Numbers 6

The Nazirite Vow

1 s Then the Lord spoke to Moses:2 “Speak to the Israelites, and tell them, ‘When either a man or a womant takes a special vow,t to take a vowt as a Nazirite,t to separatet himself to the Lord,3 he must separatet himself from wine and strong drink, he must drink neither vinegart made from wine nor vinegar made from strong drink, nor may he drink any juicet of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins.t

4 All the days of his separation he must not eat anything that is produced by the grapevine, from seedt to skin.s

5 “‘All the days of the vows of his separation no razor may be used on his heads until the timet is fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord. He will be holy,t and he must lett the locks of hair on his head grow long.
6 “‘All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he must not contactt a dead body.t7 He must not defile himself event for his father or his mother or his brother or his sister if they die,ts because the separationt fort his God is on his head.

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

Contingencies for Defilement

9 “‘If anyone dies very suddenlyt beside him and he defilest his consecrated head,s then he must shave his head on the day of his purification – on the seventh day he must shave it.10 On the eighth day he is to bringt two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the entrance to the tent of meeting.11 Then the priest will offer one for a purification offeringt and the othert as a burnt offering,t and make atonementt for him, because of his transgressiont in regard to the corpse. So he must reconsecratet his head on that day.

12 He must rededicatet to the Lord the days of his separation and bring a male lamb in its first year as a reparation offering,t but the former days will not be countedt because his separations was defiled.

Fulfilling the Vows

13 “‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite: When the days of his separation are fulfilled, he must be broughtt to the entrance of the tent of meeting,14 and he must present his offeringt to the Lord: one male lamb in its first year without blemish for a burnt offering, one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish for a purification offering, one ram without blemish for a peace offering,s

15 and a basket of bread made without yeast, cakes of fine flour mixed with olive oil, wafers made without yeast and smeared with olive oil, and theirt grain offering and their drink offerings.s
16 “‘Then the priest must present all theset before the Lord and offert his purification offering and his burnt offering.

17 Then he must offer the ram as a peace offeringt to the Lord, with the basket of bread made without yeast; the priest must also offer his grain offering and his drink offering.
18 “‘Then the Nazirite must shave his consecrated headt at the entrance to the tent of meeting and must take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fires where the peace offering is burning.t19 And the priest must take the boiled shoulder of the ram, one cake made without yeast from the basket, and one wafer made without yeast, and put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated head;t

20 then the priest must wave them as a wave offerings before the Lord; it is a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the raised offering.s After this the Nazirite may drinkt wine.’

21 “This is the lawt of the Nazirite who vows to the Lord his offering according to his separation, as well as whatever else he can provide.t Thus he must fulfillt his vow that he makes, according to the law of his separation.”

The Priestly Benediction

22 s The Lord spoke to Moses:

23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the wayt you are to blesst the Israelites. Sayt to them:

24 “The Lord bless yout and protectt you;

25 The Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;t

26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon yout
and give you peace.”’

27 So they will put my namet on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

NUMBERS 6

Rules for Nazirites

1 The [Lord] told Moses

2 to say to the people of Israel:
If any of you want to dedicate yourself to me by vowing to become a Nazirite, 3 t you must no longer drink any wine or beer or use any kind of vinegar. Don't drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins—

4 not even the seeds or skins.

5 The hair of a Nazirite is sacred to me, and as long as you are a Nazirite, you must never cut your hair.
6 During the time that you are a Nazirite, you must never go close to a dead body,

7-8 not even that of your father, mother, brother, or sister. That would make you unclean. Your hair is the sign that you are dedicated to me, so remain holy.
9 If someone suddenly dies near you, your hair is no longer sacred, and you must shave it seven days later during the ceremony to make you clean. 10 Then on the next day, bring two doves or two pigeons to the priest at the sacred tent. 11 He will offer one of the birds as a sacrifice for sin and the other as a sacrifice to please me.t You will then be forgiven for being too near a dead body, and your hair will again become sacred.

12 But the dead body made you unacceptable, so you must make another vow to become a Nazirite and be dedicated once more. Finally, a year-old ram must be offered as the sacrifice to make things right.
13  t When you have completed your promised time of being a Nazirite, go to the sacred tent 14 and offer three animals that have nothing wrong with them: a year-old ram as a sacrifice to please me, a year-old female lamb as a sacrifice for sin, and a full-grown ram as a sacrifice to ask my blessing.t

15 Wine offerings and grain sacrifices must also be brought with these animals. Finally, you are to bring a basket of bread made with your finest flour and olive oil, but without yeast. Also bring some thin wafers brushed with oil.
16 The priest will take these gifts to my altar and offer them, so that I will be pleased and will forgive you.

17 Then he will sacrifice the ram and offer the wine, grain, and bread.

18 After that, you will stand at the entrance to the sacred tent, shave your head, and put the hair in the fire where the priest has offered the sacrifice to ask my blessing.
19 Once the meat from the ram's shoulder has been boiled, the priest will take it, along with one loaf of bread and one wafer brushed with oil, and give them to you.

20 You will hand them back to the priest, who will lift them upt in dedication to me. Then he can eat the meat from the ram's shoulder, its choice ribs, and its hind leg, because this is his share of the sacrifice. After this, you will no longer be a Nazirite, and you will be free to drink wine.

21 These are the requirements for Nazirites. However, if you can afford to offer more, you must do so.

The Blessing for the People

23 “When Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel, they must say:

24 I pray that the [Lord]
will bless and protect you,

25 and that he will show you mercy
and kindness.

26 May the [Lord] be good to you
and give you peace.”
27 Then the [Lord] said, “If Aaron and his sons ask me to bless the Israelites, I will give them my blessing.”