Numbers 6 · Verse 3

Numbers 6:3

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.
Numbers 6:3, King James Version

Numbers 6:3 in other translations

BSBhe is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins.
WEBhe shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of fermented drink, neither shall he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or dried.
ASVhe shall separate himself from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or dried.
YLTfrom wine and strong drink he doth keep separate; vinegar of wine, and vinegar of strong drink he doth not drink, and any juice of grapes he doth not drink, and grapes moist or dry he doth not eat;
DARBYhe shall separate himself from wine and strong drink: he shall drink no vinegar of wine, nor vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat grapes, fresh or dried.
BBEHe is to keep himself from wine and strong drink, and take no mixed wine or strong drink or any drink made from grapes, or any grapes, green or dry.
WebsterHe 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.

What does Numbers 6:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 6:2-8

Nu 6:1-22. The Law of the Nazarite in His Separation. 2-8. 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…

Read the full comment on Numbers 6:2-8 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 No 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, as the doctor thinks, being an emblem of man in his paradisiacal state, he was forbidden that tree and its fruits by eating of which Adam fell; for the doctor, as well as the Jewish rabbins, believed the tree of knowledge to have been none other than the vine. Vinegar of strong drink - See the note on Lev 10:9.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 6:1-21

The word Nazarite signifies separation. Some were appointed of God, before their birth, to be Nazarites all their days, as Samson and John the Baptist. But, in general, it was a vow of separation from the world and devotedness to the services of religion, for a limited time, and under certain rules, which any person might make if they pleased. A Nazarite is spoken of as well known; but his obligation is brought to a…

Read the full comment on Numbers 6:1-21 →

Numbers 6:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

מִיַּ֤יִןmi.Ya.yinfrom wineH3196
וְשֵׁכָר֙ve.she.Kharand strong drinkH7941
יַזִּ֔ירya.Zirhe will keep separateH5144
חֹ֥מֶץCho.metzvinegar ofH2558
יַ֛יִןYa.yinwineH3196
וְחֹ֥מֶץve.Cho.metzand vinegar ofH2558
שֵׁכָ֖רshe.Kharstrong drinkH7941
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
יִשְׁתֶּ֑הyish.Tehhe will drinkH8354
וְכָל\־ve.kholand anyH3605
מִשְׁרַ֤תmish.Ratjuice ofH4952
עֲנָבִים֙'a.na.VimgrapesH6025
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
יִשְׁתֶּ֔הyish.Tehhe will drinkH8354
וַעֲנָבִ֛יםva.'a.na.Vimand grapesH6025
לַחִ֥יםla.ChimfreshH3892
וִיבֵשִׁ֖יםvi.ve.Shimand driedH3002
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
יֹאכֵֽל\׃yo.Khelhe will eatH398

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Numbers 6:3

  • Luke 1:15

    For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.

  • 1 Timothy 5:23

    Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.

  • Ephesians 5:18

    And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

  • Judges 13:14

    She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

  • Leviticus 10:9

    Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:

  • Amos 2:12

    But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

  • 1 Thessalonians 5:22

    Abstain from all appearance of evil.

  • Luke 21:34

    And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

  • Jeremiah 35:6-8

    But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers. Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters;

  • Luke 7:33-34

    For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!

  • Proverbs 31:4-5

    It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Besides the religious nature of this institution, it seems to have been partly of a civil and prudential use. The sobriety and temperance which the Nazarites were obliged to observe were very conducive to health. Accordingly, they were celebrated for their fair and ruddy complexion; being said to be both whiter than milk and more ruddy than rubies (La 4:7); the sure signs of a sound and healthy constitution. It may here be observed, that when God intended to raise up Samson, by his strength of body, to scourge the enemies of Israel, he ordered, that from his infancy he should drink no wine, but live by the rule of the Nazarites, because that would greatly contribute to make him strong and healthy; intending, after nature had done her utmost to form this extraordinary instrument of his providence, to supply her defect by his own supernatural power. See Jenning's Jewish Antiquities, B. I. c. 8.
Le 10:9; Jud 13:14; Pr 31:4,5; Jer 35:6-8; Am 2:12; Lu 1:15
Lu 7:33,34; 21:34; Eph 5:18; 1Th 5:22; 1Ti 5:23

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Numbers 6:2

    Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord:

  • Numbers 6:3

    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.

  • Numbers 6:4

    All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.

Read all of Numbers 6

Numbers 6:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Se abstendrá de vino y de sidra; vinagre de vino, ni vinagre de sidra no beberá, ni beberá algún licor de uvas, ni tampoco comerá uvas frescas ni secas.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		il s’abstiendra de vin et de boisson forte, il ne boira ni vinaigre de vin, ni vinaigre de boisson forte, et il ne boira d’aucune liqueur de raisins, et ne mangera point de raisins, frais ou secs.
German
Elberfelder 1871		so soll er sich des Weines und des starken Getränks enthalten: Essig von Wein und Essig von starkem Getränk soll er nicht trinken; und keinerlei Traubensaft soll er trinken, und Trauben, frische oder getrocknete, soll er nicht essen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		a vino, et omni quod inebriare potest, abstinebunt. Acetum ex vino, et ex qualibet alia potione, et quidquid de uva exprimitur, non bibent: uvas recentes siccasque non comedent