Numbers 19:21

Brenton's Septuagint

And it shall be to you a perpetual statute; and he that sprinkles the water of sprinkling shall wash his garments; and he that touches the water of sprinkling shall be unclean until evening.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
It shall be a perpetual statute to them: and he who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until even.

King James Version
And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.

Lexham English Bible
"‘It will be an eternal decree for them. The one who spatters the waters of impurity will wash his garments, and the one who touches the waters of impurity will be unclean until the evening.

English Standard Version
And it shall be a statute forever for them. The one who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening.

New Century Version
This is a lasting rule. Those who sprinkle the cleansing water must also wash their clothes, and anyone who touches the water will be unclean until evening.

New English Translation
"‘So this will be a perpetual ordinance for them: The one who sprinkles the water of purification must wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening.

Amplified Bible
'So it shall be a perpetual statute to them. He who sprinkles the water for impurity [on another] shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening.

New American Standard Bible
'So it shall be a permanent statute for them. And the one who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water for impurity will be unclean until evening.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And it shalbe a perpetual lawe vnto them, that he that sprinkleth the sprinkling water, shall wash his clothes: also hee that toucheth the sprinkling water, shalbe vncleane vntill euen.

Legacy Standard Bible
So it shall be a perpetual statute for them. And he who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening.

Contemporary English Version
These laws will never change. The man who sprinkled the water and the ashes on you when you were unclean must also wash his clothes. And whoever touches this water is unclean until evening.

Complete Jewish Bible
This is to be a permanent regulation for them. The person who sprinkles the water for purification is to wash his clothes. Whoever touches the water for purification will be unclean until evening.

Darby Translation
And it shall be an everlasting statute unto them. And he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his garments, and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.

Easy-to-Read Version
This rule will be for you forever. And whoever sprinkled the special water must wash their clothes because they will be unclean until evening.

George Lamsa Translation
And it shall be a perpetual statute to you that he who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of sprinkling shall be unclean until evening.

Good News Translation
You are to observe this rule for all time to come. The person who sprinkles the water for purification must also wash his clothes; anyone who touches the water remains ritually unclean until evening.

Christian Standard Bible®
This is a permanent statute for them. The person who sprinkles the water for impurity is to wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water for impurity will be unclean until evening.

Literal Translation
And it shall be a never ending statute to them; and he that sprinkles the water of impurity shall wash his clothes; and he that touches the water of sprinkling shall be unclean until evening.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And who so euer toucheth the spreklinge water, shal be vncleane vntill the euen.

American Standard Version
And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them: and he that sprinkleth the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he that toucheth the water for impurity shall be unclean until even.

Bible in Basic English
This is to be a law for them for ever: he who puts the water on the unclean person is to have his clothing washed; and anyone touching the water will be unclean till evening.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And it shalbe a perpetuall lawe vnto them, that he that sprinckleth the water of seperation, shall washe his clothes: and he that toucheth the water of seperation, shalbe vncleane vntyll euen.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them; and he that sprinkleth the water of sprinkling shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of sprinkling shall be unclean until even.

King James Version (1611)
And it shall be a perpetuall statute vnto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation, shall wash his clothes: and he that toucheth the water of separation, shall be vncleane vntill Euen.

English Revised Version
And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them: and he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.

Berean Standard Bible
This is a permanent statute for the people: The one who sprinkles the water of purification must wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
This comaundement schal be a lawful thing euerlastynge. Also he that schal sprenge the watris schal waische his clothis; ech man that touchith the watris of clensyng, schal be vncleene `til to euentid.

Young's Literal Translation
`And it hath been to them for a statute age-during, that he who is sprinkling the water of separation doth wash his garments, and he who is coming against the water of separation is unclean till the evening,

Update Bible Version
And it shall be a perpetual statute to them: and he that sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he that touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening.

Webster's Bible Translation
And it shall be a perpetual statute to them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until the evening.

World English Bible
It shall be a perpetual statute to them: and he who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until even.

New King James Version
It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening.

New Living Translation
This is a permanent law for the people. Those who sprinkle the water of purification must afterward wash their clothes, and anyone who then touches the water used for purification will remain defiled until evening.

New Life Bible
It will be a Law forever for them. He who puts the water on to be made clean must wash his clothes. And he who touches the water used to be made clean will be unclean until evening.

New Revised Standard
It shall be a perpetual statute for them. The one who sprinkles the water for cleansing shall wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water for cleansing shall be unclean until evening.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So shall it be unto them for statute age-abiding, - and, he that sprinkleth the water of separation, shall wash his clothes, and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until the evening;

Douay-Rheims Bible
This precept shall be an ordinance for ever. He also that sprinkled the water, shall wash his garments. Every one that shall touch the waters of expiation, shall be unclean until the evening.

Revised Standard Version
And it shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
'So it shall be a perpetual statute for them. And he who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening.

Contextual Overview

¹¹ He that touches the dead body of any man, shall be unclean seven days. ¹² He shall be purified on the third day and the seventh day, and shall be clean; but if he be not purged on the third day and the seventh day, he shall not be clean. ¹³ Every one that touches the carcase of the person of a man, if he should have died, and the other not have been purified, has defiled the tabernacle of the Lord: that soul shall be cut off from Israel, because the water of sprinkling has not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him. ¹⁴ And this is the law; if a man die in a house, every one that goes into the house, and all things in the house, shall be unclean seven days. ¹⁵ And every open vessel which has not a covering bound upon it, shall be unclean. ¹⁶ And every one who shall touch a man slain by violence, or a corpse, or human bone, or sepulchre, shall be unclean seven days. ¹⁷ And they shall take for the unclean of the burnt ashes of purification, and they shall pour upon them running water into a vessel. ¹⁸ And a clean man shall take hyssop, and dip it into the water, and sprinkle it upon the house, and the furniture, and all the souls that are therein, and upon him that touched the human bone, or the slain man, or the corpse, or the tomb. ¹⁹ And the clean man shall sprinkle the water on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day, and on the seventh day he shall purify himself; and the other shall wash his garments, and bathe himself in water, and shall be unclean until evening. ²⁰ And whatever man shall be defiled and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of the congregation, because he has defiled the holy things of the Lord, because the water of sprinkling has not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Leviticus 11:25, Leviticus 11:40, Leviticus 16:26-28, Hebrews 7:19, Hebrews 9:10, Hebrews 9:13, Hebrews 9:14, Hebrews 10:4

Reciprocal: Exodus 27:21 - a statute for ever Leviticus 3:17 - a perpetual Leviticus 14:46 - shall be unclean Leviticus 17:15 - both wash Numbers 19:9 - a water of separation

Cross-References

Genesis 4:7
Hast thou not sinned if thou hast brought it rightly, but not rightly divided it? be still, to thee shall be his submission, and thou shalt rule over him.

Genesis 12:2
And I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed.

Genesis 18:24
Should there be fifty righteous in the city, wilt thou destroy them? wilt thou not spare the whole place for the sake of the fifty righteous, if they be in it?

Genesis 19:8
But I have two daughters, who have not known a man. I will bring them out to you, and do ye use them as it may please you, only do not injury to these men, to avoid which they came under the shelter of my roof.

Genesis 19:9
And they said to him, Stand back there, thou camest in to sojourn, was it also to judge? Now then we would harm thee more than them. And they pressed hard on the man, even Lot, and they drew nigh to break the door.

Genesis 19:15
But when it was morning, the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise and take thy wife, and thy two daughters whom thou hast, and go forth; lest thou also be destroyed with the iniquities of the city.

Genesis 19:16
And they were troubled, and the angels laid hold on his hand, and the hand of his wife, and the hands of his two daughters, in that the Lord spared him.

Psalms 34:15
The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer:

Psalms 102:17
He has had regard to the prayer of the lowly, and has not despised their petition.

Psalms 145:19
He will perform the desire of them that fear him: and he will hear their supplication, and save them.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them,.... To the children of Israel, throughout their generations, unto the coming of the Messiah, when the ceremonial law, which stood in divers washings and purifications, was abolished:

that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; the priest that sprinkled, according to the Targum of Jonathan, or any other person that did it; so that the same purifying water, which made an unclean person clean, defiled a clean one; for though it was purifying, it had uncleanness in it; having the ashes not only of the cow itself, but of its skin, blood, and dung; and so a lye made of ashes is impure in itself, and yet serves to scour cloth: Ainsworth thinks this signifies the imperfection and insufficiency of legal rites, which, in their greatest virtue, only sanctified to the purifying of the flesh, and left the purifier himself in uncleanness he had not before; by consideration of which, the people might be led to Christ, and his Spirit, for cleansing, Hebrews 9:13 but it rather signifies, that the blood of Christ, which cleanses from all sin, and answers to this purifying water, that its cleansing virtue is owing to Christ being made sin for his people; and that some may be instruments of directing souls to the blood of Christ for cleansing, and yet be defiled themselves: it does not appear that this man, thus unclean, was to have the water of purification sprinkled on him, but was only to wash his clothes; see Revelation 7:14

and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even: but was not clean until he had washed, as Aben Ezra observes, though not expressed; for if one that only sprinkled it had need to be washed, much more one that touched it, and which was unavoidable, if, when he mixed the water and ashes together, he stirred them with his finger, Revelation 7:14- :, though Maimonides t understands this of sprinkling and touching the water when there was no necessity for it, when a person was not employed in doing the duty of this law.

t Hilchot Parah Adumah, c. 15. sect. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

One practical effect of attaching defilement to a dead body, and to all that touched it, etc., would be to insure early burial, and to correct a practice not uncommon in the East, of leaving the deal to be devoured by the wild beasts.