Numbers 6:20 (ASV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

Numbers 6:21 This is the law of the Nazirite who voweth, [and of] his oblation unto Jehovah for his separation, besides that which he is able to get: according to his vow which he voweth, so he must do after the law of his separation.

Numbers 6:22 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "priest", "shall", "wave", "wave-offering", "before", "jehovah", and "holy". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "priest" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "And the priest shall take the boiled..." into verse 21's "This is the law of the Nazirite...", so "priest" 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 "priest" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.