Numbers 19:13

Numbers 19:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.
• New International Version (NIV)If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile the Lord’s tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him.

Context of Numbers 19:13

11“The person who touches any human corpse will be unclean for seven days. 12He is to purify himself with the water on the third day and the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean. Anyone who touches a body of a person who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person will be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean because the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him. 14“This is the law when a person dies in a tent: everyone who enters the tent and everyone who is already in the tent will be unclean for seven days, 15and any open container without a lid tied on it is unclean.

Numbers 19:13 word by word

כָּֽל־הַנֹּגֵ֡עַ בְּמֵ֣ת בְּנֶפֶשׁ֩ הָאָדָ֨ם אֲשֶׁר־יָמ֜וּת וְלֹ֣א יִתְחַטָּ֗א אֶת־מִשְׁכַּ֤ן יְהוָה֙ טִמֵּ֔א וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֑ל כִּי֩ מֵ֨י נִדָּ֜ה לֹא־זֹרַ֤ק עָלָיו֙ טָמֵ֣א יִהְיֶ֔ה ע֖וֹד טֻמְאָת֥וֹ בֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whosoever touchethנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060
• the deadמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• bodyנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: deadH5315
• of any manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• and purifiethחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
• not himself, defilethטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
• the tabernacleמִשְׁכָּןmishkân · tabernacleH4908
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• and that soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: personH5315
• shall be cut offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772
• from Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• because the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• of separationנִדָּהniddâh · impurityH5079
• was not sprinkledזָרַקzâraq · to scatterH2236
• upon him, he shall be uncleanטָמֵאţâmê' · uncleanH2931
• his uncleannessטֻמְאָהţûm'âh · uncleannessH2932

Cross-references for Numbers 19:13

• Numbers 15:30“But the person who acts defiantly, whether native or resident alien, blasphemes the Lord. That person is to be cut off from his people.
• Leviticus 5:3Or if he touches human uncleanness — any uncleanness by which one can become defiled — without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt.
• Leviticus 15:31“You must keep the Israelites from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling my tabernacle that is among them.
• Hebrews 2:2For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment,
• Hebrews 10:29How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
• Revelation 21:8But the cowards, faithless, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars — their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
• Revelation 22:11Let the unrighteous go on in unrighteousness; let the filthy still be filthy; let the righteous go on in righteousness; let the holy still be holy.”
• Numbers 19:9“A man who is clean is to gather up the cow’s ashes and deposit them outside the camp in a ceremonially clean place. The ashes will be kept by the Israelite community for preparing the water to remove impurity; it is a sin offering.
• Numbers 8:7Do this to them for their purification: Sprinkle them with the purification water. Have them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.
• Leviticus 7:20But the one who eats meat from the Lord’s fellowship sacrifice while he is unclean, that person must be cut off from his people.
• Leviticus 22:3Say to them: If any man from any of your descendants throughout your generations is in a state of uncleanness yet approaches the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person will be cut off from my presence; I am the Lord.
• Proverbs 14:32The wicked one is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous one has a refuge in his death.
• John 8:24Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”

Commentaries on Numbers 19:13

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11-22Verses 11-22 One practical effect of attaching defilement to a dead body, and to all that touched it, etc., would be to insure early burial, and to correct a practice not uncommon in the East, of leaving the deal to be devoured by the wild beasts.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-22Verses 11-22 Why did the law make a corpse a defiling thing? Because death is the wages of sin, which entered into the world by it, and reigns by the power of it. The law could not conquer death, nor abolish it, as the gospel does, by bringing life and immortality to light, and so introducing a better hope. As the ashes of the heifer signified the merit of Christ, so the running water signified the power and grace of the blessed Spirit, who is compared to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13Becoming unclean by touching a dead body was very serious. A person who was ceremonially defiled (not fit for worship) could also make the Lord’s tabernacle unclean (compare Leviticus 15:31). Because of this danger, such impurity could lead to being “cut off” from the community of Israel. This meant being removed from the people, and in some cases, it could mean death (see Numbers 9:13; Exodus 12:15; Leviticus 7:20–21; Leviticus 17:4–14; Leviticus…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 11-2211-22. He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean--This law is noticed here to show the uses to which the water of separation [Nu 19:9] was applied. The case of a death is one; and as in every family which sustained a bereavement the members of the household became defiled, so in an immense population, where instances of mortality and other cases of uncleanness would be daily occurring, the water of separation must have been in constant…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 19:13

• Church
• Defilement
• Mourning
• Purification
• Sanitation
• Tabernacle
• Water

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Water of separation
• Dead Body
• Clean
• Covering
• Defile
• Exodus
• Unclean

Commentaries on Numbers 19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings