9:6 It happened that some men 1 who were ceremonially defiled 2 by the dead body of a man 3 could not keep 4 the Passover on that day, so they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.
1 tn In the Hebrew text the noun has no definite article, and so it signifies “some” or “certain” men.
2 tn The meaning, of course, is to be ceremonially unclean, and therefore disqualified from entering the sanctuary.
3 tn Or “a human corpse” (so NAB, NKJV). So also in v.7; cf. v. 10.
4 tn This clause begins with the vav (ו) conjunction and negative before the perfect tense. Here is the main verb of the sentence: They were not able to observe the Passover. The first part of the verse provides the explanation for their problem.
5 tn This sense is conveyed by the repetition of “man” – “if a man, a man becomes unclean.”
6 tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive functions as the equivalent of an imperfect tense. In the apodosis of this conditional sentence, the permission nuance fits well.