Christian Standard Bible
Numbers 6:3
3he is to abstain from wine and beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins.
Numbers 6:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
- New International Version (NIV)they must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.
- English Standard Version (ESV)he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried.
- New King James Version (NKJV)he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins.
Context of Numbers 6:3
1The Lord instructed Moses, 2“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow, to consecrate himself to the Lord, he is to abstain from wine and beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. 4He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during the period of his consecration. 5“You must not cut his hair throughout the time of his vow of consecration. He may be holy until the time is completed during which he consecrates himself to the Lord; he is to let the hair of his head grow long.
Read all of Numbers 6Numbers 6:3 word by word
מִיַּ֤יִן וְשֵׁכָר֙ יַזִּ֔יר חֹ֥מֶץ יַ֛יִן וְחֹ֥מֶץ שֵׁכָ֖ר לֹ֣א יִשְׁתֶּ֑ה וְכָל־מִשְׁרַ֤ת עֲנָבִים֙ לֹ֣א יִשְׁתֶּ֔ה וַעֲנָבִ֛ים לַחִ֥ים וִיבֵשִׁ֖ים לֹ֥א יֹאכֵֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- He shall separateנָזַרnâzar · be a NazariteH5144
- from wineיַ֫יִןyayin · wineH3196
- and strong drinkשֵׁכָרshêkâr · strong drinkH7941
- and shall drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
- no vinegarחֹ֫מֶץchômets · vinegarH2558
- any liquorמִשְׁרָהmishrâh · juiceH4952
- of grapesעֵנָב‛ênâb · grapeH6025
- nor eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- moistלַחlach · freshH3892
- or driedיָבֵשׁyâbêsh · dryH3002
Cross-references for Numbers 6:3
- Leviticus 10:9“You and your sons are not to drink wine or beer when you enter the tent of meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations.
- Judges 13:14She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine or drink wine or beer. And she must not eat anything unclean. Your wife must do everything I have commanded her.”
- Proverbs 31:4It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to desire beer.
- Jeremiah 35:6But they replied, “We do not drink wine, for Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded, ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine.
- Amos 2:12But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets, “Do not prophesy.”
- Luke 1:15For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.
- Luke 7:33For John the Baptist did not come eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’
- Luke 21:34“Be on your guard, so that your minds are not dulled from carousing, drunkenness, and worries of life, or that day will come on you unexpectedly
- Ephesians 5:18And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit:
- 1 Thessalonians 5:22Stay away from every kind of evil.
- 1 Timothy 5:23Don’t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
Commentaries on Numbers 6:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3No vinegar of wine, etc. - חמץ chomets signifies fermented wine, and is probably used here to signify wine of a strong body, or any highly intoxicating liquor. Dr. Lightfoot supposes that the Leper being the most defiled and loathsome of creatures, was an emblem of the wretched, miserable state of man by the fall; and that the Nazarite was the emblem of man in his state of innocence. Wine and grapes are here particularly forbidden to the Nazarite because…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-21Verses 1-21 The law of the Nazarite is appropriately added to other enactments which concern the sanctity of the holy nation. That sanctity found its highest expression in the Nazarite vow, which was the voluntary adoption for a time of obligations to high and strict modes of self-dedication resembling, and indeed in some particulars exceeding, those under which the priests were placed. The present enactments do not institute a new kind of observance, but…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4The law required priests to avoid drinking wine before serving in the Tent of Meeting (Leviticus 10:9). The Nazirite vow allowed non-Levites to extend this rule. They avoided wine everywhere, at all times, and anything from a grapevine.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-222-8. When either man or woman ... shall vow a vow of a Nazarite--that is, "a separated one," from a Hebrew word, "to separate." It was used to designate a class of persons who, under the impulse of extraordinary piety and with a view to higher degrees of religious improvement, voluntarily renounced the occupations and pleasures of the world to dedicate themselves unreservedly to the divine service. The vow might be taken by either sex, provided they had…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 6:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 6
- 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
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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