English Standard Version
Numbers 19:21
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.
Numbers 19:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.
- New International Version (NIV)This is a lasting ordinance for them. “The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening.
- New King James Version (NKJV)It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening.
- New Living Translation (NLT)This is a permanent law for the people. Those who sprinkle the water of purification must afterward wash their clothes, and anyone who then touches the water used for purification will remain defiled until evening.
Context of Numbers 19:21
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. 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. And 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 19:21 word by word
וְהָיְתָ֥ה לָּהֶ֖ם לְחֻקַּ֣ת עוֹלָ֑ם וּמַזֵּ֤ה מֵֽי־הַנִּדָּה֙ יְכַבֵּ֣ס בְּגָדָ֔יו וְהַנֹּגֵ֙עַ֙ בְּמֵ֣י הַנִּדָּ֔ה יִטְמָ֖א עַד־הָעָֽרֶב׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And it shall be a perpetualעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769
- statuteחֻקָּהchûqqâh · statuteH2708
- unto them, that he that sprinklethנָזָהnâzâh · to sprinkleH5137
- the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- of separationנִדָּהniddâh · impurityH5079
- shall washכָּבַסkâbas · to washH3526
- his clothesבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
- and he that touchethנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060
- shall be uncleanטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
- until evenעֶ֫רֶב‛ereb · eveningH6153
Cross-references for Numbers 19:21
- Leviticus 11:25and whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.
- Leviticus 16:26And he who lets the goat go to Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.
- Hebrews 7:19(for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.
- Hebrews 9:10but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.
- Hebrews 10:4For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Commentaries on Numbers 19:21
- 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 19:21
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries