New King James Version
Numbers 19:20
20‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.
Numbers 19:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.
- New International Version (NIV)But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“But those who become defiled and do not purify themselves will be cut off from the community, for they have defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. Since the water of purification has not been sprinkled on them, they remain defiled.
Context of Numbers 19:20
18A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave. 19The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean. ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. 21It 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. 22Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’ ”
Read all of Numbers 19Numbers 19:20 word by word
וְאִ֤ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יִטְמָא֙ וְלֹ֣א יִתְחַטָּ֔א וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַקָּהָ֑ל כִּי֩ אֶת־מִקְדַּ֨שׁ יְהוָ֜ה טִמֵּ֗א מֵ֥י נִדָּ֛ה לֹא־זֹרַ֥ק עָלָ֖יו טָמֵ֥א הֽוּא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But the manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- that shall be uncleanטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
- and shall not purifyחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
- himself, that soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: personH5315
- shall be cut offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772
- from amongתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
- the congregationקָהָלqâhâl · assemblyH6951
- the sanctuaryמִקְדָּשׁmiqdâsh miqqedâsh · sanctuaryH4720
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- of separationנִדָּהniddâh · impurityH5079
- hath not been sprinkledזָרַקzâraq · to scatterH2236
- uncleanטָמֵאţâmê' · uncleanH2931
Cross-references for Numbers 19:20
- Numbers 19:13Whoever 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.
- Numbers 15:30‘But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the Lord, and he shall be cut off from among his people.
- Genesis 17:14And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
- Mark 16:16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
- Acts 13:39and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
- Romans 2:4Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
- 2 Peter 3:14Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
- Revelation 22:11He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
Commentaries on Numbers 19:20
- 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 19:20
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries