English Standard Version
Numbers 19:20
20"If the man who is unclean does not cleanse himself, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, since he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. Because the water for impurity has not been thrown on him, he is unclean.
Numbers 19:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.
- New International Version (NIV)But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean.
- New King James Version (NKJV)‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“But those who become defiled and do not purify themselves will be cut off from the community, for they have defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. Since the water of purification has not been sprinkled on them, they remain defiled.
Context of Numbers 19:20
18Then a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there and on whoever touched the bone, or the slain or the dead or the grave. 19And the clean person shall sprinkle it on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day. Thus on the seventh day he shall cleanse him, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and at evening he shall be clean. "If the man who is unclean does not cleanse himself, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, since he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. Because the water for impurity has not been thrown on him, he is unclean. 21And it shall be a statute forever for them. The one who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening. 22And whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean, and anyone who touches it shall be unclean until evening."
Read all of Numbers 19Numbers 19:20 word by word
וְאִ֤ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יִטְמָא֙ וְלֹ֣א יִתְחַטָּ֔א וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַקָּהָ֑ל כִּי֩ אֶת־מִקְדַּ֨שׁ יְהוָ֜ה טִמֵּ֗א מֵ֥י נִדָּ֛ה לֹא־זֹרַ֥ק עָלָ֖יו טָמֵ֥א הֽוּא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But the manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- that shall be uncleanטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
- and shall not purifyחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
- himself, that soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: personH5315
- shall be cut offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772
- from amongתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
- the congregationקָהָלqâhâl · assemblyH6951
- the sanctuaryמִקְדָּשׁmiqdâsh miqqedâsh · sanctuaryH4720
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- of separationנִדָּהniddâh · impurityH5079
- hath not been sprinkledזָרַקzâraq · to scatterH2236
- uncleanטָמֵאţâmê' · uncleanH2931
Cross-references for Numbers 19:20
- Numbers 19:13Whoever 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.
- Numbers 15:30But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people.
- Genesis 17:14Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
- Mark 16:16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
- Acts 13:39and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.
- Romans 2:4Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
- 2 Peter 3:14Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.
- Revelation 22:11Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy."
Commentaries on Numbers 19:20
- 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. 17-22To cleanse with the heifer's ashes, they made a special purifying mixture. They combined ashes from the burnt purification offering with fresh water (compare 5:17).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 19:20
In the dictionaries
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
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