Numbers 6

The Law of the Nazirite

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord,3 he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins.4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.5 All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.6 All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body.7 He shall not make himself unclean even for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head.8 All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the Lord.9 And if anyone 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 Then on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting;11 and the priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned in regard to the corpse; and he shall sanctify his head that same day.12 He shall consecrate to the Lord the days of his separation, and bring a male lamb in its first year as a trespass offering; but the former days shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.13 Now this is the law of the Nazirite: When the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall be brought to the door of the tabernacle of meeting.14 And he shall present his offering to the Lord: one male lamb in its first year without blemish as a burnt offering, one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish as a sin offering, one ram without blemish as a peace offering,15 a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their grain offering with their drink offerings.16 Then 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 a peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall also offer its grain offering and its drink offering.18 Then the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offering.19 And the priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them upon the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated hair, 20 and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord; they are holy for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.21 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.

The Priestly Blessing

22 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:23 Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them:24 The Lord bless you and keep you;25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.27 So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, 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.”