^6:3he must separate⁷ himself from wine and strong drink, he must drink neither vinegar⁸ made from wine nor vinegar made from strong drink, nor may he drink any juice⁹ of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins.¹⁰^6:4All the days of his separation he must not eat anything that is produced by the grapevine, from seed¹¹ to skin.¹²

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Footnotes

7 The operative verb now will be the Hiphil of נָזַר (nazar); the consecration to the Lord meant separation from certain things in the world. The first will be wine and strong drink—barley beer (from Akkadian sikaru, a fermented beer). But the second word may be somewhat wider in its application than beer. The Nazirite, then, was to avoid all intoxicants as a sign of his commitment to the Lord. The restriction may have proved a hardship in the daily diet of the one taking the vow, but it spoke a protest to the corrupt religious and social world that used alcohol to excess.
8 The “vinegar” (חֹמֶץ, homets) is some kind of drink preparation that has been allowed to go sour.
9 This word occurs only here. It may come from the word “to water, to be moist,” and so refer to juice.
10 Heb “dried” (so , , ).
11 This word also is rare, occurring only here.
12 Here is another , a word only found here. The word seems linked to the verb “to be clear,” and so may mean the thin skin of the grape. The reason for the strictness with these two words in this verse is uncertain. We know the actual meanings of the words, and the combination must form a merism here, meaning no part of the grape could be eaten. Abstaining from these common elements of food was to be a mark of commitment to the Lord. Hos 3:1 even denounces the raisin cakes as part of a pagan world, and eating them would be a violation of the oath.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

they must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. As long as they remain under their Nazirite vow, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

he is to abstain from wine and beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during the period of his consecration.

NLTNew Living Translation

they must give up wine and other alcoholic drinks. They must not use vinegar made from wine or from other alcoholic drinks, they must not drink fresh grape juice, and they must not eat grapes or raisins. 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.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

he will abstain from wine and fermented drink; he will not drink wine vinegar or vinegar of fermented drink; he will not drink the fruit juice of grapes or eat fresh or dry grapes. All the days of his separation you will not eat from anything that is made from the grapevine, from sour grapes to the skin of grapes.

KJV 1900King James Version

He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.

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