God’s Word Translation
Numbers 19:13
13Whoever touches the dead body of a human being and doesn’t use this water to take away his sin makes the Lord’s tent unclean. That person must be excluded from Israel, because the water that takes away uncleanness wasn’t sprinkled on him. He is unclean; his uncleanness stays with him.
Numbers 19:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.
- New International Version (NIV)If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile the Lord’s tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Whoever 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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him.
Context of Numbers 19:13
11“Whoever touches the dead body of any human being will be unclean for seven days. 12The unclean person must use this water on the third day and the seventh day to take away his sin. Then he will be clean. But if he doesn’t use this water on the third day and the seventh day, he will not be clean. Whoever touches the dead body of a human being and doesn’t use this water to take away his sin makes the Lord’s tent unclean. That person must be excluded from Israel, because the water that takes away uncleanness wasn’t sprinkled on him. He is unclean; his uncleanness stays with him. 14“These are your instructions for when a person dies in a tent: Everyone who goes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent will be unclean for seven days. 15Every container without a lid fastened on it is unclean.
Read all of Numbers 19Numbers 19:13 word by word
כָּֽל־הַנֹּגֵ֡עַ בְּמֵ֣ת בְּנֶפֶשׁ֩ הָאָדָ֨ם אֲשֶׁר־יָמ֜וּת וְלֹ֣א יִתְחַטָּ֗א אֶת־מִשְׁכַּ֤ן יְהוָה֙ טִמֵּ֔א וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֑ל כִּי֩ מֵ֨י נִדָּ֜ה לֹא־זֹרַ֤ק עָלָיו֙ טָמֵ֣א יִהְיֶ֔ה ע֖וֹד טֻמְאָת֥וֹ בֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Whosoever touchethנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060
- the deadמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- bodyנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: deadH5315
- of any manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- and purifiethחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
- not himself, defilethטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
- the tabernacleמִשְׁכָּןmishkân · tabernacleH4908
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- and that soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: personH5315
- shall be cut offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772
- from Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- because the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- of separationנִדָּהniddâh · impurityH5079
- was not sprinkledזָרַקzâraq · to scatterH2236
- upon him, he shall be uncleanטָמֵאţâmê' · uncleanH2931
- his uncleannessטֻמְאָהţûm'âh · uncleannessH2932
Cross-references for Numbers 19:13
- Numbers 15:30“But any native-born Israelite or foreigner who deliberately does something wrong insults the Lord and must be excluded from the people.
- Leviticus 5:3“If you become unclean by touching human uncleanness of any kind and then ignore it (although you know what you did), you will be guilty.
- Leviticus 15:31“You must separate the Israelites from anything that keeps them from being presentable to me. Otherwise, they will die because they make my tent, which is among them, unclean.
- Hebrews 2:2After all, the message that the angels brought was reliable, and every violation and act of disobedience was properly punished.
- Hebrews 10:29What do you think a person who shows no respect for the Son of God deserves? That person looks at the blood of the promise (the blood that made him holy) as no different from other people’s blood, and he insults the Spirit that God gave us out of his kindness. He deserves a much worse punishment.
- Revelation 21:8But cowardly, unfaithful, and detestable people, murderers, sexual sinners, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will find themselves in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
- Revelation 22:11Let those who don’t have God’s approval go without it, and let filthy people continue to be filthy. Let those who have God’s approval continue to have it, and let holy people continue to be holy.”
- Numbers 19:9“A man who is clean will collect the ashes from the cow and put them in a clean place outside the camp. They will be kept by the community of Israel and used in the water that takes away uncleanness. The cow is an offering for sin.
- Numbers 8:7This is what you must do to make them clean: Sprinkle them with water to take away their sins. Make them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes. Then they will be clean.
- Leviticus 7:20Those who eat meat from the Lord’s fellowship offering while unclean must be excluded from the people.
- Leviticus 22:3“Tell them: In future generations if any of your descendants, while unclean, comes near the holy offerings the Israelites set apart for the Lord, that person must be excluded from my presence. I am the Lord.
- Proverbs 14:32A wicked person is thrown down by his own wrongdoing, but even in his death a righteous person has a refuge.
- John 8:24For this reason I told you that you’ll die because of your sins. If you don’t believe that I am the one, you’ll die because of your sins.”
Commentaries on Numbers 19:13
- 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. 13Becoming unclean by touching a dead body was very serious. A person who was ceremonially defiled (not fit for worship) could also make the Lord’s tabernacle unclean (compare Leviticus 15:31). Because of this danger, such impurity could lead to being “cut off” from the community of Israel. This meant being removed from the people, and in some cases, it could mean death (see Numbers 9:13; Exodus 12:15; Leviticus 7:20–21; Leviticus 17:4–14; Leviticus…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 19:13
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries