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The LORD spoke to Moses:
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“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to consecrate himself to the LORD,
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he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink; he shall not drink vinegar made from wine or vinegar made from strong drink, and he shall not drink any beverage made from grapes, nor eat grapes, whether fresh or dried.
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All the days of his Nazirite vow he shall eat nothing that comes from the grapevine, from the seeds even to the skin.
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All the days of his vow as a Nazirite no razor shall come upon his head; until the time is fulfilled for which he consecrates himself to the LORD, he shall be holy and let the hair of his head grow long.
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All the days that he consecrates himself to the LORD he shall not go near a dead body;
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not even for his father or for his mother, for his brother or for his sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean for them, because the sign of his consecration to his God is upon his head.
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All the days of his Nazirite vow he is holy to the LORD.
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But if someone dies very suddenly beside him, so that he defiles the hair of his consecration, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it.
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On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
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The priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned by being near the dead body. On that same day he shall consecrate his head
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and dedicate the days of his Nazirite vow to the LORD. He shall bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. The former days shall not count, because his Nazirite hair was defiled.
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And this is the law for the Nazirite: when the time of his Nazirite vow is fulfilled, he shall be brought to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting,
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and he shall present his offering to the LORD: one year-old male lamb without blemish for a burnt offering, and one year-old female lamb without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for a peace offering,
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also a basket of unleavened bread, namely cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, together with their grain offering and their drink offerings.
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Then the priest shall bring them all before the LORD and offer the sin offering and the burnt offering;
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the ram he shall offer as a peace offering to the LORD, together with the basket of unleavened bread; and the priest shall also offer the grain offering and the drink offering.
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Then the Nazirite shall shave the hair of his consecration at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and shall take the hair of his consecration and put it into the fire that is under the peace offering.
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The priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened round loaf from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and place them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved the hair of his consecration;
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then the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the LORD; they are holy for the priest, together with the wave breast and the contribution thigh. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.”
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This is the law for the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD according to his consecration, apart from whatever else he is able to offer. According to the vow he has made, so must he do, in keeping with the law of his consecration.
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The LORD spoke to Moses:
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“Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel; you shall say to them:
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The LORD bless you and keep you;
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The LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
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The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
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So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
🙏🍇✂️ Summary of Numbers 6 – Nazirite Vow & Priestly Blessing
Numbers 6 consists of two main parts:
- The law of the Nazirite vow – someone who dedicates himself specially to God
- The Priestly Blessing – a beautiful blessing from God for His people, which serves as the closing prayer of this chapter
This chapter emphasizes that every person may draw near to God personally, with sincere and holy commitment.
📌 1. The Nazirite Vow (verses 1–21)
Nazirite means “set apart” or “consecrated.” This vow could be taken by a man or a woman as a special act of devotion to God for a set period of time.
✅ Three Main Restrictions of a Nazirite:
- Do not drink wine or any product of the vine
Including: fresh grapes, raisins, wine vinegar
- Not cutting the hair
Long hair became a sign of devotion to the Lord
- Not touching a corpse
Even if one’s own parent dies, he must not defile himself
If he breaks it (for example, by accidentally touching a corpse):
➡️ He must repeat the period of the vow and offer a sin offering.
🔚 End of the Vow Period:
- The Nazirite shaves his hair at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting
- The hair is burned together with the thanksgiving offering
- He also presents offerings: burnt offering, sin offering, and peace offering
🎯 The Nazirite vow is a holy and radical personal commitment to the Lord.
📌 2. The Priestly Blessing (verses 22–27)
The Lord commanded Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with the following words:
“The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up his face toward you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24–26)
This is a beautiful and well-known blessing prayer, and it is often used in worship even today.
📖 This blessing shows that God desires to bless, protect, and draw near to His people.
📖 Main Teachings
- Special devotion to God can come from anyone, without coercion, but with wholeheartedness.
- Taking on a spiritual commitment is no small matter—it concerns body, soul, and social life.
- God does not only accept formal offerings, but also personal vows made with a sincere heart.
- God himself teaches how to bless His people—He desires His people to live in His peace and protection.
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
- Jesus is the true image of the holy Nazirite, set apart and wholly obedient to the Father.
- We are called to be a holy people, separated from the world in the way we live (2 Corinthians 6:17).
- The priestly blessing is now fulfilled in Christ, who is our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14–16).
- The blessing prayer in this chapter becomes a symbol of God’s blessing of salvation and peace through Jesus Christ.
