Law of Cleansing a Person with Leprosy

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “This shall be the law of the person with leprosy on the day of his cleansing. (A)Now he shall be brought to the priest; and the priest shall go (B)out to a place outside of the camp. Then the priest shall look, and if the [a]leprous infection has been healed in the person with leprosy, then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds, (C)cedar wood, a [b]scarlet string, and hyssop for the one who is to be cleansed. The priest shall also give orders to slaughter the one bird in an earthenware vessel over [c]running water. As for the live bird, he shall take it together with (D)the cedar wood, the [d]scarlet string, and the (E)hyssop, and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the [e]running water. (F)He shall then sprinkle seven times the one who is to be cleansed from the leprosy and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the live bird go free over the open field. (G)The one to be cleansed shall then wash his clothes and shave off all his hair, and bathe in water and (H)be clean. And afterward he may enter the camp, but he (I)shall stay outside his tent for seven days. Then it shall be on the seventh day that he shall shave off all his hair: he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair. He shall then wash his clothes and bathe his [f]body in water and (J)be clean.

10 “Now on the eighth day he is to take two male lambs without defect, and a yearling ewe lamb without defect, and three-tenths of an [g]ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and one [h](K)log of oil; 11 and the priest who is going to pronounce him clean shall present the person to be cleansed and [i]the offerings before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 12 Then the priest shall take the one male lamb and bring it as a (L)guilt offering, with the [j](M)log of oil, and present them as a (N)wave offering before the Lord. 13 Next he shall slaughter the male lamb in (O)the place where they slaughter the [k]sin offering and the burnt offering, at the place of the sanctuary—for the guilt offering, (P)like the [l]sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 14 The priest shall then take some of the blood of the (Q)guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on (R)the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 15 The priest shall also take some of the [m](S)log of oil, and pour it into his left palm; 16 the priest shall then dip his right-hand finger into the oil that is in his left palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the Lord. 17 Of the remaining oil which is in his palm, the priest shall (T)put some on the right ear lobe of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the guilt offering; 18 as for the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s palm, he shall put it on the head of the one to be cleansed. So the priest shall make (U)atonement on his behalf before the Lord. 19 The priest shall next offer the [n](V)sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Then afterward, he shall slaughter the burnt offering. 20 The priest shall offer up the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and (W)he will be clean.

21 (X)But if he is poor and his [o]means are insufficient, then he is to take one male lamb for a (Y)guilt offering as a wave offering to make atonement for him, and a tenth of an [p]ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and a [q](Z)log of oil, 22 and two turtledoves or two young doves, which [r]are within his means. (AA)The one shall be a [s](AB)sin offering, and the other a burnt offering. 23 (AC)Then on the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, at the doorway of the tent of meeting, before the Lord. 24 The priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and (AD)the [t]log of oil, and the priest shall offer them as a wave offering before the Lord. 25 Next he shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering; and the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on (AE)the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 26 The priest shall also pour some of the oil into his left palm; 27 and with his right-hand finger the priest shall sprinkle some of the oil that is in his left palm seven times before the Lord. 28 The priest shall then put some of the oil that is in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the guilt offering. 29 Moreover, the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s palm, he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement on his behalf before the Lord. 30 He shall then offer one of the turtledoves or young doves, [u]which are within his means. 31 He shall offer what [v]he can afford, (AF)the one as a [w]sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed. 32 This is the law for him in whom there is an infection of leprosy, whose [x]means are limited for his cleansing.”

Cleansing a Leprous House

33 The Lord further spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying:

34 (AG)When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I put a spot of leprosy on a house in the land of your possession, 35 then the one who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘Something like (AH)a spot of leprosy has become visible to me in the house.’ 36 The priest shall then command that they empty the house before the priest goes in to look at the spot, so that everything in the house need not become unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to look at the house. 37 So he shall look at the spot, and if the spot on the walls of the house has greenish or reddish depressions and appears deeper than the [y]surface, 38 the priest shall come out of the house, to the [z]doorway, and [aa]quarantine the house for seven days. 39 Then the priest shall return on the seventh day and [ab]make an inspection. If the spot has indeed spread on the walls of the house, 40 the priest shall order them to pull out the stones with the spot on them and throw them away [ac]at an unclean place outside the city. 41 And he shall have the house scraped all around [ad]inside, and they shall dump the plaster that they scrape off at an unclean place outside the city. 42 Then they shall take other stones and replace the discarded stones, and he shall take other plaster and replaster the house.

43 “If, however, the spot breaks out again in the house after he has pulled out the stones and scraped the house, and after it has been replastered, 44 then the priest shall come in and [ae]make an inspection. If he sees that the spot has indeed spread in the house, it is (AI)a malignant spot in the house; it is unclean. 45 The owner shall therefore tear down the house, its stones, its timbers, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall take them outside the city to an (AJ)unclean place. 46 Moreover, whoever goes into the house during the time that he has [af]quarantined it, becomes (AK)unclean until evening. 47 Likewise, whoever lies down in the house shall wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes.

48 “If, on the other hand, the priest comes in and [ag]makes an inspection and the spot has not indeed spread in the house after the house has been replastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean because the spot has [ah]not reappeared. 49 To cleanse the house then, he shall take (AL)two birds, cedar wood, a [ai]scarlet string, and hyssop, 50 and he shall slaughter the one bird in an earthenware vessel over [aj]running water. 51 Then he shall take the cedar wood, the (AM)hyssop, and the [ak]scarlet string, with the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird as well as in the [al]running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 So he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the [am]running water, along with the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the [an]scarlet string. 53 However, he shall let the live bird go free outside the city into the open field. So he shall make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.”

54 This is the law for any spot of leprosy—even for a (AN)scale, 55 and for the (AO)leprous garment or house, 56 and (AP)for a swelling, for a scab, and for a bright spot— 57 to teach [ao]when they are unclean and [ap]when they are clean. This is the law of leprosy.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 14:3 I.e., or a serious, unspecified disease, and so throughout the ch
  2. Leviticus 14:4 Lit scarlet color and
  3. Leviticus 14:5 Lit living
  4. Leviticus 14:6 Lit scarlet color and
  5. Leviticus 14:6 Lit living
  6. Leviticus 14:9 Lit flesh
  7. Leviticus 14:10 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
  8. Leviticus 14:10 About 0.6 pt. or 0.3 liter
  9. Leviticus 14:11 Lit them
  10. Leviticus 14:12 About 0.6 pt. or 0.3 liter
  11. Leviticus 14:13 Or purification offering
  12. Leviticus 14:13 Or purification offering
  13. Leviticus 14:15 About 0.6 pt. or 0.3 liter
  14. Leviticus 14:19 Or purification offering
  15. Leviticus 14:21 Lit hand is not reaching
  16. Leviticus 14:21 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
  17. Leviticus 14:21 About 0.6 pt. or 0.3 liter
  18. Leviticus 14:22 Lit his hand reaches
  19. Leviticus 14:22 Or purification offering
  20. Leviticus 14:24 About 0.6 pt. or 0.3 liter
  21. Leviticus 14:30 Lit from which his hand reaches
  22. Leviticus 14:31 Lit his hand reaches
  23. Leviticus 14:31 Or purification offering
  24. Leviticus 14:32 Lit hand does not reach
  25. Leviticus 14:37 Lit wall
  26. Leviticus 14:38 Lit doorway of the house
  27. Leviticus 14:38 Lit separate
  28. Leviticus 14:39 Lit look
  29. Leviticus 14:40 Lit to
  30. Leviticus 14:41 Lit from the house
  31. Leviticus 14:44 Lit look
  32. Leviticus 14:46 Lit separated
  33. Leviticus 14:48 Lit looks
  34. Leviticus 14:48 Lit healed
  35. Leviticus 14:49 Lit scarlet color
  36. Leviticus 14:50 Lit living
  37. Leviticus 14:51 Lit scarlet color
  38. Leviticus 14:51 Lit living
  39. Leviticus 14:52 Lit living
  40. Leviticus 14:52 Lit scarlet color
  41. Leviticus 14:57 Lit on the day of uncleanness
  42. Leviticus 14:57 Lit on the day of cleanness

14 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:

And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;

Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:

And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:

As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:

And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.

And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.

But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.

10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.

11 And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:

12 And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord:

13 And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest's, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy:

14 And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:

15 And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand:

16 And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord:

17 And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering:

18 And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord.

19 And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering:

20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

21 And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil;

22 And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.

23 And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord.

24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord:

25 And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:

26 And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand:

27 And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord:

28 And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering:

29 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the Lord.

30 And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get;

31 Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the Lord.

32 This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.

33 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

34 When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;

35 And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house:

36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house:

37 And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall;

38 Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days:

39 And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house;

40 Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city:

41 And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:

42 And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other morter, and shall plaister the house.

43 And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered;

44 Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house; it is unclean.

45 And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.

46 Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even.

47 And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.

48 And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.

49 And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:

50 And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water:

51 And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times:

52 And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet:

53 But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.

54 This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall,

55 And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house,

56 And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot:

57 To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.

14 1-2 And the Lord gave Moses these regulations concerning a person whose leprosy disappears:

“The priest shall go out of the camp to examine him. If the priest sees that the leprosy is gone, he shall require two living birds of a kind permitted for food, and shall take some cedar wood, a scarlet string, and some hyssop branches, to be used for the purification ceremony of the one who is healed. The priest shall then order one of the birds killed in an earthenware pot held above running water. The other bird, still living, shall be dipped in the blood, along with the cedar wood, the scarlet thread, and the hyssop branch. Then the priest shall sprinkle the blood seven times upon the man cured of his leprosy, and the priest shall pronounce him cured, and shall let the living bird fly into the open field.

“Then the man who is cured shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe himself, and return to live inside the camp; however, he must stay outside his tent for seven days. The seventh day he shall again shave all the hair from his head, beard, and eyebrows, and wash his clothes and bathe, and shall then be declared fully cured of his leprosy.

10 “The next day, the eighth day, he shall take two male lambs without physical defect, one yearling ewe-lamb without physical defect, ten quarts of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil, and a pint of olive oil; 11 then the priest who examines him shall place the man and his offerings before the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 12 The priest shall take one of the lambs and the pint of olive oil and offer them to the Lord as a guilt offering by the gesture of waving them before the altar. 13 Then he shall kill the lamb at the place where sin offerings and burnt offerings are killed, there at the Tabernacle; this guilt offering shall then be given to the priest for food, as in the case of a sin offering. It is a most holy offering. 14 The priest shall take the blood from this guilt offering and smear some of it upon the tip of the right ear of the man being cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the big toe of his right foot.

15 “Then the priest shall take the olive oil and pour it into the palm of his left hand, 16 and dip his right finger into it, and sprinkle it with his finger seven times before the Lord. 17 Some of the oil remaining in his left hand shall then be placed by the priest upon the tip of the man’s right ear and the thumb of his right hand and the big toe of his right foot—just as he did with the blood of the guilt offering. 18 The remainder of the oil in his hand shall be used to anoint the man’s head. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord.

19 “Then the priest must offer the sin offering and again[a] perform the rite of atonement for the person being cleansed from his leprosy; and afterwards the priest shall kill the burnt offering, 20 and offer it along with the grain offering upon the altar, making atonement for the man, who shall then be pronounced finally cleansed.

21 “If he is so poor that he cannot afford two lambs, then he shall bring only one, a male lamb for the guilt offering, to be presented to the Lord in the rite of atonement by waving it before the altar; and only three quarts of fine white flour, mixed with olive oil, for a grain offering, and a pint of olive oil.

22 “He shall also bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons—whichever he is able to afford—and use one of the pair for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 23 He shall bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle on the eighth day, for his ceremony of cleansing before the Lord. 24 The priest shall take the lamb for the guilt offering, and the pint of oil, and wave them before the altar as a gesture of offering to the Lord. 25 Then he shall kill the lamb for the guilt offering and smear some of its blood upon the tip of the man’s right ear—the man on whose behalf the ceremony is being performed—and upon the thumb of his right hand and upon the big toe of his right foot.

26 “The priest shall then pour the olive oil into the palm of his own left hand, 27 and with his right finger he is to sprinkle some of it seven times before the Lord. 28 Then he must put some of the olive oil from his hand upon the tip of the man’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the big toe of his right foot, just as he did with the blood of the guilt offering. 29 The remaining oil in his hand shall be placed upon the head of the man being cleansed, to make atonement for him before the Lord.

30 “Then he must offer the two turtledoves or two young pigeons (whichever pair he is able to afford). 31 One of the pair is for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, to be sacrificed along with the grain offering; and the priest shall make atonement for the man before the Lord.”

32 These, then, are the laws concerning those who are cleansed of leprosy but are not able to bring the sacrifices normally required for the ceremony of cleansing.

33-34 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “When you arrive in the land of Canaan which I have given you, and I place leprosy in some house there, 35 then the owner of the house shall come and report to the priest, ‘It seems to me that there may be leprosy in my house!’

36 “The priest shall order the house to be emptied before he examines it, so that everything in the house will not be declared contaminated if he decides that there is leprosy there. 37 If he finds greenish or reddish streaks in the walls of the house which seem to be beneath the surface of the wall, 38 he shall close up the house for seven days, 39 and return the seventh day to look at it again. If the spots have spread in the wall, 40 then the priest shall order the removal of the spotted section of wall, and the material must be thrown into a defiled place outside the city. 41 Then he shall order the inside walls of the house scraped thoroughly and the scrapings dumped in a defiled place outside the city. 42 Other stones shall be brought to replace those that have been removed, new mortar used, and the house replastered.

43 “But if the spots appear again, 44 the priest shall come again and look, and if he sees that the spots have spread, it is leprosy, and the house is defiled. 45 Then he shall order the destruction of the house—all its stones, timbers, and mortar shall be carried out of the city to a defiled place. 46 Anyone entering the house while it is closed shall be defiled until evening. 47 Anyone who lies down or eats in the house shall wash his clothing.

48 “But if, when the priest comes again to look, the spots have not reappeared after the fresh plastering, then he will pronounce the house cleansed and declare the leprosy gone. 49 He shall also perform the ceremony of cleansing, using two birds, cedar wood, scarlet thread, and hyssop branches. 50 He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in an earthenware bowl, 51-52 and dip the cedar wood, hyssop branch, and scarlet thread, as well as the living bird, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water, and shall sprinkle the house seven times. In this way the house shall be cleansed. 53 Then he shall let the live bird fly away into an open field outside the city. This is the method for making atonement for the house and cleansing it.”

54 These, then, are the laws concerning the various places where leprosy may appear: 55 in a garment or in a house, 56 or in any swelling in one’s skin, or a scab from a burn, or a bright spot. 57 In this way you will know whether or not it is actually leprosy. That is why these laws are given.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 14:19 and again, implied.