Numbers 6–7

Becoming a Nazirite

6The Lord said to Moses, ²“Speak to the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘Suppose a man or woman wants to make a special promise. They want to set themselves apart to the Lord for a certain period of time. They want to be Nazirites.

³“ ‘Then they must not drink any kind of wine. They must not drink vinegar that is made out of wine of any kind. They must not drink grape juice. They must not eat grapes or raisins. ⁴As long as they are Nazirites, they must not eat anything grapevines produce. They must not even eat the seeds or skins of grapes.

⁵“ ‘They must not use razors on their heads. They must not cut their hair during the whole time they have set themselves apart to the Lord. They must be holy until that time is over. They must let the hair on their heads grow long. ⁶And they must not go near a dead body during that whole time.

⁷“ ‘But what if their father or mother dies? Or what if their brother or sister dies? Then they must not make themselves “unclean” because of them. The hair on their heads shows they are set apart for God. ⁸During the whole time they are set apart they are holy to the Lord.

⁹“ ‘Suppose someone dies suddenly in front of them. That makes the hair they have set apart to the Lord “unclean.” So they must shave their heads on the day they will be made “clean.” That is the seventh day.

¹⁰“ ‘Then on the eighth day they must bring two doves. Or they can bring two young pigeons. They must bring them to the priest. He will be at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. ¹¹The priest must offer one of the birds as a sin offering. And he must offer the other as a burnt offering. The sacrifices will pay for the sin of the Nazirite man or woman. They sinned by being near a dead body. That same day they must set their heads apart as holy.

¹²“ ‘They must set themselves apart to the Lord again. They must do it for the same period of time they had agreed to at first. And they must bring a male lamb that is a year old as a guilt offering. The days before that day do not count. That is because they became “unclean” during the time they were set apart.

¹³“ ‘The time when the Nazirites are set apart will come to an end. Here is the law that applies to them at that time. They must be brought to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

¹⁴“ ‘There they must sacrifice their offerings to the Lord. They must bring a male lamb that is a year old. It must not have any flaws. It is for a burnt offering. Then they must bring a female lamb that is a year old. It must not have any flaws. It is for a sin offering. And they must bring a ram that does not have any flaws. It is for a friendship offering.

¹⁵“ ‘They must sacrifice the offerings together with their grain offerings and drink offerings. And they must also bring a basket of bread that is made without yeast. The offering must include flat cakes that are made out of fine flour mixed with olive oil. And it must include wafers that are spread with oil.

¹⁶“ ‘The priest must bring all of those things to the Lord. He must sacrifice the sin offering and the burnt offering. ¹⁷He must bring the basket of bread that is made without yeast. And he must sacrifice the ram. It will be a friendship offering to the Lord. The priest must bring it together with its grain offering and drink offering.

¹⁸“ ‘Then the Nazirites must shave off the hair they had set apart to the Lord. They must do it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. And they must put the hair in the fire that burns the sacrifice of the friendship offering.

¹⁹“ ‘After the Nazirites have shaved off their hair, the priest must take a boiled shoulder of the ram. He must remove a cake and a wafer from the basket. They must be made without yeast. And he must place the shoulder and the bread in the hands of the Nazirites.

²⁰“ ‘Then he must lift up the shoulder and bread and wave them in front of the Lord. They are a wave offering. They are holy. They belong to the priest. The breast that was waved belongs to him. The thigh that was offered belongs to him too. After the offering is waved, the Nazirites can drink wine.

²¹“ ‘That is the law of the Nazirites. They promise to sacrifice offerings to the Lord. They do it when they set themselves apart. And they should bring anything else they can afford. They must carry out the promises they have made. They must do it in keeping with the law of the Nazirites.’ ”

How the Priests Bless the People

²²The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ²³“Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘Here is how I want you to bless the people of Israel. Say to them,

²⁴“ ‘ “May the Lord bless you

and take good care of you.

²⁵May the Lord smile on you

and be gracious to you.

²⁶May the Lord look on you with favor

and give you his peace.” ’

²⁷“In that way they will put the blessing of my name on the people of Israel. And I will bless them.”

Israel’s Leaders Bring Offerings for the Holy Tent

7Moses finished setting up the holy tent. Then he anointed it with olive oil. He set it apart to the Lord. He did the same thing with everything that belonged to it. He also anointed the altar. And he set apart to the Lord the altar and all of its tools.

²Then the leaders of Israel brought their offerings. The leaders were the heads of the families. They were the leaders of the tribes. They were in charge of the men who had been counted. ³They brought gifts to the Lord. They brought six covered carts and 12 oxen. Each leader gave an ox. And every two leaders gave a cart. They put their gifts in front of the holy tent.

⁴The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ⁵“Accept the gifts from the leaders. I want their gifts to be used in the work at the Tent of Meeting. Give them to the Levites. They need them to do their work.”

⁶So Moses gave the carts and the oxen to the Levites. ⁷He gave two carts and four oxen to the men from the family of Gershon. They needed them to do their work. ⁸He gave four carts and eight oxen to the men from the family of Merari. They needed them to do their work. All of those men were under the direction of the priest Ithamar, the son of Aaron.

⁹But Moses didn’t give any carts or oxen to the men from the family of Kohath. They had to carry the holy things on their shoulders. They were accountable for the holy things.

¹⁰When the altar was anointed, the leaders brought their offerings. They placed them in front of the altar. They brought their offerings to set the altar apart. ¹¹The Lord had spoken to Moses. He had said, “Each day one leader must bring his offering. He must bring it to set the altar apart.”

¹²On the first day Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, brought his offering. Nahshon was from the tribe of Judah.

¹³He brought one silver plate and one silver sprinkling bowl. The plate weighed three pounds four ounces. The sprinkling bowl weighed one pound 12 ounces. They were weighed in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent. Each plate and bowl was filled with fine flour that was mixed with olive oil. It was a grain offering. ¹⁴He brought one gold dish. It weighed four ounces. It was filled with incense.

¹⁵Nahshon brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering. ¹⁶He brought one male goat to be sacrificed as a sin offering. ¹⁷He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering.

That was everything that Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, brought as his offering.

¹⁸On the second day Nethanel, the son of Zuar, brought his offering. Nethanel was the leader of the tribe of Issachar.

¹⁹He brought one silver plate and one silver sprinkling bowl. The silver plate weighed three pounds four ounces. The sprinkling bowl weighed one pound 12 ounces. Both were weighed in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent. Each plate and bowl was filled with fine flour that was mixed with olive oil. It was a grain offering. ²⁰He brought one gold dish. It weighed four ounces. It was filled with incense.

²¹Nethanel brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering. ²²He brought one male goat to be sacrificed as a sin offering. ²³He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering.

That was everything that Nethanel, the son of Zuar, brought as his offering.

²⁴On the third day Eliab, the son of Helon, brought his offering. Eliab was the leader of the people of Zebulun.

²⁵He brought one silver plate and one silver sprinkling bowl. The plate weighed three pounds four ounces. The sprinkling bowl weighed one pound 12 ounces. They were weighed in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent. Each plate and bowl was filled with fine flour that was mixed with olive oil. It was a grain offering. ²⁶He brought one gold dish. It weighed four ounces. It was filled with incense.

²⁷Eliab brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering. ²⁸He brought one male goat to be sacrificed as a sin offering. ²⁹He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering.

That was everything that Eliab, the son of Helon, brought as his offering.

³⁰On the fourth day Elizur, the son of Shedeur, brought his offering. Elizur was the leader of the people of Reuben.

³¹He brought one silver plate and one silver sprinkling bowl. The plate weighed three pounds four ounces. The sprinkling bowl weighed one pound 12 ounces. They were weighed in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent. Each plate and bowl was filled with fine flour that was mixed with olive oil. It was a grain offering. ³²He brought one gold dish. It weighed four ounces. It was filled with incense.

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