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Regulations Concerning Discharges

15 The Lord told Moses and Aaron, “Tell the Israelis that when a man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean, and this is the cause of his uncleanness—his discharge. Whether his body is releasing the discharge or his body has stopped the discharge, he’s unclean. Every bed on which he lies down with the discharge is to be considered unclean, and every object on which he sits becomes unclean. Any person[a] who touches his bed is to wash his garments and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. Whoever sits on any object on which the one with the discharge has sat is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening.

“Whoever touches the body of someone with a discharge is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. Whoever has a discharge and spits on someone who is clean, then he is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening.

“Any saddle that anyone with a discharge rides on will become unclean. 10 Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening. Whoever carries these things is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening.

11 “Anyone whom the one with the discharge touches without rinsing his hands with water is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 12 The earthen vessel that the person with the discharge touches is to be broken in pieces, and every wooden vessel is to be rinsed with water.”

On Cleansing from Discharges

13 “When the one with the discharge is cleansed from his discharge, then he is to set aside for himself seven days for his cleansing. He is to wash his clothes and bathe with flowing water. Then he will be clean. 14 On the eighth day, he is to take for himself two turtledoves or two young doves, bring them to the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest. 15 Then the priest is to offer them—one for a sin offering and the other for a whole burnt offering. That’s how the priest will make atonement for him in the Lord’s presence regarding his discharge.”

On Seminal Emissions

16 “If a man has a seminal emission, he is to bathe his entire body with water and remain unclean until evening. 17 Every garment (including leather) on which the semen is found is to be washed with water, and it will remain unclean until evening. 18 When a man has sexual relations with a woman and the man releases semen, both are to bathe with water, and they will remain unclean until evening.”

On Menstrual Discharges

19 “When a woman has a discharge,[b] and the blood is her monthly menstrual discharge[c] from her body, then for seven days she is to remain in her menstrual uncleanness. Whoever touches her will remain unclean until evening. 20 Everything that she sleeps on during her uncleanness will be unclean. Moreover, everything that she sits on will become unclean. 21 Anyone who touches her bed is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 22 Anyone who touches any of the objects on which she has sat is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 23 Any bed or other object on which she sat that he touches will make him unclean until evening. 24 When a man has sexual relations with her and her menstrual uncleanness touches him, he will be unclean for seven days. Every bed where he sleeps will remain unclean.

25 “When a woman has a continuous discharge of blood many days beyond the time of her menstrual uncleanness, or if she has a discharge that lasts beyond the days of her menstrual uncleanness, her uncleanness is to be treated like the days of her menstruation—she’s unclean. 26 Every bed on which she sleeps the whole time she has the discharge will be her own unclean bed, so that every object on which she sits becomes unclean like her menstrual uncleanness. 27 Whoever touches them will become unclean. He is to wash his clothes and bathe with water and he will remain unclean until evening.

28 “If she becomes clean with her discharge, then she is to count for herself seven days, after which she becomes clean. 29 On the eighth day, she is to take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 30 Then the priest is to offer one for a sin offering and the other for a whole burnt offering. This is how the priest will make atonement in the Lord’s presence for her regarding her unclean discharge.

31 “So separate the Israelis from their uncleanness so that they won’t die in their uncleanness if they defile my tent that is in their midst. 32 These are the regulations for one whose discharge of semen causes him to become unclean because of it, 33 for her whose menstruation causes her to become ill,[d] for anyone who has a discharge (whether male or female), and for the man who has sexual relations[e] with one who is unclean.”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 15:5 Lit. man
  2. Leviticus 15:19 Or flow
  3. Leviticus 15:19 The Heb. lacks monthly menstrual
  4. Leviticus 15:33 Lit. who is unwell due to menstrual uncleanness
  5. Leviticus 15:33 Lit. who sleeps; or who lays down

Discharges Causing Uncleanness

15 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any man has an unusual bodily discharge,(A) such a discharge is unclean. Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. This is how his discharge will bring about uncleanness:

“‘Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean. Anyone who touches his bed must wash their clothes(B) and bathe with water,(C) and they will be unclean till evening.(D) Whoever sits on anything that the man with a discharge sat on must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

“‘Whoever touches the man(E) who has a discharge(F) must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

“‘If the man with the discharge spits(G) on anyone who is clean, they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

“‘Everything the man sits on when riding will be unclean, 10 and whoever touches any of the things that were under him will be unclean till evening; whoever picks up those things(H) must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

11 “‘Anyone the man with a discharge touches without rinsing his hands with water must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

12 “‘A clay pot(I) that the man touches must be broken, and any wooden article(J) is to be rinsed with water.

13 “‘When a man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count off seven days(K) for his ceremonial cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself with fresh water, and he will be clean.(L) 14 On the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons(M) and come before the Lord to the entrance to the tent of meeting and give them to the priest. 15 The priest is to sacrifice them, the one for a sin offering[a](N) and the other for a burnt offering.(O) In this way he will make atonement before the Lord for the man because of his discharge.(P)

16 “‘When a man has an emission of semen,(Q) he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening.(R) 17 Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening. 18 When a man has sexual relations with a woman and there is an emission of semen,(S) both of them must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

19 “‘When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period(T) will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.

20 “‘Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. 21 Anyone who touches her bed will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.(U) 22 Anyone who touches anything she sits on will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening. 23 Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, they will be unclean till evening.

24 “‘If a man has sexual relations with her and her monthly flow(V) touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; any bed he lies on will be unclean.

25 “‘When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period(W) or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period. 26 Any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean, as is her bed during her monthly period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, as during her period. 27 Anyone who touches them will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

28 “‘When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. 29 On the eighth day she must take two doves or two young pigeons(X) and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 30 The priest is to sacrifice one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement for her before the Lord for the uncleanness of her discharge.(Y)

31 “‘You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place,[b](Z) which is among them.’”

32 These are the regulations for a man with a discharge, for anyone made unclean by an emission of semen,(AA) 33 for a woman in her monthly period, for a man or a woman with a discharge, and for a man who has sexual relations with a woman who is ceremonially unclean.(AB)

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 15:15 Or purification offering; also in verse 30
  2. Leviticus 15:31 Or my tabernacle