Numbers 6:3

Numbers 6:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
• New International Version (NIV)they must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.
• English Standard Version (ESV)he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried.
• New King James Version (NKJV)he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins.

Context of Numbers 6:3

1Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 2“Speak to the Israelites, and tell them, ‘When either a man or a woman takes a special vow, to take a vow as a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, he must separate himself from wine and strong drink, he must drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from strong drink, nor may he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. 4All the days of his separation he must not eat anything that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. 5“‘All the days of the vow of his separation no razor may be used on his head until the time is fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord. He will be holy, and he must let the locks of hair on his head grow long.

Numbers 6:3 word by word

מִיַּ֤יִן וְשֵׁכָר֙ יַזִּ֔יר חֹ֥מֶץ יַ֛יִן וְחֹ֥מֶץ שֵׁכָ֖ר לֹ֣א יִשְׁתֶּ֑ה וְכָל־מִשְׁרַ֤ת עֲנָבִים֙ לֹ֣א יִשְׁתֶּ֔ה וַעֲנָבִ֛ים לַחִ֥ים וִיבֵשִׁ֖ים לֹ֥א יֹאכֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• He shall separateנָזַרnâzar · be a NazariteH5144
• from wineיַ֫יִןyayin · wineH3196
• and strong drinkשֵׁכָרshêkâr · strong drinkH7941
• and shall drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• no vinegarחֹ֫מֶץchômets · vinegarH2558
• any liquorמִשְׁרָהmishrâh · juiceH4952
• of grapesעֵנָב‛ênâb · grapeH6025
• nor eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• moistלַחlach · freshH3892
• or driedיָבֵשׁyâbêsh · dryH3002

Cross-references for Numbers 6:3

• Leviticus 10:9“Do not drink wine or strong drink, you and your sons with you, when you enter into the Meeting Tent, so that you do not die, which is a perpetual statute throughout your generations,
• Judges 13:14She should not drink anything that the grapevine produces. She must not drink wine or beer, and she must not eat any food that will make her ritually unclean. She should obey everything I commanded her to do.”
• Proverbs 31:4It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,
• Jeremiah 35:6But they answered, “We do not drink wine because our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us not to. He told us, ‘You and your children must never drink wine.
• Amos 2:12“But you made the Nazirites drink wine; you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’
• Luke 1:15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.
• Luke 7:33For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’
• Luke 21:34“But be on your guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap.
• Ephesians 5:18And do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be filled by the Spirit,
• 1 Thessalonians 5:22Stay away from every form of evil.
• 1 Timothy 5:23(Stop drinking just water, but use a little wine for your digestion and your frequent illnesses.)

Commentaries on Numbers 6:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3No vinegar of wine, etc. - חמץ chomets signifies fermented wine, and is probably used here to signify wine of a strong body, or any highly intoxicating liquor. Dr. Lightfoot supposes that the Leper being the most defiled and loathsome of creatures, was an emblem of the wretched, miserable state of man by the fall; and that the Nazarite was the emblem of man in his state of innocence. Wine and grapes are here particularly forbidden to the Nazarite because…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-21Verses 1-21 The law of the Nazarite is appropriately added to other enactments which concern the sanctity of the holy nation. That sanctity found its highest expression in the Nazarite vow, which was the voluntary adoption for a time of obligations to high and strict modes of self-dedication resembling, and indeed in some particulars exceeding, those under which the priests were placed. The present enactments do not institute a new kind of observance, but…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4The law required priests to avoid drinking wine before serving in the Tent of Meeting (Leviticus 10:9). The Nazirite vow allowed non-Levites to extend this rule. They avoided wine everywhere, at all times, and anything from a grapevine.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-222-8. When either man or woman ... shall vow a vow of a Nazarite--that is, "a separated one," from a Hebrew word, "to separate." It was used to designate a class of persons who, under the impulse of extraordinary piety and with a view to higher degrees of religious improvement, voluntarily renounced the occupations and pleasures of the world to dedicate themselves unreservedly to the divine service. The vow might be taken by either sex, provided they had…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 6:3

• Abstinence, Total
• Food
• Fraternity
• Nazarite
• Prohibition
• Vinegar
• Wine

In the dictionaries

• strong drink
• John the Baptist
• Leaven
• Nazarite
• Port
• Samson
• Separation
• Shave
• Sinai
• Wine

Commentaries on Numbers 6

• 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
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings