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:
• 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,
• New Living Translation (NLT)When you see the tassels, you will remember and obey all the commands of the Lord instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves, as you are prone to do.

Context of Numbers 15:39

37The Lord said to Moses, 38“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. 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. 40Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. 41I am the Lord your God, who brought you out 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 13:9This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.
• Deuteronomy 6:6These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
• Deuteronomy 11:18Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
• Proverbs 3:1My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,
• Deuteronomy 29:19When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,” they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.
• Job 31:7if my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled,
• Proverbs 28:26Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.
• Ecclesiastes 11:9You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
• Jeremiah 9:14Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.”
• Ezekiel 6:9Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices.
• Exodus 34:15“Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.
• Psalms 73:27Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
• Psalms 106:3Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right.
• Hosea 2:2“Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adulterous look from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
• James 4:4You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

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