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Rules for the Nazirites

¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ² "Say to the people of Israel, ‘A man or woman may make a special promise, the promise of a Nazirite, to set himself apart to the Lord. ³ Then he must keep away from wine and strong drink. He will drink no sour wine, made from wine or strong drink. He will not drink any grape drink. And he will not eat new or dried grapes. ⁴ All the days he is set apart, he must not eat anything made from the grape-field, not even the seeds or the skins.

⁵ ‘No hair of his head will be cut, all the days of his promise to be set apart. He must be holy until the time is finished for which he set himself apart to the Lord. He will let the hair on his head grow long.

⁶ ‘All the days he is set apart to the Lord, he must not go near a dead person. ⁷ He must not allow himself to be made unclean when his father, mother, brother or sister die. For he has made a promise to be set apart to God. ⁸ He is holy to the Lord all the days he is set apart.

⁹ ‘But if a man dies next to him, making his hair unclean which had been set apart to the Lord, then he must cut all the hair from his head on the day he is made clean. He will cut it off on the seventh day. ¹⁰ On the eighth day he must bring two turtle-doves or two young pigeons to the religious leader, to the door of the meeting tent. ¹¹ The religious leader will give one for a sin gift and the other for a burnt gift. He will pay for his sin because of the dead person. And he will make his head holy that same day. ¹² He will set apart to the Lord his days as a Nazirite. And he will bring a year old male lamb for a guilt gift. But the past days will be a loss, because he had become unclean during the time he was set apart.

¹³ ‘This is the Law of the Nazirite when the time he is set apart is finished. He must bring the gift to the door of the meeting tent. ¹⁴ He will give his gift to the Lord. It will be a perfect male lamb a year old for a burnt gift, one perfect female lamb a year old for a sin gift, and one perfect ram for a peace gift. ¹⁵ And he will give a basket of bread made of fine flour mixed with oil, made without yeast. He will give hard bread spread with oil and made without yeast. With them he will give their grain gift and drink gifts. ¹⁶ Then the religious leader will give all these to the Lord and his sin gift and his burnt gift. ¹⁷ He will also give the ram for peace gifts to the Lord, together with the basket of bread made without yeast. Then the religious leader will give its grain gift and drink gift. ¹⁸ Then at the door of the meeting tent the Nazirite will cut off the hair that has been set apart for holy use. He is to take the hair and put it in the fire under the peace gifts. ¹⁹ The religious leader will take the shoulder of the ram when it has been boiled and a loaf of bread and a piece of hard bread, both made without yeast and put them in the hands of the Nazirite. This is done after he has cut off the hair that has been set apart. ²⁰ The religious leader will wave them for a wave gift before the Lord. They are holy and belong to the religious leader, together with the breast given as a wave gift and the thigh given by lifting it up. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.'

²¹ "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."

Religious Leaders Bring Good to the People

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, ²³ "Say to Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the way you should bring good to the people of Israel. Say to them, ²⁴ "May the Lord bring good to you and keep you. ²⁵ May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be kind to you. ²⁶ May the Lord show favor toward you, and give you peace."' ²⁷ So they will put My name upon the people of Israel, and I will bring good to them."