Numbers 6:18 (ASV)

Passage

And the Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tent of meeting, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace-offerings.

Nearby Context

Numbers 6:16 And the priest shall present them before Jehovah, and shall offer his sin-offering, and his burnt-offering:

Numbers 6:17 and he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto Jehovah, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also the meal-offering thereof, and the drink-offering thereof.

Numbers 6:18 And the Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tent of meeting, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace-offerings.

Numbers 6:19 And the priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazirite, after he hath shaven [the head of] his separation;

Numbers 6:20 and the priest shall wave them for a wave-offering before Jehovah; this is holy for the priest, together with the wave-breast and heave-thigh: and after that the Nazirite may drink wine.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "nazirite", "shall", "shave", "head", "separation", "door", "tent", and "meeting". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "nazirite" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "and he shall offer the ram for..." into verse 19's "And the priest shall take the boiled...", so "nazirite" and "shall" belong inside that flow. In Numbers context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "nazirite" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.