For the purification of the unclean person, take some of the ashes of the burnt sin offering, put them in a jar, and pour fresh water over them.
Parallel translations
- WEB “For the unclean, they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the sin offering; and running water shall be poured into a vessel.
- KJV And 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:
- NKJV ‘And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and running water shall be put on them in a vessel.
- NASB Then for the unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the burnt purification from sin and running water shall be added to them in a container.
- NLT “To remove the defilement, put some of the ashes from the burnt purification offering in a jar, and pour fresh water over them.
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 unclean person was cleansed using the ashes of the red heifer sin offering mixed with fresh running water. The sacrifice's ashes provided the means of purification.
Overview
The ashes preserved the atoning value of the heifer's sacrifice so it could be applied later as needed, while the living (running) water signified cleansing and life. Together they made a continually available remedy for defilement. This pictures how the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ is applied to believers again and again by the Spirit to cleanse the conscience.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- John 4:10–11Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
- Song 4:15You are a garden spring, a well of fresh water flowing down from Lebanon.
- Gen 26:19Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of fresh water there.
- Rev 7:17For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
- John 7:38Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”
- Num 19:9Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept by the congregation of Israel for preparing the water of purification; this is for purification from sin.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 19:17 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.