Numbers 6:12

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
He shall separate to the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a male lamb a year old for a trespass offering; but the former days shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

King James Version
And he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.

Lexham English Bible
He will rededicate to Yahweh the days of his separation and bring a ram-lamb in its first year as a guilt offering. The former days of his vow will fall away because his separation was defiled.

New Century Version
and give themselves to the Lord for another special time. They must bring a male lamb a year old as a penalty offering. The days of the special time before don't count, because they became unclean during their first special time.

New English Translation
He must rededicate to the Lord the days of his separation and bring a male lamb in its first year as a reparation offering, but the former days will not be counted because his separation was defiled.

Amplified Bible
and he shall dedicate himself to the LORD for the time of his separation and shall bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering; but the previous days will be void and lost, because his separation was defiled.

New American Standard Bible
and shall live his days of consecration as a Nazirite for the LORD, and shall bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering; but the preceding days will not count, because his consecration was defiled.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And he shall consecrate vnto the Lorde the dayes of his separation, and shal bring a lambe of a yeere olde for a trespasse offering, and the first dayes shalbe voide: for his consecration was defiled.

Legacy Standard Bible
and shall dedicate to Yahweh the days of his Nazirite vow and shall bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering; but the former days will be void because his Nazirite vow was defiled.

Contemporary English Version
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.

Complete Jewish Bible
he is to consecrate to Adonai the full period of his being a nazir by bringing a male lamb in its first year as a guilt offering. The previous days will not be counted, because his consecration became defiled.

Darby Translation
And he shall [again] consecrate to Jehovah the days of his separation, and shall bring a yearling lamb for a trespass-offering. But the first days are forfeited, for his consecration hath been defiled.

Easy-to-Read Version
This means you must again give yourself to the Lord for another time of dedication. You must bring a one-year-old male lamb to offer as a guilt offering. You must start over from the beginning with a new time of dedication because you touched a dead body during your first time of dedication.

English Standard Version
and separate himself to the Lord for the days of his separation and bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering. But the previous period shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

George Lamsa Translation
And he shall consecrate to the LORD the days of his separation, and he shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering; but the previous days of his separation shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

Good News Translation
and rededicate to the Lord your time as a nazirite. The previous period of time doesn't count, because your consecrated hair was defiled. As a repayment offering you shall bring a one-year-old lamb.

Christian Standard Bible®
He is to rededicate his time of consecration to the Lord and to bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. But do not count the initial period of consecration because it became defiled.

Literal Translation
And he shall separate to Jehovah the days of his consecration, and shall bring a he lamb of the first year for a guilt offering. But the former days shall be void, for his separation was defiled.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
that he maye holde out the tyme of his abstinence vnto the LORDE, and he shall brynge a lambe of a a yeare olde for a trespaceofferynge. But ye daies afore shal be but lost, because his abstinence was defyled.

American Standard Version
And he shall separate unto Jehovah the days of his separation, and shall bring a he-lamb a year old for a trespass-offering; but the former days shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

Bible in Basic English
And he will give to the Lord his days of being separate, offering a he-lamb of the first year as an offering for error: but the earlier days will be a loss, because he became unclean.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he shall consecrate vnto the Lord the tyme of his seperation, & shall bring a lambe of a yere olde for a trespasse offeryng: but the dayes that were before are lost, because his consecration was defiled.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of his Naziriteship, and shall bring a he-lamb of the first year for a guilt-offering; but the former days shall be void, because his consecration was defiled.

King James Version (1611)
And hee shall consecrate vnto the Lord the dayes of his separation, and shall bring a lambe of the first yeere for a trespasse offering: but the dayes that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
in which he was consecrated to the Lord, all the days of his vow; and he shall bring a lamb of a year old for a trespass-offering; and the former days shall not be reckoned, because the head of his vow was polluted.

English Revised Version
And he shall separate unto the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a he-lamb of the first year for a guilt offering: but the former days shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

Berean Standard Bible
He must rededicate his time of separation to the LORD and bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. But the preceding days shall not be counted, because his separation was defiled.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he schal halewe to the Lord the daies of his departyng, and he schal offre a lomb of o yeer for synne, so netheles that the formere daies be maad voide, for his halewyng is defoulid.

Young's Literal Translation
and he hath separated to Jehovah the days of his separation, and he hath brought in a lamb, a son of a year, for a guilt-offering, and the former days are fallen, for his separation hath been defiled.

Update Bible Version
And he shall separate to Yahweh the days of his separation, and shall bring a he-lamb a year old for a trespass-offering; but the former days shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he shall consecrate to the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass-offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.

World English Bible
He shall separate to Yahweh the days of his separation, and shall bring a male lamb a year old for a trespass offering; but the former days shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

New King James Version
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.

New Living Translation
The days of their vow that were completed before their defilement no longer count. They must rededicate themselves to the Lord as a Nazirite for the full term of their vow, and each must bring a one-year-old male lamb for a guilt offering.

New Life Bible
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.

New Revised Standard
and separate themselves to the Lord for their days as nazirites, and bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering. The former time shall be void, because the consecrated head was defiled.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then shall be separate unto Yahweh his days of separation, and shall bring in a he-lamb a year old as a guilt-bearer, - and, the first days, shall be lost because his separation, was made unclean.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And shall consecrate to the Lord the days of his separation, offering a lamb of one year for sin: yet so that the former days be made void, because his sanctification was profaned.

Revised Standard Version
and separate himself to the LORD for the days of his separation, and bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering; but the former time shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
and shall dedicate to the LORD his days as a Nazirite, and shall bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering; but the former days will be void because his separation was defiled.

Contextual Overview

¹ God spoke to Moses: "Speak to the People of Israel; tell them, If any of you, man or woman, wants to make a special Nazirite vow, consecrating yourself totally to God, you must not drink any wine or beer, no intoxicating drink of any kind, not even the juice of grapes—in fact, you must not even eat grapes or raisins. For the duration of the consecration, nothing from the grapevine—not even the seeds, not even the skin—may be eaten. ⁵ "Also, for the duration of the consecration you must not have your hair cut. Your long hair will be a continuing sign of holy separation to God . ⁶"Also, for the duration of the consecration to God , you must not go near a corpse. Even if it's the body of your father or mother, brother or sister, you must not ritually defile yourself because the sign of consecration to God is on your head. ⁸ "For the entire duration of your consecration you are holy to God . ⁹"If someone should die suddenly in your presence, so that your consecrated head is ritually defiled, you must shave your head on the day of your purifying, that is, the seventh day. Then on the eighth day bring two doves or two pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The priest will offer one for the Absolution-Offering and one for the Whole-Burnt-Offering, purifying you from the ritual contamination of the corpse. You resanctify your hair on that day and reconsecrate your Nazirite consecration to God by bringing a yearling lamb for a Compensation-Offering. You start over; the previous days don't count because your consecration was ritually defiled. ¹³"These are the instructions for the time set when your special consecration to God is up. First, you are to be brought to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then you will present your offerings to God : a healthy yearling lamb for the Whole-Burnt-Offering, a healthy yearling ewe for an Absolution-Offering, a healthy ram for a Peace-Offering, a basket of unraised bread made of fine flour, loaves mixed with oil, and crackers spread with oil, along with your Grain-Offerings and Drink-Offerings. The priest will approach God and offer up your Absolution-Offering and Whole-Burnt-Offering. He will sacrifice the ram as a Peace-Offering to God with the basket of unraised bread, and, last of all, the Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering. ¹⁸ "At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, shave off the hair you consecrated and put it in the fire that is burning under the Peace-Offering. ¹⁹"After you have shaved the hair of your consecration, the priest will take a shoulder from the ram, boiled, and a piece of unraised bread and a cracker from the basket and place them in your hands. The priest will then wave them before God , a Wave-Offering. They are holy and belong to the priest, along with the breast that was waved and the thigh that was offered. "Now you are free to drink wine. ²¹ "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."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a trespass: Leviticus 5:6, Leviticus 14:24

but the: Ezekiel 18:24, Matthew 3:15, Matthew 24:13, John 8:29-31, James 2:10, 2 John 1:8

lost: Heb. fall

Reciprocal: Leviticus 7:1 - the law Leviticus 7:2 - in the place Numbers 6:4 - separation Numbers 19:9 - a water of separation

Cross-References

Genesis 6:1
When the human race began to increase, with more and more daughters being born, the sons of God noticed that the daughters of men were beautiful. They looked them over and picked out wives for themselves.

Genesis 6:3
Then God said, "I'm not going to breathe life into men and women endlessly. Eventually they're going to die; from now on they can expect a life span of 120 years."

Genesis 6:4
This was back in the days (and also later) when there were giants in the land. The giants came from the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men. These were the mighty men of ancient lore, the famous ones.

Genesis 6:5
God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I'm sorry I made them."

Genesis 6:8
But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah.

Genesis 6:13
God said to Noah, "It's all over. It's the end of the human race. The violence is everywhere; I'm making a clean sweep.

Genesis 6:14
"Build yourself a ship from teakwood. Make rooms in it. Coat it with pitch inside and out. Make it 450 feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. Build a roof for it and put in a window eighteen inches from the top; put in a door on the side of the ship; and make three decks, lower, middle, and upper.

Genesis 6:17
"I'm going to bring a flood on the Earth that will destroy everything alive under Heaven. Total destruction.

Genesis 7:1
Next God said to Noah, "Now board the ship, you and all your family—out of everyone in this generation, you're the righteous one.

Genesis 9:12
God continued, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I'm putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation,.... He was to begin his account again, from the time of his shaving his head, and devote as many days to the service of the Lord as what he had vowed before:

and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering; we see how much trouble and expense were brought by a single act of pollution, and that involuntary too; how much more need is there of an atoning sacrifice for the sins of men, even for all of them, and for which only the sacrifice of Christ is sufficient?

but the days that were before shall be lost; which were before the pollution, how near soever the time of Nazariteship being at an end was, whether his vow was for thirty days, or a hundred, or a whole year; be it what it will, and the pollution happened on the last of those days, all were lost; he was obliged to begin again, and go through the whole time he at first vowed; and this was the case if he drank the least quantity of wine, or shaved ever so little of the hair of his head, or was any ways polluted by the dead; and this severity, as it may seem, was used to make him cautious that he broke not his vow by any means:

because his separation was defiled; in the case instanced in, by the dead, but it was the same if he broke the law of Nazariteship in any of the other articles of it.

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.