New Living Translation
Numbers 19:13
13All those who touch a dead body and do not purify themselves in the proper way defile the Lord’s Tabernacle, and they will be cut off from the community of Israel. Since the water of purification was not sprinkled on them, their defilement continues.
Numbers 19:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.
- New International Version (NIV)If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile the Lord’s tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Whoever 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.
Context of Numbers 19:13
11“All those who touch a dead human body will be ceremonially unclean for seven days. 12They must purify themselves on the third and seventh days with the water of purification; then they will be purified. But if they do not do this on the third and seventh days, they will continue to be unclean even after the seventh day. All those who touch a dead body and do not purify themselves in the proper way defile the Lord’s Tabernacle, and they will be cut off from the community of Israel. Since the water of purification was not sprinkled on them, their defilement continues. 14“This is the ritual law that applies when someone dies inside a tent: All those who enter that tent and those who were inside when the death occurred will be ceremonially unclean for seven days. 15Any open container in the tent that was not covered with a lid is also defiled.
Read all of Numbers 19Numbers 19:13 word by word
כָּֽל־הַנֹּגֵ֡עַ בְּמֵ֣ת בְּנֶפֶשׁ֩ הָאָדָ֨ם אֲשֶׁר־יָמ֜וּת וְלֹ֣א יִתְחַטָּ֗א אֶת־מִשְׁכַּ֤ן יְהוָה֙ טִמֵּ֔א וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֑ל כִּי֩ מֵ֨י נִדָּ֜ה לֹא־זֹרַ֤ק עָלָיו֙ טָמֵ֣א יִהְיֶ֔ה ע֖וֹד טֻמְאָת֥וֹ בֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Whosoever touchethנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060
- the deadמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- bodyנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: deadH5315
- of any manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- and purifiethחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
- not himself, defilethטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
- the tabernacleמִשְׁכָּןmishkân · tabernacleH4908
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- and that soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: personH5315
- shall be cut offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772
- from Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- because the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- of separationנִדָּהniddâh · impurityH5079
- was not sprinkledזָרַקzâraq · to scatterH2236
- upon him, he shall be uncleanטָמֵאţâmê' · uncleanH2931
- his uncleannessטֻמְאָהţûm'âh · uncleannessH2932
Cross-references for Numbers 19:13
- Numbers 15:30“But those who brazenly violate the Lord’s will, whether native-born Israelites or foreigners, have blasphemed the Lord, and they must be cut off from the community.
- Leviticus 5:3“Or suppose you unknowingly touch something that makes a person unclean. When you realize what you have done, you must admit your guilt.
- Leviticus 15:31“This is how you will guard the people of Israel from ceremonial uncleanness. Otherwise they would die, for their impurity would defile my Tabernacle that stands among them.
- Hebrews 2:2For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished.
- Hebrews 10:29Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.
- Revelation 21:8“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
- Revelation 22:11Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm; let the one who is vile continue to be vile; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.”
- Numbers 19:9Then someone who is ceremonially clean will gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them in a purified place outside the camp. They will be kept there for the community of Israel to use in the water for the purification ceremony. This ceremony is performed for the removal of sin.
- Numbers 8:7Do this by sprinkling them with the water of purification, and have them shave their entire body and wash their clothing. Then they will be ceremonially clean.
- Leviticus 7:20If you are ceremonially unclean and you eat meat from a peace offering that was presented to the Lord, you will be cut off from the community.
- Leviticus 22:3Give them the following instructions. “In all future generations, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean when he approaches the sacred offerings that the people of Israel consecrate to the Lord, he must be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord.
- Proverbs 14:32The wicked are crushed by disaster, but the godly have a refuge when they die.
- John 8:24That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”
Commentaries on Numbers 19:13
- 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. 13Becoming unclean by touching a dead body was very serious. A person who was ceremonially defiled (not fit for worship) could also make the Lord’s tabernacle unclean (compare Leviticus 15:31). Because of this danger, such impurity could lead to being “cut off” from the community of Israel. This meant being removed from the people, and in some cases, it could mean death (see Numbers 9:13; Exodus 12:15; Leviticus 7:20–21; Leviticus 17:4–14; Leviticus…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 19:13
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
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