“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD,
Parallel translations
- WEB “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: ‘When either man or woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to Yahweh,
- KJV Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD:
- NKJV “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord,
- NASB “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, namely, the vow of a Nazirite, to live as a Nazirite for the Lord,
- NLT “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. “If any of the people, either men or women, take the special vow of a Nazirite, setting themselves apart to the Lord in a special way,
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
Any man or woman may take the special Nazirite vow, separating themselves wholly to the Lord for a time.
Overview
The Nazirite vow was an open invitation to deeper consecration, available to both sexes and not limited to priests. The word 'Nazirite' means 'separated' or 'consecrated,' marking a season of intensified devotion. Such whole-life dedication foreshadows the call for all believers to present themselves as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Judg 13:5For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”
- Amos 2:11–12I raised up prophets from your sons and Nazirites from your young men. Is this not true, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD.
- Rom 1:1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—
- Heb 7:27Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people; He sacrificed for sin once for all when He offered up Himself.
- Luke 1:15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
- Prov 18:1He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.
- Acts 21:23–24Therefore do what we advise you. There are four men with us who have taken a vow.
- Judg 16:17Samson told her all that was in his heart: “My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man.”
- Lev 27:2“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When someone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the value of persons,
- Gal 1:15But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased
- Lev 20:26You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.
- Num 6:5–6For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass over his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let the hair of his head grow long.
- 2 Cor 6:16What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
- 1 Sam 1:28I now dedicate the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there.
- Exod 33:16For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favor in Your sight, unless You go with us? How else will we be distinguished from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
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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 6:2 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.