Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the evening.
- KJV Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.
- NKJV Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening.
- NASB The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp; but the priest will be unclean until evening.
- NLT “Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Afterward he may return to the camp, though he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening.
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 priest had to wash his clothes and bathe, remaining unclean until evening despite performing this purifying rite.
Overview
Paradoxically, the very rite that produced cleansing rendered those who handled it temporarily unclean. This reflects the contaminating nature of contact with death and sin even in the act of providing purity. It points to the imperfection of the old system and the need for a final cleansing, accomplished by Christ who Himself remained undefiled.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Lev 11:25and whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening.
- Lev 11:40Whoever eats from the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening, and anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.
- Lev 16:26–28The man who released the goat as the scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.
- Lev 15:5Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
- Lev 22:6the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening. He must not eat from the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.
- Num 19:19The man who is ceremonially clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and that evening he will be clean.
- Lev 14:8–9The one being cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. Afterward, he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days.
- Num 19:8The one who burned the heifer must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he too will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
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 19:7 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.