suppose someone dies suddenly in front of them. That makes the hair they have set apart to the LORD ‘unclean’. So they must shave their heads on the day they will be made ‘clean’. That is the seventh day.

10 Then on the eighth day they must bring two doves. Or they can bring two young pigeons. They must bring them to the priest. He will be at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

11 The priest must offer one of the birds as a sin offering. And he must offer the other as a burnt offering. The sacrifices will pay for the sin of the Nazirite man or woman. They sinned by being near a dead body. That same day they must make their heads holy again.

12 They must set themselves apart to the LORD again. They must do it for the same period of time they had agreed to at first. And they must bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering. The days before that do not count. That is because they became ‘unclean’ during the time they were set apart.

13 ‘ “The time when the Nazirites are set apart will come to an end. Here is the law that applies to them at that time. They must be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting.

14 There they must present their offerings to the LORD. They must bring a male lamb a year old. It must not have any flaws. It is for a burnt offering. Then they must bring a female lamb a year old. It must not have any flaws. It is for a sin offering. And they must bring a ram that does not have any flaws. It is for a friendship offering.

15 They must sacrifice the offerings together with their grain offerings and drink offerings. And they must also bring a basket of bread made with the finest flour. The bread must be made without yeast. The offering must include thick loaves with olive oil mixed in. And it must also include thin loaves brushed with olive oil.

16 ‘ “The priest must bring all these things to the LORD. He must sacrifice the sin offering and the burnt offering.

17 He must bring the basket of bread made without yeast. And he must sacrifice the ram. It will be a friendship offering to the LORD. The priest must bring it together with its grain offering and drink offering.

18 ‘ “Then the Nazirites must shave off the hair that shows they have set themselves apart to the LORD. They must do it at the entrance to the tent of meeting. And they must put the hair in the fire that burns the sacrifice of the friendship offering.

19 ‘ “After the Nazirites have shaved off their hair, the priest must take a boiled shoulder of the ram. He must remove one thick loaf and one thin loaf from the basket. They must be made without yeast. And he must place the shoulder and the bread in the hands of the Nazirites.

20 Then he must lift up the shoulder and bread and wave them in front of the LORD. They are a wave offering. They are holy and belong to the priest. Other parts of the ram belong to the priest as well. They are the breast that was waved and the thigh that was offered. After the offering is waved, the Nazirites may drink wine.

21 ‘ “This is the law of the Nazirites. They promise to sacrifice offerings to the LORD. They do it when they set themselves apart. And they should bring anything else they can afford. They must fulfil the promises they have made. They must do so according to the law of the Nazirites.” ’

How the priests bless the people

22 The LORD spoke to Moses. He said,

23 ‘Tell Aaron and his sons, “Here is how I want you to bless the Israelites. Say to them,

24 ‘ “ ‘May the LORD bless you and take good care of you.

25 May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you.

26 May the LORD look on you with favour and give you peace.’ ”

27 ‘In that way they will put the blessing of my name on the Israelites. And I will bless them.’

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English Standard Version

The Nazirite Vow

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite,* to separate himself to the Lord,

3 he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried.

4 All the days of his separation* he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.

5 “All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. He shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long.

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

7 Not even for his father or for his mother, for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean, because his separation to God is on his head.

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

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

10 On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest to the entrance of the tent of meeting,

11 and the priest shall offer 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. And he shall consecrate his head that same day

12 and separate himself to the Lord for the days of his separation and bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering. But the previous period shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

13 “And this is the law for the Nazirite, when the time of his separation has been completed: he shall be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting,

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

15 and a basket of unleavened bread, loaves of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and their grain offering and their drink offerings.

16 And the priest shall bring them before the Lord and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering,

17 and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer also its grain offering and its drink offering.

18 And the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire that is under the sacrifice of the peace offering.

19 And the priest shall take the shoulder of the ram, when it is boiled, and one unleavened loaf out of the basket and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite, after he has shaved the hair of his consecration,

20 and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. They are a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed. And after that the Nazirite may drink wine.

21 “This is the law of the Nazirite. But if he vows an offering to the Lord above his Nazirite vow, as he can afford, in exact accordance with the vow that he takes, then he shall do in addition to the law of the Nazirite.”

Aaron’s Blessing

22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

24 The Lord bless you and keep you;

25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

26 the Lord lift up his countenance* upon you and give you peace.

27 “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

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