📖 Numbers — Chapter 19 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Numbers 19:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Numbers 19:2 This is Rthe ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:
Numbers 19:3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth Rwithout the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:
Numbers 19:4 And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and Rsprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:
Numbers 19:5 And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:
Numbers 19:6 And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.
Numbers 19:7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.
Numbers 19:8 And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.
Numbers 19:9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for Ra water of separation: it is a purification for sin.
Numbers 19:10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall Rwash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.
Numbers 19:11 He that Rtoucheth the dead body of any Tman shall be unclean seven days.
Numbers 19:12 RHe shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
Numbers 19:13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and Rpurifieth 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.
Numbers 19:14 This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
Numbers 19:15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.
Numbers 19:16 And whosoever Rtoucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
Numbers 19:17 And for an unclean person they shall take of the Tashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and RTrunning water shall be put thereto in a vessel:
Numbers 19:18 And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:
Numbers 19:19 And the clean person Rshall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
Numbers 19:20 But the man that shall be unclean, and Rshall 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.
Numbers 19:21 And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.
Numbers 19:22 And Rwhatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Numbers 19:1–10 — The Red Heifer
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
A red heifer without blemish or previous yoke is brought to Eleazar. It is taken outside the camp and burned with the stated materials. Its ashes are kept in a clean place for the water of separation. The passage specifies washing and uncleanness for those involved.
Key Truth: The LORD provides the appointed preparation for this purification service.
Check What You Remember
1. What colour was the heifer? (Numbers 19:2)
Find it in Numbers 19:2 (KJV).
2. Had a yoke ever been put on it? (Numbers 19:2)
Find it in Numbers 19:2 (KJV).
3. Which priest received the heifer? (Numbers 19:3)
Find it in Numbers 19:3 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Numbers 19:11–16 — Uncleanness from the Dead
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Contact with a dead human body brings seven days of uncleanness. Purification is required in the appointed manner. The law also addresses death in a tent, uncovered vessels, and contact with a body, human bone, or grave. These are ritual-status instructions concerning Israel's sanctuary.
Key Truth: The stated uncleanness requires the appointed purification.
Check What You Remember
1. How many days was a person unclean after touching the dead? (Numbers 19:11)
Find it in Numbers 19:11 (KJV).
2. On which day was the first purification named in verse 12? (Numbers 19:12)
Find it in Numbers 19:12 (KJV).
3. Was an open vessel without a bound covering clean or unclean? (Numbers 19:15)
Find it in Numbers 19:15 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Numbers 19:17–22 — Sprinkling and Cleansing
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Ashes and running water are prepared, and a clean person uses hyssop to sprinkle the affected persons and objects. Sprinkling is on the third and seventh days, followed by the specified washing. The passage warns against refusing purification and sets out further contact rules.
Key Truth: The cleansing is carried out through the steps the LORD has stated.
Check What You Remember
1. What plant was used for sprinkling? (Numbers 19:18)
Find it in Numbers 19:18 (KJV).
2. Name both days when sprinkling was appointed. (Numbers 19:19)
Find it in Numbers 19:19 (KJV).
3. Until what time on the seventh day did cleansing wait? (Numbers 19:19)
Find it in Numbers 19:19 (KJV).
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. How does preparing the red heifer combine an unblemished animal with an outside-camp rite?
2. How does the ash preparation distinguish the rite’s workers from the clean collector?
3. How does third-day purification affect seventh-day cleansing?
4. How does a death in a tent affect people and vessels?
5. How do purification and continued refusal relate to the sanctuary?
Notes
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