Leviticus 13-15

The Voice

Eternal One: ² Any time a person has an area of swelling or a rash or a white patch of skin, it may be the sign of a serious skin disease; so he must be taken to one of the priests—Aaron or one of Aaron’s sons. ³ The priest must examine the spot on the skin. If the hair on it has turned white, and the affected area appears to go deep beneath the skin, then it is a serious skin disease. After the examination, he will then pronounce the diseased person unclean. ⁴ But if the patch on the skin is white and does not appear to go deep beneath the skin, and the hair on it has not turned white, then the priest will quarantine the person for seven days. ⁵ When the seventh day arrives, the priest will examine the affected area again; and if the priest thinks it has not grown worse and has not spread to other parts of the skin, then the priest will continue the quarantine for another seven days. ⁶ At the end of the second seven days, the priest will examine the person again; and if the affected area has faded and has not spread to any other part of the body, then the priest will pronounce that he is clean and suffers only some minor skin problem. The person is to wash his garments and must be considered clean again.

⁷ But if the rash spreads to other parts of the skin after the priest examines the person and pronounces him clean, then he must go back to the priest to be examined again. ⁸ The priest will check the person again; and if the rash has grown worse and spread, then the priest must pronounce the person unclean. He does, in fact, have a serious skin disease.

⁹ When a person contracts any serious skin disease, he must be taken to the priest. ¹⁰ The priest will check the skin; and if the priest finds an area of white swelling on the skin where the hair has turned white, and if there is a raw, open sore, ¹¹ then the person has a chronic skin disease and the priest must pronounce him unclean. The priest does not have to quarantine the person because it is evident that he is already unclean. ¹² If the disease gets worse, spreads across his body, and involves all of his skin from head to toe—as far as the priest can tell— ¹³ then the priest will check; and if the disease has covered the person’s entire body, then the priest will pronounce the infected man clean because the disease has turned his entire body white. ¹⁴ But if a raw, open sore shows up, then he must be declared unclean. ¹⁵ The priest will examine the raw skin and pronounce the man unclean because the raw skin is unclean. It is definitely a serious skin disease. ¹⁶ If the raw skin changes again and becomes white, then the infected person must go see the priest ¹⁷ to be examined. If the affected area has turned white, then the priest will pronounce the diseased person clean; for he is in fact clean.

¹⁸ If a boil shows up on someone’s skin, and the boil goes away ¹⁹ and is replaced by a swollen white or a reddish-white spot, then he must point this out to the priest. ²⁰ The priest will check; and if the affected area appears to go deep beneath the skin and the hairs on it have turned white, then the priest will pronounce the person unclean. It is a case of serious skin disease that started out as a boil. ²¹ But if the priest examines the person and finds there are no white hairs on it and the condition does not appear to go deep beneath the skin, and is, in fact, improving, then the priest will quarantine the infected person for seven days. ²² If the condition spreads to new places on the skin, the priest will pronounce him unclean; it is a serious infection. ²³ However, if the affected area does not get worse or spread to new parts of the skin, it is simply a scar from the boil, and the priest will pronounce him clean.

²⁴ If a person suffers a burn in a fire, and the raw skin from the burn turns shiny white, reddish-white, or white, ²⁵ the priest will examine the affected area. If the hair on it is white and the sore appears to go deep beneath the skin, then the person has a serious skin disease that started out from the burn; the priest will declare him unclean. ²⁶ If the priest examines the affected area and finds no white hair on it, and the condition does not go deep beneath the skin but instead seems to be improving, then the priest will quarantine him for seven days. ²⁷ When the seventh day arrives, the priest will examine him once again. If the condition appears to be spreading, the priest will declare him unclean; the person has a serious skin disease. ²⁸ If the affected area does not get worse and spread to new parts of the skin, but seems to be improving, then it is simply swollen from the burn. The priest will pronounce him clean because it is simply a scar from the burn.

²⁹ If a man or a woman has a spot on the head or chin, ³⁰ the priest must examine it, and if it appears to go deep beneath the skin and has thin, yellowish hairs in it, then the priest must pronounce the infected person to be unclean; it is a scaly skin disease on the head or chin. ³¹ If the priest examines the scaly area and it does not appear to go deep beneath the surface of the skin and there are no dark hairs in it, then the priest will quarantine the infected person for seven days. ³² When the seventh day arrives, the priest will examine the area again. If the scaly area has not gotten worse and there are no yellowish hairs in it, and the scale does not appear to go deep beneath the surface of the skin, ³³ then the infected person should shave the head or beard except where hair is growing in the affected area. The priest will then quarantine the infected person for another seven days. ³⁴ When the seventh days arrives, the priest will examine the scale again; and if it has not gotten worse and does not appear to go deep beneath the skin, the priest will pronounce the person clean. He will wash his clothes and be considered clean again. ³⁵ But if the scale gets worse and shows up on new parts of the skin anytime after the priest declares him clean, ³⁶ the priest must examine the person again. If the condition has spread to new parts of the skin, the priest is not required to look for yellowish hair because it is evident the person is unclean. ³⁷ However, if he inspects the person and the scaly skin has not gotten worse and dark hairs are growing on it, then the condition is healed and the person is once again clean. The priest will declare the person clean.

³⁸ If a man or a woman discovers bright shiny spots on the skin, including bright white ones, ³⁹ the priest must check them out. And if he determines that the bright spots on the skin are pale, this is only a minor skin rash; the person is clean.

⁴⁰ If a man loses his hair and goes bald, he is clean. ⁴¹ If he loses it on his forehead but not on the sides, he is only partially bald on the forehead; he is still clean. ⁴² However, if a reddish-white spot shows up on his bald head or forehead, then a serious skin infection is developing. ⁴³ The priest must examine him; and if the affected area is reddish-white on his bald head or forehead and looks similar to a reddish-white outbreak on the body, ⁴⁴ then that means the man has a serious skin disease and is unclean. The priest has to pronounce him unclean because of the skin disease on his head.

⁴⁵ Anyone with a serious skin disease must wear torn clothing, not comb his hair, and cover his face beneath the nose. He must call out, “Unclean! Unclean!” ⁴⁶ As long as the disease persists, he will be unclean. He must live alone, outside the camp, away from the rest of the community.

^47-48 Now if it ever looks as if an article of clothing has some outbreak like leprosy—whether it is made of wool, linen, or leather— ⁴⁹ and if the affected area in any leather or woven material has turned a greenish or reddish color, it is a sign of a serious problem and should be taken to the priest. ⁵⁰ The priest must examine the article and quarantine it for seven days. ⁵¹ When the seventh day arrives, the priest must check it again; and if the affected area has spread to other parts of the article—whether in the wool, linen, or leather, regardless of what the leather was used for—the article has a serious outbreak which makes it unclean. ⁵² So the priest has to burn the garment—whether it is made of wool, linen or leather—because it has some serious outbreak like leprosy and must be destroyed by fire.

⁵³ But if the priest examines the article, and the affected area has not spread in either the woven or knitted material, or the leather, ⁵⁴ the priest must direct the article be washed, and then quarantined for another seven days. ⁵⁵ After it has been washed, the priest must check it again; and if the affected area looks the same, then the article is still unclean even though the outbreak has not spread. Therefore, you must burn it in the fire; it doesn’t matter whether the affected area is on the front or the back.

⁵⁶ But if the priest examines it, and the affected area has faded after it has been washed, the priest must rip the affected material out of the garment, leather, or woven or knitted material. ⁵⁷ If another spot shows up in the article again—either in the woven or knitted material, or the leather—then the outbreak is spreading, and the article must be burned in the fire. ⁵⁸ But if the spot is gone once the article has been washed—whether it is woven or knitted or leather—you must wash it; then it will be considered clean.

Eternal One: ^2-3 These are the instructions for determining when an infected person has recovered from a skin disease and should be pronounced clean. The priest must go outside the camp and examine the infected person. If the priest determines the skin disease has been healed, ⁴ then he will prescribe that two healthy birds—both ritually pure—some cedar wood, scarlet string, and hyssop be brought for the cleansing ritual. ⁵ The priest will direct that one of the birds be killed in a clay jar over running water. ⁶ He will then take the living bird along with the cedar, the scarlet string, and the hyssop and dip them in the blood of the first bird killed over running water. ⁷ Then the priest will sprinkle the one who is being cleansed from his skin disease seven times with the blood, pronounce that he is once again clean, and set the living bird free in a wide, open field. ⁸ The person who is presented for cleansing will wash his clothes, shave all the hair from his body, and wash himself with water; then he will be clean. After all this is done, he is permitted to enter the community but he must remain outside of his tent for seven days. ⁹ When the seventh day arrives, he must shave all the hair from his body again—his head, beard, and eyebrows—and he has to wash his clothes again and bathe in water. This is how he is to be made clean.

¹⁰ On the eighth day, the person must bring two unblemished male lambs, an unblemished year-old ewe lamb, six quarts of the finest flour mixed with oil to act as a grain offering, and ⅔ pint of oil. ¹¹ The priest who pronounces the person clean will bring the man and his offering into My presence at the entrance of the congregation tent. ¹² The priest is then to take one male lamb as the guilt offering, along with the ⅔ pint of oil, and lift them up as a wave offering in My presence. ¹³ Then he must slaughter the lamb in the same area of the sanctuary where they kill the purification offering for sin and the burnt offering. The guilt offering, like the purification offering, belongs to the priest. They are most sacred. ¹⁴ The priest will then collect some of the blood of the guilt offering and place it on the right ear lobe, the right thumb, and the right big toe of the person who is being cleansed. ¹⁵ The priest will take some of the ⅔ pint of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand, ¹⁶ and then he will dip his right finger into the oil in his left hand and sprinkle drops of it with his finger seven times before Me. ¹⁷ He will then take some of the oil from his left hand and place it on the right ear lobe, the right thumb, and the right big toe of the person being cleansed and on top of the blood of the guilt offering. ¹⁸ The priest should take any remaining oil from his left hand and put it on the head of the person being cleansed. Then the priest must perform the atoning sacrifice before Me to cover the person’s sins. ¹⁹ The priest is to offer the purification offering to cover the sin of the one being cleansed. After this, the priest must present the sacrifice for the burnt offering ²⁰ along with the grain offering on the altar. This is how the priest will cover the sin, guilt, and uncleanness of the person seeking to be cleansed; this person must be considered clean once again.

²¹ If the person who comes for cleansing is poor and cannot afford the prescribed offerings, then he may be covered by bringing one male lamb as a guilt offering to be lifted up as a wave offering. He should also present four pints of the finest flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, along with ⅔ pint of oil. ²² He should also bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whichever he can afford. One of the birds will be for the purification offering and the other one will be for the burnt offering. ²³ When the eighth day arrives (which is the day after he shaves the second time), the person must present them for his cleansing to the priest at the entrance of the congregation tent in My presence. ²⁴ The priest will receive the lamb for the guilt offering and the ⅔ pint of oil, and lift them as a wave offering before Me. ²⁵ Afterward, he will kill the lamb for the guilt offering, collect some of its blood, and place it on the right ear lobe, the right thumb, and the right big toe of the person being cleansed. ²⁶ The priest is to pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand ²⁷ and sprinkle drops of it with his right finger seven times in My presence. ²⁸ The priest will then take some of the oil from his left hand and place it on the right ear lobe, the right thumb, and the right big toe of the person being cleansed and on top of the blood from the guilt offering. ²⁹ The priest should take any remaining oil from his left hand and put it on the head of the person being cleansed to cover him before Me. ^30-31 He will then present one of the turtledoves or young pigeons—whichever he can afford—one for the purification offering and the other for the burnt offering that accompanies the grain offering. The priest will cover the sin, guilt, and uncleanness before Me of the person seeking to be cleansed. ³² These instructions explain what to do when someone with a serious skin disease cannot afford all the items for his cleansing.

Eternal One: ³⁴ When you go into the land of Canaan—the land which I am giving you as your own—and I contaminate or infect one of the houses in your land, ³⁵ the owner of the house must go inform the priest, “I have just noticed a spot in my house.” ³⁶ The priest must then order the person to remove all the contents from the house before he comes to examine the spot. This saves the person from possibly having everything in the house declared unclean. After this is done, the priest can go inside and inspect the spot. ³⁷ If he sees that the spot has greenish or reddish depressions and appears to go deep beneath the surface of the wall, ³⁸ then the priest will exit the house through the door and quarantine the house for seven days. ³⁹ When the seventh day arrives, the priest will go back into the house and inspect it again. If the discolored spot has shown up on other places on the walls, ⁴⁰ the priest will direct them to remove all the stones that have any suspicious spots on them and discard them in the impure refuse pile outside the camp. ⁴¹ They are also to scrape off any suspicious-looking plaster and discard it in the impure refuse pile outside the camp. ⁴² Then they are to go out and find other stones to replace the ones they removed and then replaster the walls.

⁴³ If there is another outbreak after they have removed all the suspicious-looking stones and plaster and then replastered the walls, ⁴⁴ the priest must enter the house and inspect it once again. If he finds that the spots have reappeared, then the house has a chronic outbreak and is unclean. ⁴⁵ The owner must demolish the house and take all its stones, wood, and plaster to the impure refuse pile outside the camp. ⁴⁶ Whoever enters the house while the house is quarantined by the priest will become unclean until dusk. ⁴⁷ Also anyone who sleeps or eats inside the house must wash their clothes.

⁴⁸ If the priest enters the house to inspect it and the spot has not reappeared after the walls have been rebuilt and replastered, the priest will declare the house clean because the spot has not returned. ⁴⁹ To cleanse the house from its contamination, the priest must take two birds, some cedar wood, scarlet string, and hyssop, ⁵⁰ and slaughter one bird in a clay jar over running water. ⁵¹ He will then dip the cedar wood, hyssop, scarlet string, and the living bird in the blood of the first bird and in running water and sprinkle the house seven times. ⁵² This is how the priest will cleanse the house from the outbreak using the blood of the sacrificed bird, running water, the living bird, cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet string. ⁵³ He will set the living bird free over a wide, open field outside the camp. In this way, the priest will cover over the impurity of the house, and the house will be declared clean.

^54-57 These are God’s instructions for how to deal with suspicious-looking spots: for scaly areas, swelling, rashes, and discolored spots on the skin and for discolored spots on clothing or in a house. With these instructions, priests are able to determine whether they are clean or unclean.

Eternal One: ² Go, talk with the Israelites, and tell them that if a man has any sort of a discharge from his body, the discharge renders him impure.

Eternal One: ³ A man’s discharge makes him impure regardless of whether his body allows it to flow out of him or blocks its flow altogether. ⁴ If the person with the discharge lies down in a bed or sits down on a couch, it becomes impure. ^5-6 Any person who has contact with that bed or that couch must wash his clothes and bathe in water. He will remain impure until dusk. ⁷ Any person who touches the discharging man must wash his or her clothes and bathe in water. He will remain impure until dusk. ⁸ If the discharging man spits on a person who is ritually clean, then that person must wash his garments and bathe in water. He will remain impure until dusk. ⁹ If the discharging man rides on a saddle, the riding saddle will be impure as well. ¹⁰ Therefore, if anyone touches any of the items that were under the discharging man, then that person will be impure until dusk. Whoever picks up and carries any of these items must wash his clothes and bathe in water. He will remain impure until dusk. ¹¹ If the discharging man does not wash his hands and touches another person, then that person must wash his clothes and bathe in water. He will remain impure until dusk. ¹² If the discharging man touches a clay cup, then it must be shattered; but a wooden cup shall be washed with water.

¹³ Once the discharging man is healed, he must wait seven days to make sure the ailment doesn’t return before his ritual cleansing. He will wash his clothes and bathe in running water so that he can be ritually pure again. ¹⁴ On the eighth day, he is to bring two turtledoves or young pigeons into My presence and hand them to the priest at the entrance of the congregation tent. ¹⁵ The priest will present the birds—one of them as a purification offering for sin and the other as a burnt offering. The priest will come before Me and cover the impurity of the man with a discharge.

¹⁶ If a man ejaculates, then he must bathe his whole body with water and remain impure until dusk. ¹⁷ If an item of clothing or leather is touched by semen, then it must be cleaned thoroughly with water and will remain impure until dusk. ¹⁸ If a man ejaculates while lying with a woman, then both must bathe with water and remain impure until dusk.

Eternal One: ¹⁹ When a woman has her menstrual period and discharges her blood, she must stay in a state of her menstrual impurity for seven days. Any person who touches her will be impure until dusk. ²⁰ Anything she lies down upon or sits down on during her menstruation will be impure, ^21-23 and any person who touches her bed or her cushion or anything else she sits on must wash his clothes and bathe in water. He will remain impure until dusk. ²⁴ If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her menstrual period and her menstrual blood gets on him, he will be impure for seven days, and any bed he lies down upon will be impure as well.

²⁵ If a woman discharges blood for several days beyond her menstrual period or outside of it, then she will treat those days as if she were having her menstrual period and will be impure. ²⁶ Treat every bed she lies down upon during her irregular discharge like the bed she lies down upon while she is in her menstrual period. Anything she sits down upon will be considered impure just as it is when she is menstruating. ²⁷ By the same token, any person who touches the items she touches will be impure and must wash his clothes and bathe in water and remain impure until dusk. ²⁸ When the woman’s discharge stops, she will wait seven days before she is ritually cleansed. ²⁹ On the eighth day, she will bring two turtledoves or young pigeons and present them to the priest at the entrance of the congregation tent. ³⁰ The priest will present one as a purification offering for sin and the other as a burnt offering. The priest will come before Me and cover the impurity of the woman with a discharge.

³¹ This is how you are to separate and deal with the people of Israel during those times when they are ritually impure, so that they will not die from their impurity by defiling My sanctuary that stands among them.