New Living Translation
Numbers 15:39
39When 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.
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
37Then the Lord said to Moses, 38“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: Throughout the generations to come you must make tassels for the hems of your clothing and attach them with a blue cord. 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. 40The tassels will help you remember that you must obey all my commands and be holy to your God. 41I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt that I might be your God. I am the Lord your God!”
Read all of Numbers 15Numbers 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 annual festival will be a visible sign to you, like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the Lord: ‘With a strong hand, the Lord rescued you from Egypt.’
- Deuteronomy 6:6And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.
- Deuteronomy 11:18“So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.
- Proverbs 3:1My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart.
- Deuteronomy 29:19“Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking, ‘I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.’ This would lead to utter ruin!
- Job 31:7If I have strayed from his pathway, or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen, or if I am guilty of any other sin,
- Proverbs 28:26Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.
- Ecclesiastes 11:9Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.
- Jeremiah 9:14Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images of Baal, as their ancestors taught them.
- Ezekiel 6:9Then when they are exiled among the nations, they will remember me. They will recognize how hurt I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes that long for their idols. Then at last they will hate themselves for all their detestable sins.
- Exodus 34:15“You must not make a treaty of any kind with the people living in the land. They lust after their gods, offering sacrifices to them. They will invite you to join them in their sacrificial meals, and you will go with them.
- Psalms 73:27Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you.
- Psalms 106:3There is joy for those who deal justly with others and always do what is right.
- Hosea 2:2“But now bring charges against Israel—your mother— for she is no longer my wife, and I am no longer her husband. Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her face and the clothing that exposes her breasts.
- James 4:4You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself 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
In the dictionaries
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
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