If someone suddenly dies in his presence and defiles his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing—the seventh day.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘If any man dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles the head of his separation; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing. On the seventh day he shall shave it.
- KJV And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it.
- NKJV ‘And if anyone dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it.
- NASB ‘But if someone dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his consecrated head of hair, then he shall shave his head on the day when he becomes clean; he shall shave it on the seventh day.
- NLT “If someone falls dead beside them, the hair they have dedicated will be defiled. They must wait for seven days and then shave their heads. Then they will be cleansed from their defilement.
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
If someone dies suddenly nearby, the Nazirite is defiled and must shave his head as part of cleansing.
Overview
Even accidental defilement by an unexpected death interrupted the vow and required purification. Shaving the consecrated hair acknowledged that the separation had been broken and must be restarted. This sensitivity to even unintended uncleanness highlights the seriousness with which God regards holiness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Num 6:18Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head, take the hair, and put it on the fire under the peace offering.
- Acts 18:18Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.
- Lev 14:9On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair—his head, his beard, his eyebrows, and the rest of his hair. He must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and he will be clean.
- Phil 3:8–9More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
- Num 19:14–19This is the law when a person dies in a tent: Everyone who enters the tent and everyone already in the tent will be unclean for seven days,
- Acts 21:23–24Therefore do what we advise you. There are four men with us who have taken a vow.
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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 6:9 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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