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Instructions for Cleansing Infectious Skin Diseases

14 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “This is the regulation of the person afflicted with a skin disease at the time of[b] his cleansing. And he shall be brought to the priest, and the priest shall go outside the camp,[c] and the priest shall examine him,[d] and if[e] the skin disease’s infection is healed on[f] the afflicted person, then[g] the priest shall command, and he shall take two living, clean birds and cedar wood[h] and a crimson thread[i] and hyssop for the one who presents himself for cleansing. Then[j] the priest shall command someone[k] to slaughter one bird over fresh water in a clay vessel. He must take the living bird and the cedar wood[l] and the crimson thread[m] and the hyssop, and he shall dip them and the living bird in the bird’s blood slaughtered over the fresh water. And he shall spatter the blood[n] seven times on the one who presents himself for cleansing from the infectious skin disease, and he shall declare him clean, and he shall send the living bird into the open field.[o] Then[p] the one who presents himself for cleansing shall wash his garments, and he shall shave off all his hair, and he shall wash himself in the water; thus[q] he shall be clean, and afterward he shall enter the camp, but[r] he shall stay outside his tent[s] for seven days. And then[t] on the seventh day he must shave off all his hair—he must shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows[u] and all the rest[v] of his hair—and he shall wash his garments, and he shall wash his body in the water; thus[w] he shall be clean.

10 “And on the eighth day he must take two male lambs without defect and one ewe-lamb in its first year[x] without defect and three-tenths of an ephah[y] of finely milled flour mixed with oil as a grain offering and one log of oil. 11 And the priest who cleanses him[z] shall present the man who presents himself for cleansing and these things[aa] before[ab] the tent of assembly’s entrance. 12 Then[ac] the priest shall take the one male lamb, and he shall present it as a guilt offering, and the log of oil, and he shall wave them as a wave offering before[ad] Yahweh. 13 And he shall slaughter the male lamb in the place where he slaughters the sin offering and the burnt offering in the sanctuary’s space,[ae] because as the sin offering belongs to the priest, so also the guilt offering—it is a most holy thing.[af] 14 And the priest shall take some of[ag] the guilt offering’s blood, and the priest shall put it[ah] on the right ear’s lobe of the one who presents himself for cleansing and on his right hand’s thumb and on his right foot’s big toe. 15 And the priest shall take some of[ai] the log of oil, and he shall pour it[aj] on his[ak] left palm; 16 and the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is on his left palm, and he shall spatter some of[al] the oil with his finger seven times before[am] Yahweh. 17 Then[an] the priest shall put some of[ao] the remaining oil, which is on his palm, on the right ear’s lobe of the one to be cleansed and on his right hand’s thumb and on his right foot’s big toe, on top of the guilt offering’s blood.[ap] 18 And the remaining oil that is on the priest’s palm he shall put on the head of the one who presents himself for cleansing, and the priest shall make atonement for him before[aq] Yahweh. 19 Thus[ar] the priest shall sacrifice[as] the sin offering, and he shall make atonement for the one who presents himself for cleansing from his uncleanness, and afterward he shall slaughter the burnt offering. 20 Then[at] the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar, and the priest shall make atonement for him, and so he shall be clean.

21 “But[au] if he is poor and he cannot afford[av] it,[aw] then[ax] he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering as a wave offering to make atonement for himself and one-tenth of an ephah[ay] of finely milled flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and a log of oil, 22 and two turtledoves or two young doves[az] that he can afford,[ba] and one shall be a sin offering and the other[bb] a burnt offering. 23 And he shall bring them to the priest at the tent of assembly’s entrance before[bc] Yahweh on the eighth day for his cleansing. 24 And the priest shall take the male lamb for the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before[bd] Yahweh; 25 and he shall slaughter the male lamb of the guilt offering, and the priest shall take some of[be] the guilt offering’s blood, and he shall put it[bf] on the right ear’s lobe of the one who presents himself for cleansing and on his right hand’s thumb and on his right foot’s big toe. 26 Then[bg] the priest shall pour out some of[bh] the oil on his own[bi] left palm, 27 and with his right finger the priest shall spatter some of[bj] the oil that is on his left palm seven times before[bk] Yahweh. 28 Then[bl] the priest shall put some of[bm] the oil that is on his palm on the right ear’s lobe of the one who presents himself for cleansing and on his right hand’s thumb and on his right foot’s big toe on the place of the guilt offering’s blood. 29 And the remaining oil that is on the priest’s palm he shall put on the head of the one who presents himself for cleansing to make atonement for him before[bn] Yahweh. 30 And he shall sacrifice[bo] one of the turtledoves or the young doves[bp] that he can afford,[bq] 31 even[br] what he can afford,[bs] the one as a sin offering and the other[bt] as a burnt offering in addition to the grain offering, and the priest shall make atonement for the one who presents himself for cleansing before[bu] Yahweh. 32 This is the regulation of the one on whom is an infectious skin disease who cannot afford[bv] the cost[bw] for his cleansing.”

Instructions for Cleansing Houses

33 Then[bx] Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 34 “When you come into the land of Canaan, which I am about to give to you as your possession, and I put mildew[by] in a house in the land of your possession, 35 then[bz] the one who owns the house[ca] shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘It appears to me that an infection is in the house.’ 36 And the priest shall issue a command, and they shall clear out the house before the priest comes to examine the infection, so that[cb] all that is in the house might not become unclean; and afterward[cc] the priest shall go to examine the house. 37 And he shall examine the infection, and if[cd] the infection on the house’s wall has yellowish-green or reddish spots and its appearance is deeper than the surface of[ce] the wall, 38 then[cf] the priest shall go out from the house to the house’s entrance, and he shall confine[cg] the house for seven days. 39 And the priest shall return on the seventh day, and he shall examine the infection,[ch] and if[ci] the infection has spread on the house’s wall, 40 the priest shall issue a command and they shall remove the stones on which is the infection, and they shall throw them outside the city[cj] on an unclean place. 41 Then[ck] they[cl] shall scrape off the plaster[cm] from all around the house, and they shall pour out the plaster,[cn] which they scraped off, outside the city[co] on an unclean place. 42 And they shall take other stones, and they shall put[cp] them in place of those stones, and they[cq] shall take other plaster,[cr] and they[cs] shall replaster[ct] the house.

43 “But[cu] if the infection should return and it breaks out in the house after they[cv] have removed the stones and after scraping off the plaster[cw] of the house and after it has been replastered,[cx] 44 then[cy] the priest shall come, and he shall examine the infection,[cz] and if[da] the infection has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew[db] in the house—it is unclean. 45 So[dc] he shall break down the house, its stones and its wood and all of the house’s plaster,[dd] and he shall bring it all[de] outside the city[df] to an unclean place. 46 And the person who enters into the house during all the days that he[dg] confined[dh] it shall become unclean until the evening. 47 And the person who sleeps in the house must wash his garments, and the person who eats in the house shall wash his garments.

48 “And if the priest comes again and examines the house[di] and if[dj] the infection has not spread in the house after being replastered,[dk] then[dl] the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the infection is healed. 49 And he shall take two birds and cedar wood[dm] and a crimson thread[dn] and hyssop to cleanse the house; 50 and he shall slaughter the first bird over fresh water on a clay vessel. 51 Then[do] he shall take the cedar wood[dp] and the hyssop and the crimson thread[dq] and the living bird, and he shall dip them in the slaughtered bird’s blood and in the fresh water, and he shall spatter them[dr] on the house seven times. 52 Thus[ds] he shall purify the house with the bird’s blood and with the fresh water and with the living bird and with the cedar wood[dt] and with the hyssop and with the crimson thread.[du] 53 And he shall send the living bird outside the city[dv] into the open field;[dw] and so he shall make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.

54 “This is the instruction for any infectious skin disease and for the diseased area of skin, 55 and for a mildew[dx] of the garment and for the house, 56 and for the swelling and for the epidermal eruption and for the spot, 57 to teach when something is unclean and when something is clean.[dy] This is the regulation of the infectious skin disease.”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 14:1 Or “And”
  2. Leviticus 14:2 Or “on the day of”
  3. Leviticus 14:3 Literally “to from an outside place of the camp”
  4. Leviticus 14:3 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  5. Leviticus 14:3 Literally “look” or “behold”
  6. Leviticus 14:3 Hebrew “from”
  7. Leviticus 14:4 Or “and”
  8. Leviticus 14:4 Literally “wood of cedar”
  9. Leviticus 14:4 Literally “crimson thread of the worm”
  10. Leviticus 14:5 Or “And”
  11. Leviticus 14:5 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  12. Leviticus 14:6 Literally “wood of cedar”
  13. Leviticus 14:6 Literally “the crimson thread of the worm”
  14. Leviticus 14:7 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  15. Leviticus 14:7 Literally “toward the faces of the field”
  16. Leviticus 14:8 Or “And”
  17. Leviticus 14:8 Or “and”
  18. Leviticus 14:8 Or “and”
  19. Leviticus 14:8 Literally “from an outside place of his tent”
  20. Leviticus 14:9 Literally “And it shall be”
  21. Leviticus 14:9 Literally “the rims of his eyes”
  22. Leviticus 14:9 Implied by context
  23. Leviticus 14:9 Or “and”
  24. Leviticus 14:10 Literally “a daughter of her year”
  25. Leviticus 14:10 Implied by context
  26. Leviticus 14:11 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  27. Leviticus 14:11 Literally “with them”
  28. Leviticus 14:11 Literally “to the faces of”
  29. Leviticus 14:12 Or “And”
  30. Leviticus 14:12 Literally “to the faces of”
  31. Leviticus 14:13 Or “place” or “area”
  32. Leviticus 14:13 Literally “a holiness of holinesses is it”
  33. Leviticus 14:14 Literally “from”
  34. Leviticus 14:14 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  35. Leviticus 14:15 Literally “from”
  36. Leviticus 14:15 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  37. Leviticus 14:15 Hebrew “the priest’s”
  38. Leviticus 14:16 Literally “from”
  39. Leviticus 14:16 Literally “to the faces of”
  40. Leviticus 14:17 Or “And”
  41. Leviticus 14:17 Literally “from”
  42. Leviticus 14:17 See v. 14
  43. Leviticus 14:18 Literally “to the faces of”
  44. Leviticus 14:19 Or “And”
  45. Leviticus 14:19 Literally “do” or “make”
  46. Leviticus 14:20 Or “And”
  47. Leviticus 14:21 Or “And”
  48. Leviticus 14:21 Literally “his hand is not producing”
  49. Leviticus 14:21 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  50. Leviticus 14:21 Or “and”
  51. Leviticus 14:21 Implied by context
  52. Leviticus 14:22 Literally “sons of dove”
  53. Leviticus 14:22 Literally “his hand can produce”
  54. Leviticus 14:22 Literally “one”
  55. Leviticus 14:23 Literally “to the faces of”
  56. Leviticus 14:24 Literally “to the faces of”
  57. Leviticus 14:25 Literally “from”
  58. Leviticus 14:25 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  59. Leviticus 14:26 Or “And”
  60. Leviticus 14:26 Literally “from”
  61. Leviticus 14:26 Hebrew “the priest’s”
  62. Leviticus 14:27 Literally “from”
  63. Leviticus 14:27 Literally “to the faces of”
  64. Leviticus 14:28 Or “And”
  65. Leviticus 14:28 Literally “from”
  66. Leviticus 14:29 Literally “to the faces of”
  67. Leviticus 14:30 Literally “do” or “make”
  68. Leviticus 14:30 Literally “sons of dove”
  69. Leviticus 14:30 Literally “his hand can produce”
  70. Leviticus 14:31 Implied by context
  71. Leviticus 14:31 Literally “his hand can produce”
  72. Leviticus 14:31 Literally “one”
  73. Leviticus 14:31 Literally “to the faces of”
  74. Leviticus 14:32 Literally “his hand cannot produce”
  75. Leviticus 14:32 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  76. Leviticus 14:33 Or “And”
  77. Leviticus 14:34 Literally “an infection of skin disease”
  78. Leviticus 14:35 Or “and”
  79. Leviticus 14:35 Literally “the house is for him”
  80. Leviticus 14:36 Or “and”
  81. Leviticus 14:36 Literally “after thus”
  82. Leviticus 14:37 Literally “look” or “behold”
  83. Leviticus 14:37 Implied by the context
  84. Leviticus 14:38 Or “and”
  85. Leviticus 14:38 Or “close up”
  86. Leviticus 14:39 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  87. Leviticus 14:39 Literally “look” or “behold”
  88. Leviticus 14:40 Literally “to from an outside place of the city”
  89. Leviticus 14:41 Or “And”
  90. Leviticus 14:41 Hebrew “he”
  91. Leviticus 14:41 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  92. Leviticus 14:41 See HALOT 862 s.v. 3.b
  93. Leviticus 14:41 Literally “to from an outside place of the city”
  94. Leviticus 14:42 Literally “bring”
  95. Leviticus 14:42 Hebrew “he”
  96. Leviticus 14:42 See HALOT 862 s.v. 3.b
  97. Leviticus 14:42 Hebrew “he”
  98. Leviticus 14:42 Implied by the context; Hebrew “plaster”
  99. Leviticus 14:43 Or “And”
  100. Leviticus 14:43 Hebrew “he”
  101. Leviticus 14:43 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  102. Leviticus 14:43 Implied by the context; or “plaster”
  103. Leviticus 14:44 Or “and”
  104. Leviticus 14:44 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  105. Leviticus 14:44 Literally “look” or “behold”
  106. Leviticus 14:44 Literally “infectious disease”
  107. Leviticus 14:45 Or “And”
  108. Leviticus 14:45 See HALOT 862 s.v. 3.b
  109. Leviticus 14:45 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  110. Leviticus 14:45 Literally “to from an outside place of the city”
  111. Leviticus 14:46 That is, the priest
  112. Leviticus 14:46 Or “closed up”
  113. Leviticus 14:48 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  114. Leviticus 14:48 Literally “look” or “behold”
  115. Leviticus 14:48 Implied by the context; or “plaster”
  116. Leviticus 14:48 Or “and”
  117. Leviticus 14:49 Literally “wood of cedar”
  118. Leviticus 14:49 Literally “crimson thread of the worm”
  119. Leviticus 14:51 Or “And”
  120. Leviticus 14:51 Literally “wood of cedar”
  121. Leviticus 14:51 Literally “the crimson thread of the worm”
  122. Leviticus 14:51 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  123. Leviticus 14:52 Or “And”
  124. Leviticus 14:52 Literally “wood of cedar”
  125. Leviticus 14:52 Literally “the crimson thread of the worm”
  126. Leviticus 14:53 Literally “to from an outside place of the city”
  127. Leviticus 14:53 Literally “to the faces of the field”
  128. Leviticus 14:55 Literally “infectious skin disease”
  129. Leviticus 14:57 Literally “on the day of the unclean and on the day of the clean”

Cleansing From Defiling Skin Diseases

14 The Lord said to Moses, “These are the regulations for any diseased person at the time of their ceremonial cleansing, when they are brought to the priest:(A) The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them.(B) If they have been healed of their defiling skin disease,[a](C) the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop(D) be brought for the person to be cleansed.(E) Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot.(F) He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.(G) Seven times(H) he shall sprinkle(I) the one to be cleansed of the defiling disease, and then pronounce them clean. After that, he is to release the live bird in the open fields.(J)

“The person to be cleansed must wash their clothes,(K) shave off all their hair and bathe with water;(L) then they will be ceremonially clean.(M) After this they may come into the camp,(N) but they must stay outside their tent for seven days. On the seventh day(O) they must shave off all their hair;(P) they must shave their head, their beard, their eyebrows and the rest of their hair. They must wash their clothes and bathe themselves with water, and they will be clean.(Q)

10 “On the eighth day(R) they must bring two male lambs and one ewe lamb(S) a year old, each without defect, along with three-tenths of an ephah[b](T) of the finest flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering,(U) and one log[c] of oil.(V) 11 The priest who pronounces them clean shall present(W) both the one to be cleansed and their offerings before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.(X)

12 “Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering,(Y) along with the log of oil; he shall wave them before the Lord as a wave offering.(Z) 13 He is to slaughter the lamb in the sanctuary area(AA) where the sin offering[d] and the burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest;(AB) it is most holy. 14 The priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot.(AC) 15 The priest shall then take some of the log of oil, pour it in the palm of his own left hand,(AD) 16 dip his right forefinger into the oil in his palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of it before the Lord seven times.(AE) 17 The priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering.(AF) 18 The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed(AG) and make atonement for them before the Lord.

19 “Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from their uncleanness.(AH) After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering 20 and offer it on the altar, together with the grain offering, and make atonement for them,(AI) and they will be clean.(AJ)

21 “If, however, they are poor(AK) and cannot afford these,(AL) they must take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for them, together with a tenth of an ephah[e] of the finest flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, a log of oil, 22 and two doves or two young pigeons,(AM) such as they can afford, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.(AN)

23 “On the eighth day they must bring them for their cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting,(AO) before the Lord.(AP) 24 The priest is to take the lamb for the guilt offering,(AQ) together with the log of oil,(AR) and wave them before the Lord as a wave offering.(AS) 25 He shall slaughter the lamb for the guilt offering and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot.(AT) 26 The priest is to pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand,(AU) 27 and with his right forefinger sprinkle some of the oil from his palm seven times before the Lord. 28 Some of the oil in his palm he is to put on the same places he put the blood of the guilt offering—on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. 29 The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for them before the Lord.(AV) 30 Then he shall sacrifice the doves or the young pigeons, such as the person can afford,(AW) 31 one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering,(AX) together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed.(AY)

32 These are the regulations for anyone who has a defiling skin disease(AZ) and who cannot afford the regular offerings(BA) for their cleansing.

Cleansing From Defiling Molds

33 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 34 “When you enter the land of Canaan,(BB) which I am giving you as your possession,(BC) and I put a spreading mold in a house in that land, 35 the owner of the house must go and tell the priest, ‘I have seen something that looks like a defiling mold in my house.’ 36 The priest is to order the house to be emptied before he goes in to examine the mold, so that nothing in the house will be pronounced unclean. After this the priest is to go in and inspect the house. 37 He is to examine the mold on the walls, and if it has greenish or reddish(BD) depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall, 38 the priest shall go out the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days.(BE) 39 On the seventh day(BF) the priest shall return to inspect the house. If the mold has spread on the walls, 40 he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town.(BG) 41 He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town. 42 Then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house.

43 “If the defiling mold reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered, 44 the priest is to go and examine it and, if the mold has spread in the house, it is a persistent defiling mold; the house is unclean.(BH) 45 It must be torn down—its stones, timbers and all the plaster—and taken out of the town to an unclean place.

46 “Anyone who goes into the house while it is closed up will be unclean till evening.(BI) 47 Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash their clothes.(BJ)

48 “But if the priest comes to examine it and the mold has not spread after the house has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean,(BK) because the defiling mold is gone. 49 To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop.(BL) 50 He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot.(BM) 51 Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop,(BN) the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times.(BO) 52 He shall purify the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn. 53 Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields(BP) outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.(BQ)

54 These are the regulations for any defiling skin disease,(BR) for a sore, 55 for defiling molds(BS) in fabric or in a house, 56 and for a swelling, a rash or a shiny spot,(BT) 57 to determine when something is clean or unclean.

These are the regulations for defiling skin diseases and defiling molds.(BU)

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 14:3 The Hebrew word for defiling skin disease, traditionally translated “leprosy,” was used for various diseases affecting the skin; also in verses 7, 32, 54 and 57.
  2. Leviticus 14:10 That is, probably about 11 pounds or about 5 kilograms
  3. Leviticus 14:10 That is, about 1/3 quart or about 0.3 liter; also in verses 12, 15, 21 and 24
  4. Leviticus 14:13 Or purification offering; also in verses 19, 22 and 31
  5. Leviticus 14:21 That is, probably about 3 1/2 pounds or about 1.6 kilograms