Numbers 6:9 (DRB)

Passage

But if any man die suddenly before him: the head of his consecration shall be defiled: and he shall shave it forthwith on the same day of his purification, and again on the seventh day.

Nearby Context

Numbers 6:7 Neither shall he make himself unclean, even for his father, or for his mother, or for his brother, or for his sister, when they die, because the consecration of his God is upon his head.

Numbers 6:8 All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the Lord.

Numbers 6:9 But if any man die suddenly before him: the head of his consecration shall be defiled: and he shall shave it forthwith on the same day of his purification, and again on the seventh day.

Numbers 6:10 And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons to the priest in the entry of the covenant of the testimony.

Numbers 6:11 And the priest shall offer one for sin, and the other for a holocaust, and shall pray for him, for that he hath sinned by the dead: and he shall sanctify his head that day:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "suddenly", "before", "head", "consecration", "shall", "defiled", and "shave". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "suddenly" and "before", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "All the days of his separation he..." into verse 10's "And on the eighth day he shall...", so "suddenly" and "before" 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 "suddenly" and "before" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.