Numbers 6:3 (YLT)

Passage

from wine and strong drink he doth keep separate; vinegar of wine, and vinegar of strong drink he doth not drink, and any juice of grapes he doth not drink, and grapes moist or dry he doth not eat;

Nearby Context

Numbers 6:1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

Numbers 6:2 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When a man or woman doeth singularly, by vowing a vow of a Nazarite, to be separate to Jehovah;

Numbers 6:3 from wine and strong drink he doth keep separate; vinegar of wine, and vinegar of strong drink he doth not drink, and any juice of grapes he doth not drink, and grapes moist or dry he doth not eat;

Numbers 6:4 all days of his separation, of anything which is made of the wine-vine, from kernels even unto husk, he doth not eat.

Numbers 6:5 `All days of the vow of his separation a razor doth not pass over his head; till the fulness of the days which he doth separate to Jehovah he is holy; grown up hath the upper part of the hair of his head.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wine", "strong", "drink", "doth", "keep", "separate", and "vinegar". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wine" and "strong", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Speak unto the sons of Israel and..." into verse 4's "all days of his separation of anything...", so "wine" and "strong" 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 "wine" and "strong" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.