As long as they are bound by their Nazirite vow, they are not allowed to eat or drink anything that comes from a grapevine—not even the grape seeds or skins.
Parallel translations
- WEB All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is made of the grapevine, from the seeds even to the skins.
- KJV All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
- BSB All the days of his separation, he is not to eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
- NKJV All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.
- NASB All the days of his consecration he shall not eat anything that is produced from the grape vine, from the seeds even to the skin.
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
Throughout the vow, the Nazirite avoids every product of the grapevine, from seed to skin.
Overview
The total abstention from anything derived from the vine emphasized the thoroughness of the separation. Even incidental contact with grape products was excluded, underscoring wholehearted commitment. Such completeness teaches that consecration to God is to be entire, not partial.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Num 6:5“‘All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall come on his head, until the days are fulfilled, in which he separates himself to Yahweh. He shall be holy. He shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow long.
- Num 6:18–19The Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings.
- Num 6:8–9All the days of his separation he is holy to Yahweh.
- Num 6:21“‘This is the law of the Nazirite who vows, and of his offering to Yahweh for his separation, besides that which he is able to get. According to his vow which he vows, so he must do after the law of his separation.’”
- Num 6:12–13He 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.
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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 6:4 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
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