He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
Parallel translations
- WEB He shall purify himself with water on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean; but if he doesn’t purify himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
- BSB He must purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean.
- NKJV He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean.
- NASB That one shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean.
- NLT They must purify themselves on the third and seventh days with the water of purification; then they will be purified. But if they do not do this on the third and seventh days, they will continue to be unclean even after the seventh day.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The defiled person had to purify himself with the water on the third and seventh days, or he would not be clean.
Overview
Cleansing required applying the water of purification at set times; neglecting it left the person unclean. The prescribed process stressed that purity comes only by God's appointed means, not by mere passage of time. This points to the necessity of God's provided cleansing, which is fulfilled and made complete in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Num 31:19And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.
- 1 Cor 15:3–4For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
- Ps 51:7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
- Exod 19:11And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
- Rev 7:14And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
- Acts 15:9And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
- Ezek 36:25Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
- Exod 19:15And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
- Lev 7:17But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire.
- Hos 6:2After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
- Num 19:17–19And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 19:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.