Numbers 6–7

6TH CHAPTER

Taking a Special Vow

¹The Lord said to Moses, ²“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: A man or a woman may make a special vow to live as a Nazirite dedicated to the Lord. ³Nazirites must never drink wine, liquor, vinegar made from wine or liquor, or any kind of grape juice, and they must never eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴As long as they are Nazirites, they must never eat anything that comes from a grapevine, not even grape seeds or skins. 

⁵“As long as they are under the Nazirite vow, no razor may touch their heads. During the entire time that they are dedicated to the Lord as Nazirites, they will be holy. They must let their hair grow long. ⁶While they are dedicated to the Lord as Nazirites, they must never go near a dead body. ⁷Even if their own father, mother, brother, or sister dies, they must not make themselves unclean^aby going near them. Nazarites show their vow to God with their long hair. ⁸As long as they are Nazirites, they will be holy to the Lord. 

⁹“Someone might suddenly drop dead next to a Nazirite and make the Nazirite’s hair unclean. Seven days later he must shave his head in order to be declared clean.^b10On the eighth day he must bring two mourning doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ¹¹The priest will sacrifice one as an offering for sin and the other one as a burnt offering. The priest will make peace with the Lord for the person who touched the dead body. That same day the person must dedicate his head again. ¹²Once again he will dedicate himself to the Lord as a Nazirite for the same length of time as before. He must bring a one-year-old male lamb as an offering for guilt. The first time period won’t count. He has to start over from when he became unclean. 

¹³“These are the instructions for Nazirites who complete their vows: They must come to the entrance of the tent of meeting. ¹⁴They must bring these offerings to the Lord: a one-year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, a one-year-old female lamb as an offering for sin, and a ram as a fellowship offering. All of these animals must have no defects. ¹⁵They must also bring a basket of unleavened bread containing some rings of bread made with olive oil and wafers of unleavened bread brushed with olive oil, along with other grain offerings and wine offerings. 

¹⁶“The priest will bring these offerings to the Lord and make the offering for sin and the burnt offering. ¹⁷He will sacrifice the ram as a fellowship offering to the Lord, offer the basket of unleavened bread along with it, and make the grain offerings and wine offerings. 

¹⁸“Then the Nazirites will shave their heads at the entrance to the tent of meeting, take the hair as proof that they had made this vow, and put it on the fire under the fellowship offering. 

¹⁹“Then the priest will take one of the shoulders from a boiled ram, one ring of unleavened bread from the basket, and one wafer of unleavened bread and hand them to the Nazirites after they have shaved off their hair. ²⁰The priest will present them as an offering to the Lord. They are holy and belong to the priest, along with the ram’s breast that is presented and the thigh that is given. After that, the Nazirites may drink wine. 

²¹“These are the instructions for those who have vowed to bring their offerings to the Lord because they were Nazirites. They must bring these offerings in addition to anything else they can afford. They must fulfill the requirements of these instructions for Nazirites and finish whatever they vowed to do.” 

How Aaron and His Sons Will Bless the Israelites

²²The Lord said to Moses, ²³“Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you will bless the Israelites. Say to them: 

²⁴The Lord will bless you and watch over you. 

²⁵The Lord will smile on you and be kind to you. 

²⁶The Lord will look on you with favor and give you peace.’ 

²⁷“So whenever they use my name to bless the Israelites, I will bless them.” 

7TH CHAPTER

Offerings for the Dedication of the Altar

¹When Moses finished setting up the tent, he anointed it and dedicated it and all the furnishings. He also anointed and dedicated the altar and all the utensils. ²Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of the households—those tribal leaders who helped in the census—came to give their offerings. ³They brought these gifts to the Lord: six freight wagons and twelve oxen, one wagon from every two leaders and one ox from each leader. They brought them in front of the tent. 

⁴The Lord said to Moses, ⁵“Accept these gifts from them to use in the work done for the tent of meeting. Give them to the Levites to use wherever they need these gifts for their work.” ⁶Moses took the wagons and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. ⁷He gave two wagons and four oxen to the Gershonites for the work they had to do. ⁸He gave four wagons and eight oxen to the Merarites for the work they had to do under the direction of Ithamar, son of the priest Aaron. ⁹But Moses gave none of these gifts to the Kohathites, because they took care of the holy things. They had to carry the holy things on their own shoulders. 

¹⁰The leaders also brought offerings for the dedication of the altar when it was anointed. They presented their gifts in front of the altar. ¹¹The Lord said to Moses, “Each day a different leader will bring his gift for the dedication of the altar.” 

¹²The one who brought his gifts on the first day was Nahshon, son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah. ¹³He brought a silver plate that weighed 3¼ pounds and a silver bowl that weighed 1¾ pounds, using the standard weight of the holy place. Each dish was filled with flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering. ¹⁴He also brought a gold dish that weighed 4 ounces, filled with incense; ¹⁵a young bull, a ram, and a one-year-old male lamb as a burnt offering; ¹⁶a male goat as an offering for sin; ¹⁷and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Nahshon, son of Amminadab. 

¹⁸On the second day Nethanel, son of Zuar, the leader from the tribe of Issachar, brought his gifts. ¹⁹He brought a silver plate that weighed 3¼ pounds and a silver bowl that weighed 1¾ pounds using the standard weight of the holy place. Each dish was filled with flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering. ²⁰He also brought a gold dish that weighed 4 ounces, filled with incense; ²¹a young bull, a ram, and a one-year-old male lamb as a burnt offering; ²²a male goat as an offering for sin; ²³and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Nethanel, son of Zuar. 

²⁴On the third day the leader of the descendants of Zebulun, Eliab, son of Helon, ²⁵brought his gifts: a silver plate that weighed 3¼ pounds and a silver bowl that weighed 1¾ pounds using the standard weight of the holy place. Each dish was filled with flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering. ²⁶He also brought a gold dish that weighed 4 ounces, filled with incense; ²⁷a young bull, a ram, and a one-year-old male lamb as a burnt offering; ²⁸a male goat as an offering for sin; ²⁹and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Eliab, son of Helon. 

³⁰On the fourth day the leader of the descendants of Reuben, Elizur, son of Shedeur, ³¹brought his gifts: a silver plate that weighed 3¼ pounds and a silver bowl that weighed 1¾ pounds using the standard weight of the holy place. Each dish was filled with flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering. ³²He also brought a gold dish that weighed 4 ounces, filled with incense; ³³a young bull, a ram, and a one-year-old male lamb as a burnt offering; ³⁴a male goat as an offering for sin; ³⁵and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Elizur, son of Shedeur. 

³⁶On the fifth day the leader of the descendants of Simeon, Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai, ³⁷brought his gifts: a silver plate that weighed 3¼ pounds and a silver bowl that weighed 1¾ pounds using the standard weight of the holy place. Each dish was filled with flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering. ³⁸He also brought a gold dish that weighed 4 ounces, filled with incense; ³⁹a young bull, a ram, and a one-year-old male lamb as a burnt offering; ⁴⁰a male goat as an offering for sin; ⁴¹and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai. 

⁴²On the sixth day the leader of the descendants of Gad, Eliasaph, son of Deuel, ⁴³brought his gifts: a silver plate that weighed 3¼ pounds and a silver bowl that weighed 1¾ pounds using the standard weight of the holy place. Each dish was filled with flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering. ⁴⁴He also brought a gold dish that weighed 4 ounces, filled with incense; ⁴⁵a young bull, a ram, and a one-year-old male lamb as a burnt offering; ⁴⁶a male goat as an offering for sin; ⁴⁷and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Eliasaph, son of Deuel. 

⁴⁸On the seventh day the leader of the descendants of Ephraim, Elishama, son of Ammihud, ⁴⁹brought his gifts: a silver plate that weighed 3¼ pounds and a silver bowl that weighed 1¾ pounds using the standard weight of the holy place. Each dish was filled with flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering. ⁵⁰He also brought a gold dish that weighed 4 ounces, filled with incense; ⁵¹a young bull, a ram, and a one-year-old male lamb as a burnt offering; ⁵²a male goat as an offering for sin; ⁵³and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Elishama, son of Ammihud. 

⁵⁴On the eighth day the leader of the descendants of Manasseh…