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 spoke to Moses: 38“Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make tassels for themselves on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and put a blue thread on the tassel of the corners. You must have this tassel so that you may look at it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and obey them and so that you do not follow after your own heart and your own eyes that lead you to unfaithfulness. 40Thus you will remember and obey 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.”

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 13:9It will be a sign for you on your hand and a memorial on your forehead, so that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth, for with a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.
• Deuteronomy 6:6These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind,
• Deuteronomy 11:18Fix these words of mine into your mind and being, and tie them as a reminder on your hands and let them be symbols on your forehead.
• Proverbs 3:1My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,
• Deuteronomy 29:19When such a person hears the words of this oath he secretly blesses himself and says, “I will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit.” This will destroy the watered ground with the parched.
• Job 31:7If my footsteps have strayed from the way, if my heart has gone after my eyes, or if anything has defiled my hands,
• Proverbs 28:26The one who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but the one who walks in wisdom will escape.
• Ecclesiastes 11:9Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions.
• Jeremiah 9:14Instead they have followed the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts. They have paid allegiance to the gods called Baal, as their fathers taught them to do.
• Ezekiel 6:9Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize how I was crushed by their unfaithful heart which turned from me and by their eyes which lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices.
• Exodus 34:15Be careful not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you, you will eat from his sacrifice;
• Psalms 73:27Yes, look! Those far from you die; you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you.
• Psalms 106:3How blessed are those who promote justice, and do what is right all the time!
• Hosea 2:2Plead earnestly with your mother (for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband), so that she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle, and turn away from her sexually immoral behavior.
• James 4:4Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy.

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