Ordinance of the Red Heifer

19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an (A)unblemished red heifer in which there is no defect and (B)on which a yoke has never [a]been mounted. And you shall give it to (C)Eleazar the priest, and it shall (D)be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and (E)sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; (F)its hide, its flesh, and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. And the priest shall take (G)cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet material, and throw it into the midst of the [b]burning heifer. The priest (H)shall then wash his clothes and bathe his [c]body in water, and afterward come into the camp; but the priest will be [d]unclean until evening. The one who burns [e]the heifer shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his [f]body in water, and will be unclean until evening. Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them outside the camp in a clean place, and [g]the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep them for (I)water to remove impurity; it is [h]purification from sin. 10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer (J)shall wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening; and it shall be a permanent statute for the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them.

11 (K)The one who touches the dead body of any [i]person will also be unclean for seven days. 12 That one shall (L)purify himself with [j]the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. 13 (M)Anyone who touches a dead body, the [k]body of a person who has died, and does not purify himself, (N)defiles the [l]tabernacle of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Since the water for impurity was not (O)sprinkled on him, he will be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.

14 ‘This is the law when a person dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent will be unclean for seven days. 15 And every open container, which has no cover tied down on it, will be unclean. 16 (P)Also, anyone who in the open field touches one who has been killed with a sword or one who has died naturally, or touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days. 17 Then for the unclean person they shall take some of the [m]ashes of the [n]burnt [o](Q)purification from sin and [p]running water shall be [q]added to them in a container. 18 And a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the furnishings, on the persons who were there, and on the one who touched the bone or the one who was killed or the one who died naturally, or the grave. 19 Then the clean person (R)shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify him, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and will be clean by evening.

20 ‘But the person who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has (S)defiled the sanctuary of the Lord; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, so he is unclean. 21 So it shall be a permanent statute for them. And the one (T)who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water for impurity will be unclean until evening. 22 (U)Furthermore, anything that the unclean person touches will be unclean; and the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.’”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 19:2 Lit gone up
  2. Numbers 19:6 Lit burning of the heifer
  3. Numbers 19:7 Lit flesh
  4. Numbers 19:7 I.e., ritually unclean, and so throughout the ch
  5. Numbers 19:8 Lit it
  6. Numbers 19:8 Lit flesh
  7. Numbers 19:9 Lit it shall be to the congregation...Israel, for a guarding as water of impurity
  8. Numbers 19:9 Or a sin offering
  9. Numbers 19:11 Lit soul of mankind
  10. Numbers 19:12 Lit it
  11. Numbers 19:13 Lit soul
  12. Numbers 19:13 Lit dwelling place
  13. Numbers 19:17 Lit dust
  14. Numbers 19:17 Lit burning of the
  15. Numbers 19:17 Or sin offering
  16. Numbers 19:17 Lit living
  17. Numbers 19:17 Lit given

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

This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:

And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:

And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:

And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:

And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.

Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.

And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.

And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.

10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.

11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.

12 He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.

13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.

14 This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.

15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.

16 And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

17 And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:

18 And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:

19 And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.

20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.

21 And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.

22 And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.

19 1-3 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Here is another of my laws: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, one that has never been yoked. Give her to Eleazar the priest and he shall take her outside the camp and someone shall kill her as he watches. Eleazar shall take some of her blood upon his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tabernacle. Then someone shall burn the heifer as he watches—her hide, meat, blood, and dung. Eleazar shall take cedar wood and hyssop branches and scarlet thread, and throw them into the burning pile.

“Then he must wash his clothes, and bathe, and afterwards return to the camp and be ceremonially defiled until the evening. And the one who burns the animal must wash his clothes and bathe, and he too shall be defiled until evening. Then someone who is not ceremonially defiled shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and place them in some purified place outside the camp, where they shall be kept for the people of Israel as a source of water for the purification ceremonies, for removal of sin. 10 And the one who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must wash his clothes and be defiled until evening; this is a permanent law for the benefit of the people of Israel and any foreigners living among them.

11 “Anyone who touches a dead human body shall be defiled for seven days, 12 and must purify himself the third and seventh days with water run through the ashes of the red heifer[a]; then he will be purified; but if he does not do this on the third day, he will continue to be defiled even after the seventh day. 13 Anyone who touches a dead person and does not purify himself in the manner specified has defiled the Tabernacle of the Lord, and shall be excommunicated from Israel. The cleansing water was not sprinkled upon him, so the defilement continues.

14 “When a man dies in a tent, these are the various regulations: Everyone who enters the tent, and those who are in it at the time, shall be defiled seven days. 15 Any container in the tent without a lid over it is defiled.

16 “If someone out in a field touches the corpse of someone who has been killed in battle or who has died in any other way, or if he even touches a bone or a grave, he shall be defiled seven days. 17 To become purified again, ashes from the red heifer sin offering[b] are to be added to spring water in a kettle. 18 Then a person who is not defiled shall take hyssop branches and dip them into the water and sprinkle the water upon the tent and upon all the pots and pans in the tent, and upon anyone who has been defiled by being in the tent, or by touching a bone, or touching someone who has been killed or is otherwise dead, or has touched a grave. 19 This shall take place on the third and seventh days; then the defiled person must wash his clothes and bathe himself, and that evening he will be out from under the defilement.

20 “But anyone who is defiled and doesn’t purify himself shall be excommunicated, for he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord, and the water to cleanse him has not been sprinkled upon him; so he remains defiled. 21 This is a permanent law. The man who sprinkles the water must afterwards wash his clothes; and anyone touching the water shall be defiled until evening. 22 And anything a defiled person touches shall be defiled until evening.”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 19:12 run through the ashes of the red heifer, implied; see v. 17.
  2. Numbers 19:17 ashes from the red heifer sin offering, literally, “ashes of the burnt sin offering.”