Numbers 19:20

20 But a person who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person will be cut off from the assembly because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord.^[a] The water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.

Numbers 19:20 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 19:20

But the man that shall be unclean
By touching any dead body, bone, or grave:

and shall not purify himself;
with the water of purification:

that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation:
(See Gill on Numbers 19:13).

because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord:
by going into it in his uncleanness:

the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him, he is
unclean;
and will remain so, for nothing else could purify him, see ( Numbers 19:13 ) .

Numbers 19:20 In-Context

18 A person who is clean is to take hyssop, dip [it] in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, a corpse, or a person who had been killed.

19 "The one who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being purified must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he will be clean by evening.

20 But a person who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person will be cut off from the assembly because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.

21 This is a perpetual statute for them. The person who sprinkles the water for impurity is to wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water for impurity will be unclean until evening.

22 Anything the unclean person touches will become unclean, and anyone who touches [it] will be unclean until evening."

Footnotes

• [a]. 1 Co 6:19-20