Numbers 6

The Nazirite Vow

1Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 2“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate themselves to Yahweh, 3they shall abstain from wine and strong drink; they shall not drink vinegar made from wine or from strong drink, nor drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh or dried grapes. 4All the days of their separation they shall eat nothing that comes from the grapevine, from seed to skin. 5All the days of their vow of separation, no razor shall pass over their head. Until the days are completed for which they separate themselves to Yahweh, they shall be holy; they shall let the hair of their head grow long. 6All the days of their separation to Yahweh, they shall not go near a dead body. 7Not even for their father or mother, brother or sister, shall they make themselves unclean at death, because the consecration of their God is upon their head. 8All the days of their separation they are holy to Yahweh. 9If someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly beside them, defiling the head of their separation, they shall shave their head on the day of their cleansing; on the seventh day they shall shave it. 10On the eighth day they shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting. 11The priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make atonement for them, because they sinned by reason of the corpse. They shall consecrate their head that same day, 12and rededicate to Yahweh the days of their separation, bringing a year-old lamb as a guilt offering. But the earlier days no longer count, because their separation was defiled.

The Completion of the Vow

13This is the law of the Nazirite: on the day the days of their separation are completed, they shall be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting. 14They shall present their offering to Yahweh: one unblemished year-old male lamb for a burnt offering, one unblemished year-old ewe lamb for a sin offering, and one unblemished ram for a peace offering, 15along with a basket of unleavened bread — cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil — together with their grain offering and their drink offerings. 16The priest shall bring these before Yahweh and offer the sin offering and the burnt offering. 17He shall offer the ram as a peace offering to Yahweh, together with the basket of unleavened bread, and the priest shall also offer its grain offering and its drink offering. 18The Nazirite shall shave the head of their separation at the entrance of the tent of meeting, take the hair from their head, and put it on the fire under the peace offering. 19The priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them in the hands of the Nazirite after they have shaved the hair of their separation. 20The priest shall wave them as a wave offering before Yahweh; this is holy for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed. After this the Nazirite may drink wine. 21This is the law for the Nazirite who vows an offering to Yahweh for their separation, beyond whatever else they can afford. According to the vow they have made, so they must do, following the law of their separation.”

The Priestly Blessing

22Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 23“Speak to Aaron and his sons: This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24‘May Yahweh bless you and keep you; 25may Yahweh make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26may Yahweh turn his face toward you and give you peace.’ 27So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”