English Standard Version
Numbers 15:39
39And 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.
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.
- 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,
- New Living Translation (NLT)When you see the tassels, you will remember and obey all the commands of the Lord instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves, as you are prone to do.
Context of Numbers 15:39
37The Lord said to Moses, 38"Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. 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. 40So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. 41I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God."
Read all of Numbers 15Numbers 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 13:9And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 6:6And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
- Deuteronomy 11:18"You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
- Proverbs 3:1My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,
- Deuteronomy 29:19one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, 'I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.' This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike.
- Job 31:7if my step has turned aside from the way and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has stuck to my hands,
- Proverbs 28:26Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
- Ecclesiastes 11:9Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
- Jeremiah 9:14but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.
- Ezekiel 6:9then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes that go whoring after their idols. And they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations.
- Exodus 34:15lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice,
- Psalms 73:27For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
- Psalms 106:3Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!
- Hosea 2:2"Plead with your mother, plead— for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband— that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts;
- James 4:4You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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Commentaries