^9:4So Moses instructed⁹ the Israelites to observe¹⁰ the Passover. ^9:5And they observed the Passover¹¹ on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight in the wilderness of Sinai; in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did.

^9:6It happened that some men¹² who were ceremonially defiled¹³ by the dead body of a man¹⁴ could not keep¹⁵ the Passover on that day, so they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day. ^9:7And those men said to him, “We are ceremonially defiled by the dead body of a man; why are we kept back from offering the Lord’s offering at its appointed time among the Israelites?” ^9:8So Moses said to them, “Remain¹⁶ here and I will hear¹⁷ what the Lord will command concerning you.”

^9:9The Lord spoke to Moses: ^9:10“Tell the Israelites, ‘If any¹⁸ of you or of your posterity become ceremonially defiled by touching a dead body, or are on a journey far away, then he may¹⁹ observe the Passover to the Lord. ^9:11They may observe it on the fourteenth day of the second month²⁰ at twilight; they are to eat it with bread made without yeast and with bitter herbs.

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Footnotes

9 Heb “spoke to.”
10 The infinitive construct functions as the direct object of the preceding verb (a Hebrew complementary usage), answering the question of what he said.
11 The omits this first clause; it also omits “at twilight.”
12 In the Hebrew text the noun has no definite article, and so it signifies “some” or “certain” men.
13 The meaning, of course, is to be ceremonially unclean, and therefore disqualified from entering the sanctuary.
14 Or “a human corpse” (so , ). So also in v. 7; cf. v. 10.
15 This clause begins with the vav (ו) conjunction and negative before the perfect tense. Here is the main verb of the sentence: They were not able to observe the Passover. The first part of the verse provides the explanation for their problem.
16 The verb is simply “stand,” but in the more general sense of waiting to hear the answer.
17 The cohortative may be subordinated to the imperative: “stand … [that I] may hear.”
18 This sense is conveyed by the repetition of “man”—“if a man, a man becomes unclean.”
19 The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive functions as the equivalent of an imperfect tense. In the apodosis of this conditional sentence, the permission nuance fits well.
20 The delay of four weeks for such people would have permitted enough time for them to return from their journey, or to recover from any short termed defilement such as is mentioned here. Apart from this provision, the Passover was to be kept precisely at the proper time.