Numbers 15:39

Numbers 15:39 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
• New International Version (NIV)You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined,

Context of Numbers 15:39

37The Lord said to Moses, 38‘Tell the Israelites that they must put tassels on the corners of their clothes. They must fix the tassels on blue strings. They must do this now and for all future time. You will be able to look at the tassels. They will help you to remember all the Lord's rules. Then you can obey them. Then you will not only do what you yourself want to do. You will not turn away from me. 40When you see the tassels, you will remember to obey all my rules. You will be holy for your God. 41I am the Lord your God. I brought you out from Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.’

Numbers 15:39 word by word

וְהָיָ֣ה לָכֶם֮ לְצִיצִת֒ וּרְאִיתֶ֣ם אֹת֗וֹ וּזְכַרְתֶּם֙ אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֹ֣ת יְהוָ֔ה וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְלֹֽא־תָתֻ֜רוּ אַחֲרֵ֤י לְבַבְכֶם֙ וְאַחֲרֵ֣י עֵֽינֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּ֥ם זֹנִ֖ים אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it shall be unto you for a fringeצִיצִתtsîytsith · tasselH6734
• that ye may lookרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• upon it, and rememberזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
• all the commandmentsמִצְוָהmitsvâh · commandmentH4687
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• and doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• them; and that ye seekתּוּרtûr · to spyH8446
• not afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• your own heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
• and your own eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• which ye use to go a whoringזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181

Cross-references for Numbers 15:39

• Exodus 13:9This special time will be like a mark on your hand. It will be like something that you fix between your eyes. It will be a sign that causes you to remember what happened on this day. Then you will not forget to speak about the Law of the Lord. Remember this: The Lord brought you out of Egypt with his great power.
• Deuteronomy 6:6Always think about these commands that I am giving you today.
• Deuteronomy 11:18Continue to think carefully about these commands in everything that you do. Tie them as signs onto your hands so that you remember them. Also tie them around your heads.
• Proverbs 3:1My child, do not forget what I teach you. Always think carefully about my commands.
• Deuteronomy 29:19Nobody who hears the message of this covenant should think that they can go against it. Someone might say to himself, ‘I do not have to obey this covenant. I will be safe, whatever happens. God will still bless me.’ A person who thinks like that will bring trouble on everyone and on everything.
• Job 31:7God seems to think that I have not lived in the right way. He may think that I have wanted bad things when they looked nice to me. Or perhaps I have done something else that was wrong.
• Proverbs 28:26If you trust your own thoughts, you are a fool. But if you live in a wise way, you will be safe from danger.
• Ecclesiastes 11:9Young people, enjoy your life while you are young. Do the things that you think are good. Enjoy the things that you see. But remember that God will judge you for all the things that you do.
• Jeremiah 9:14Instead, they have done whatever they wanted to do. They have served the gods of Baal, as their ancestors taught them to do.’
• Ezekiel 6:9When they are living as prisoners among those other nations, they will remember me. They will realize that they made me very sad because they were not faithful to me. They stopped worshipping me. Instead, they chose to worship idols. Then they will be ashamed of themselves, because of all the disgusting things which they have done.
• Exodus 34:15Be careful not to make an agreement with the people who live in that land. They have turned away to worship their own gods. They offer sacrifices to their gods. When they do that, they may ask you to join with them. Then you will eat the food that they have offered to their gods.
• Psalms 73:27Those people who stay far away from you will die. You destroy everybody who turns away from you.
• Psalms 106:3God has blessed the people who obey his commands. They always do what is right.
• Hosea 2:2My children, warn your mother! She is no longer my wife. I am not her husband. Tell her that she must stop living like a prostitute. She must stop having sex with other men instead of me.
• James 4:4You are turning away from God, like a woman who is not faithful to her husband. You choose to be friends with people who are against God. So you yourselves become enemies of God. You should know that!

Commentaries on Numbers 15:39

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 37-41Verses 37-41 The people are ordered by the Lord to make fringes on the borders of their garments. The Jews were distinguished from their neighbours in their dress, as well as in their diet, and thus taught not to be conformed to the way of the heathen in other things. They proclaimed themselves Jews wherever they were, as not ashamed of God and his law. The fringes were not appointed for trimming and adorning their clothes, but to stir up their minds by…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 37-41If the Hebrews had remembered their special relationship with the Lord, they might have avoided the problems in Numbers. The tassels reminded Israel of their unique bond with a holy God and his expectations. He had freed his people from Egypt. Consistent with his call to a covenant relationship, he expected them to observe the law (see Deuteronomy 6:6–9; Matthew 9:20; 14:36; 23:5). The color blue was a sign of royalty, which means kingship or rule. It…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-411-2. The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel--Some infer from Nu 15:23 that the date of this communication must be fixed towards the close of the wanderings in the wilderness; and, also, that all the sacrifices prescribed in the law were to be offered only after the settlement in Canaan.Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 15:39

• Colors
• Fringes
• Instruction
• Obedience
• Token

In the dictionaries

• Dedicate
• Exodus
• Hem
• Presumptuously
• Agrapha
• Chronicles, Books of
• Fringes
• Genealogy
• Leviticus
• Numbers, Book of

Commentaries on Numbers 15

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings