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Numbers 6:21

"This is the law for the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD for his separation, besides what else he is able to afford, according to the vow which he has vowed; so shall he do according to the law for his separation and abstinence [as a Nazirite]."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Fraternity;   Nazarite;   Scofield Reference Index - Separation;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Nazarite;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Nazirite;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Abstain, Abstinence;   Priest, Priesthood;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Nazarite;   Samson;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - John the Baptist;   Pentateuch;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Consecration;   Hair;   Nazirite;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Clean and Unclean;   Nazirite;   Numbers, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Nazirite;   Vote;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Nazarite ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Nazarene;   Nazarites;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Naz'arite,;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Samuel the Prophet;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Hair;   Nazirite;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Blessing, Priestly;   Mishnah;   Nazarite;   Nazir;   Priestly Code;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
"This is the law of the Nazir who vows, and of his offering to the LORD for his separation, besides that which he is able to get. According to his vow which he vows, so he must do after the law of his separation."
King James Version
This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the Lord for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation.
Lexham English Bible
"‘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. In accordance to the word of his vow that he vowed, he will do, concerning the instruction of his separation.'"
New Century Version
"‘This is the teaching for the Nazirites who make a promise. Everyone who makes the Nazirite promise must give all of these gifts to the Lord . If they promised to do more, they must keep their promise, according to the teaching of the Nazirites.'"
New English Translation
"This is the law of the Nazirite who vows to the Lord his offering according to his separation, as well as whatever else he can provide. Thus he must fulfill his vow that he makes, according to the law of his separation."
New American Standard Bible
"This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD according to his consecration, in addition to what else he can afford; corresponding to his vow which he makes, so he shall do according to the law of his consecration."
Geneva Bible (1587)
This is the Lawe of the Nazarite, which he hath vowed, and of his offering vnto the Lord for his consecration, besides that that hee is able to bring: according to the vowe which he vowed, so shall he do after the lawe of his consecration.
Legacy Standard Bible
"This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to Yahweh according to his Nazirite vow, in addition to what else he can afford; according to his vow which he takes, so he shall do according to the law of his Nazirite vow."
Contemporary English Version
These are the requirements for Nazirites. However, if you can afford to offer more, you must do so.
Complete Jewish Bible
"‘This is the law for the nazir who makes a vow and for his offering to Adonai for his being a nazir — in addition to anything more for which he has sufficient means. In keeping with whatever vow he makes, he must do it according to the law for the nazir.'"
Darby Translation
This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed: his offering to Jehovah for his consecration, beside what his hand is able to get; according to the vow which he vowed, so shall he do, according to the law of his consecration.
Easy-to-Read Version
"These are the rules for those who decide to make the Nazirite vow. They must give all these gifts to the Lord . But they might be able to give much more. If they promise to do more, they must keep their promise. But they must give at least all the things listed in these rules for the Nazirite vow."
English Standard Version
"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."
George Lamsa Translation
This is the law of the Nazarite who has made a vow, and of his offering to the LORD for his separation, excepting what he can afford in addition; according to the vow which he has vowed, so shall he do after the law of his separation.
Good News Translation
These are the regulations for you nazirites; but if you promise an offering beyond what your vow requires you to give, you must fulfill exactly the promise you made.
Christian Standard Bible®
“These are the instructions about the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord for his consecration, in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow he makes in keeping with the instructions for his consecration.”
Literal Translation
This is the law of the Nazarite who vows his offering to Jehovah for his separation, besides that which his hand may get. According to his vow which he vows, so he shall do by the law of his separation.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
This is the lawe of the absteyner, which voweth his offeringe vnto the LORDE for his abstynence, besydes that, which his hande can get. As he hath vowed, so shall he do acordinge to the lawe of his abstinence.
American Standard Version
This is the law of the Nazirite who voweth, and of his oblation unto Jehovah for his separation, besides that which he is able to get: according to his vow which he voweth, so he must do after the law of his separation.
Bible in Basic English
This is the law for him who takes an oath to keep himself separate, and for his offering to the Lord on that account, in addition to what he may be able to get; this is the law of his oath, which he will have to keep.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
This is the lawe of the Nazarite which hath vowed his offeryng vnto the Lorde for his consecration, besides those thynges that his hande can get: according to the vowe which he vowed, euen so he must do after the lawe of his consecration.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
This is the law of the Nazirite who voweth, and of his offering unto the LORD for his Naziriteship, beside that for which his means suffice; according to his vow which he voweth, so he must do after the law of his Naziriteship.
King James Version (1611)
This is the Law of the Nazarite, who hath vowed, and of his offering vnto the Lord for his separation, besides that, that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
This is the law of the votary who shall have vowed to the Lord his gift to the Lord, concerning his vow, besides what he may be able to afford according to the value of his vow, which he may have vowed according to the law of separation.
English Revised Version
This is the law of the Nazirite who voweth, and of his oblation unto the LORD for his separation, beside that which he is able to get: according to his vow which he voweth, so he must do after the law of his separation.
Berean Standard Bible
This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD for his separation, in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow he makes, according to the ritual of his separation."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
This is the lawe of the Nasarei, whanne he hath avowyd his offryng to the Lord in the tyme of his consecracioun, outakun these thingis whiche his hond fyndith. By this that he avowide in soule, so he schal do, to the perfeccioun of his halewyng.
Young's Literal Translation
`This [is] the law of the Nazarite, who voweth his offering to Jehovah for his separation, apart from that which his hand attaineth; according to his vow which he voweth so he doth by the law of his separation.'
Update Bible Version
This is the law of the Nazirite who vows, [and of] his oblation to Yahweh for his separation, besides that which he is able to get: according to his vow which he vows, so he must do after the law of his separation.
Webster's Bible Translation
This [is] the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, [and of] his offering to the LORD for his separation, besides [that] which his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation.
World English Bible
"This is the law of the Nazirite who vows, and of his offering to Yahweh for his separation, besides that which he is able to get. According to his vow which he vows, so he must do after the law of his separation."
New King James Version
"This is the law of the Nazirite who vows to the LORD the offering for his separation, and besides that, whatever else his hand is able to provide; according to the vow which he takes, so he must do according to the law of his separation."
New Living Translation
"This is the ritual law of the Nazirites, who vow to bring these offerings to the Lord . They may also bring additional offerings if they can afford it. And they must be careful to do whatever they vowed when they set themselves apart as Nazirites."
New Life Bible
"This is the Law of the Nazirite who makes a promise to give to the Lord what he promised as a Nazirite, and whatever else he is able to give. He must do what he has promised by the Law of being set apart as a Nazirite."
New Revised Standard
This is the law for the nazirites who take a vow. Their offering to the Lord must be in accordance with the nazirite vow, apart from what else they can afford. In accordance with whatever vow they take, so they shall do, following the law for their consecration.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
This is the law of One Separate what he shall vow, his offering unto Yahweh with respect to his separation, besides what his hand may obtain: as required by the vow that he shall vow, so, must he do, with respect to the law of his separation.
Douay-Rheims Bible
This is the law of the Nazarite, when he hath vowed his oblation to the Lord in the time of his consecration, besides those things which his hand shall find, according to that which he had vowed in his mind, so shall he do for the fulfilling of his sanctification.
Revised Standard Version
"This is the law for the Nazirite who takes a vow. His offering to the LORD shall be according to his vow as a Nazirite, apart from what else he can afford; in accordance with the vow which he takes, so shall he do according to the law for his separation as a Nazirite."
THE MESSAGE
"These are the instructions for Nazirites as they bring offerings to God in their vow of consecration, beyond their other offerings. They must carry out the vow they have vowed following the instructions for the Nazirite."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD according to his separation, in addition to what else he can afford; according to his vow which he takes, so he shall do according to the law of his separation."

Contextual Overview

1Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2"Say to the sons of Israel, 'When a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, that is, one separated and dedicated to the LORD, 3he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. 4'All the time of his separation he shall not eat anything produced from the grapevine, from the seeds even to the skins. 5'All the time of the vow of his separation no razor shall be used on his head. Until the time of his separation to the LORD is completed, he shall be holy, and shall let the hair of his head grow long. 6'All the time that he separates himself to the LORD he shall not go near a dead body. 7'He shall not make himself [ceremonially] unclean for his father, mother, brother, or sister, when they die, because [the responsibility for] his separation to God is on his head. 8'All the time of his separation he is holy to the LORD. 9'If a man dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his dedicated head, then he shall shave his head on the day that he becomes [ceremonially] clean; he shall shave it on the seventh day [the end of the purification period]. 10'On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the law: Numbers 5:29

beside that: Ezra 2:69, Galatians 6:6, Hebrews 13:16

Reciprocal: Numbers 6:4 - separation Numbers 29:39 - beside your vows Ezekiel 46:5 - as he shall be able to give

Cross-References

Job 38:41
"Who provides prey for the raven When its young cry to God And wander about without food?
Job 40:20
"Surely the mountains bring him food, And all the wild animals play there.
Psalms 35:6
Let their way be dark and slippery, With the angel of the LORD pursuing and harassing them.
Psalms 136:25
Who gives food to all flesh, For His lovingkindness endures forever;
Psalms 145:16
You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
Psalms 147:9
He gives to the beast its food, And to the young ravens that for which they cry.
Matthew 6:26
"Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow [seed] nor reap [the harvest] nor gather [the crops] into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

This [is] the law of the Nazarite, who hath vowed,.... The vow of a Nazarite; what he is obliged to do when his Nazariteship is up:

[and of] his offering unto the Lord for his separation; of the several offerings required of him, to offer to the Lord, for and upon his going through his Nazariteship, his burnt offering, sin offering, sacrifice of peace offerings, his meat offering and drink offering; together with the basket of unleavened bread, cakes and wafers:

besides [that] that his hands shall get; the above offerings were what he was obliged unto by the law of God, even though a poor man; but, besides these, it was expected of a man of substance, that he would voluntarily of himself offer more, according to his ability and the length of the time of his Nazariteship:

according to the vow which he hath vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation; there were some things he was obliged to do by his vow, and as he had vowed, there was a necessity upon him to fulfil it; as to abstain from the things he vowed so to do, and that as long a time as he fixed by his vow, and when finished to offer the sacrifices required of him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The law of the Nazarite is appropriately added to other enactments which concern the sanctity of the holy nation. That sanctity found its highest expression in the Nazarite vow, which was the voluntary adoption for a time of obligations to high and strict modes of self-dedication resembling, and indeed in some particulars exceeding, those under which the priests were placed. The present enactments do not institute a new kind of observance, but only regulate one already familiar to the Israelites Numbers 6:2.

Numbers 6:2

A Nazarite - Strictly, Nazirite. This term signifies “separated” i. e., as the words following show, “unto God.” It became a technical term at an early date; compare Judges 13:5, Judges 13:7; Judges 16:17.

Numbers 6:3

Liquor of grapes - i. e. a drink made of grape-skins macerated in water.

Numbers 6:4

From the kernels even to the husk - A sour drink was made from the stones of unripe grapes; and cakes were also made of the husks Hosea 3:1. This interdict figures that separation from the general society of men to which the Nazarite for the time was consecrated.

Numbers 6:5

Among the Jews the abundance of the hair was considered to betoken physical strength and perfection (compare 2 Samuel 14:25-26), and baldness was regarded as a grave blemish (compare Leviticus 21:20 note, Leviticus 13:40 ff; 2 Kings 2:23; Isaiah 3:24). Thus, the free growth of the hair on the head of the Nazarite represented the dedication of the man with all his strength and powers to the service of God.

Numbers 6:7

The consecration of his God - i. e. the unshorn locks: compare Leviticus 25:5 note, where the vine, left during the Sabbatical year untouched by the hand of man, either for pruning or for vintage, is called simply a “Nazarite.”

The third rule of the Nazarite interdicted him from contracting any ceremonial defilement even under circumstances which excused such defilement in others: compare Leviticus 21:1-3.

Numbers 6:9-12

Prescriptions to meet the case of a sudden death taking place “by him” (i. e. in his presence). The days of the dedication of the Nazarite had to be recommenced.

Numbers 6:13

When the days of his separation are fulfilled - Perpetual Nazariteship was probably unknown in the days of Moses; but the examples of Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist, show that it was in later times undertaken for life. Again, Moses does not expressly require that limits should be assigned to the vow; but a rule was afterward imposed that no Nazarite vow should be taken for less than thirty days. To permit the vow to be taken for very short periods would diminish its solemnity and estimation.

Numbers 6:14, Numbers 6:15

The sin-offering (compare the marginal references), though named second, was in practice offered first, being intended to expiate involuntary sins committed during the period of separation. The burnt-offering (Leviticus 1:10 ff) denoted the self-surrender on which alone all acceptableness in the Nazarite before God must rest; the peace-offerings (Leviticus 3:12 ff) expressed thankfulness to God by whose grace the vow had been fulfilled. The offerings, both ordinary and additional, required on the completion of the Nazarite vow involved considerable expense, and it was regarded as a pious work to provide the poor with the means of making them (compare Acts 21:23 ff; Acts 1:0 Macc. 3:49).

Numbers 6:18

Shave the head - As the Nazarite had during his vow worn his hair unshorn in honor of God, so when the time was complete it was natural that the hair, the symbol of his vow, should be cut off, and offered to God at the sanctuary. The burning of the hair “in the fire under the sacrifice of the peace offering “represented the eucharistic communion with God obtained by those who realised the ideal which the Nazarite set forth (compare the marginal reference).

Numbers 6:20

The priest shall wave them - i. e. by placing his hands under those of the Nazarite: compare Leviticus 7:30.

Numbers 6:21

Beside that that his hand shall get - The Nazarite, in addition to the offerings prescribed above, was to present free-will offerings according to his possessions or means.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 6:21. This is the law of the Nazarite — We learn from Maimonides, in his Treatise of the Nazarite, that a man might become a Nazarite in behalf of another; that is, might assist him in bearing the expenses of the sacrifices, c. "A son may fulfil the vow his deceased father hath made, but did not live to accomplish: - He that saith, upon me be the shaving of a Nazarite, he is bound to bring the offerings of shaving for cleanness, and may offer them by the hand of what Nazarite he will. If he say, Upon me be half the oblations of a Nazarite, then he bringeth half the offerings by what Nazarite he will, and that Nazarite payeth his offerings out of that which is his."

"By this," says Mr. Ainsworth, "we may see the reason of that which James said to Paul, though he had no Nazarite's vow upon him: 'We have four men who have a vow on them them take and sanctify thyself with them, and BE AT CHARGES WITH THEM, that they may shave their heads, c. Then Paul took the men, and the next day, sanctifying himself with them, entered into the temple to signify the accomplishment of the days of sanctification, (or Nazariteship), until that an offering should be offered for every one of them' see Acts 21:23-26. For though Paul had not vowed or fulfilled a Nazariteship himself, yet might he contribute with them, and partake of their charges about the sacrifices."


 
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