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Leviticus 15-16
New American Standard Bible

Cleansing Unhealthiness

15 The Lord also spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘(A)When any man has a discharge from his [a]body, [b]his discharge is unclean. 3 This, moreover, shall be his uncleanness in his discharge: it is his uncleanness whether his body allows its discharge to flow or whether his body obstructs its discharge. 4 Every bed on which the man with the discharge lies becomes unclean, and everything on which he sits becomes unclean. 5 Anyone, moreover, who touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening; 6 and whoever sits on the thing on which the man with the discharge has been sitting, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 7 Also whoever touches the [c]man with the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 8 Or if the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, he too shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 9 Every saddle on which the man with the discharge rides becomes unclean. 10 Whoever then touches any of the things which were under him shall be unclean until evening, and the one who carries them shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 11 Likewise, whomever the man with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 12 However, an (B)earthenware vessel which the man with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every wooden vessel shall be rinsed in water.

13 ‘Now when the man with the discharge becomes cleansed from his discharge, then he (C)shall count off for himself seven days for his cleansing; he shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in [d]running water and will become clean. 14 Then on the eighth day he shall take for himself (D)two turtledoves or two young doves, and come before the Lord to the doorway of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest; 15 and the priest shall offer them, (E)one as a [e]sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. So (F)the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the Lord because of his discharge.

16 ‘(G)Now if a [f]man has a seminal emission, he shall bathe all his body in water and be unclean until evening. 17 As for any garment or any leather on which there is a seminal emission, it shall be washed with water and be unclean until evening. 18 If a man sleeps with a woman so that there is a seminal emission, they shall both bathe in water and be (H)unclean until evening.

19 ‘(I)When a woman has a discharge, if her discharge in her body is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. 20 Everything also on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean. 21 Anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 22 Whoever touches any object on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 23 Whether it be on the bed or on the thing on which she is sitting, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. 24 (J)If a man actually sleeps with her so that her menstrual impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

25 ‘(K)Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond [g]that period, for all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though [h]in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean. 26 Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like [i]her bed at menstruation; and every object on which she sits shall be unclean, like [j]her uncleanness at that time. 27 Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 28 When she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off for herself seven days; and afterward she will be clean. 29 Then on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young doves, and bring them to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting. 30 And the priest shall offer the (L)one as a [k]sin offering, and the other as a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the Lord because of her impure discharge.’

31 “And so you shall keep the sons of Israel separated from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in their uncleanness by their (M)defiling My [l]tabernacle that is among them.” 32 This is the law for the one with a discharge, and for the man [m]who has a seminal emission so that he is unclean by it, 33 and for the woman who is ill because of menstrual impurity, and for the one who has a discharge, whether a male or a female, or a man who sleeps with an unclean woman.

Law of Atonement

16 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after (N)the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died. 2 The Lord said to Moses:

“Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter (O)at [n]any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the [o]atoning cover which is on the ark, or he will die; for (P)I will appear in the cloud over the [p]atoning cover. 3 Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with this: with a [q]bull as a [r](Q)sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the (R)holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his [s]body, and he shall be wrapped about the waist with the linen sash and the linen turban wound around his forehead (these are holy garments). He shall (S)bathe his [t]body in water and put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel (T)two male goats as a [u]sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. 6 Then (U)Aaron shall offer the bull as the [v]sin offering, which is for himself, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household. 7 He shall then take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 8 Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for [w]the [x]scapegoat. 9 Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a [y]sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot for [z]the [aa]scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make (V)atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness [ab]as the [ac]scapegoat.

11 “Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the [ad]sin offering (W)which is for himself and make atonement for himself and (X)for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the [ae]sin offering which is for himself. 12 He shall take a (Y)firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the Lord and [af]two handfuls of finely ground (Z)sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. 13 He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud of incense may cover the (AA)atoning cover that is on the ark of the testimony, (AB)otherwise he will die. 14 Moreover, (AC)he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it (AD)with his finger on the atoning cover on the east side; also in front of the atoning cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

15 “Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, (AE)which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the atoning cover and in front of the atoning cover. 16 (AF)He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall do so for the tent of meeting which remains with them in the midst of their impurities. 17 When he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it; he shall take some of the blood from the bull and some of the blood from the goat, and (AG)put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. 19 (AH)With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and consecrate it from the impurities of the sons of Israel.

20 “When he finishes atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. 21 Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and (AI)confess over it all the wrongdoings of the sons of Israel and all their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall place them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands ready. 22 Then the goat shall carry on itself all their wrongdoings to an [ag]isolated territory; he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off (AJ)the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. 24 And (AK)he shall bathe his [ah]body with water in a holy place and put on (AL)his clothes, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar. 26 The one who released the goat [ai]as the [aj]scapegoat (AM)shall wash his clothes and bathe his [ak]body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp. 27 But the bull of the [al]sin offering and the goat of the [am]sin offering, (AN)whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire. 28 Then the (AO)one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; and afterward he shall come into the camp.

An Annual Atonement

29 “This shall be a permanent statute for you: (AP)in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble [an]yourselves and not (AQ)do any work, whether the native, or the stranger who resides among you; 30 for it is on this day that [ao]atonement shall be made for you to (AR)cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 31 It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, so that you may (AS)humble [ap]yourselves; it is a permanent statute. 32 So the priest who is anointed and [aq]ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall put on (AT)the linen garments, the holy garments, 33 and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for (AU)the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 Now you shall have this as a (AV)permanent statute, to (AW)make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 15:2 Lit flesh, and so throughout the ch
  2. Leviticus 15:2 Or by his discharge, he is unclean
  3. Leviticus 15:7 Lit flesh
  4. Leviticus 15:13 Lit living
  5. Leviticus 15:15 Or purification offering
  6. Leviticus 15:16 Lit man’s...goes out from him
  7. Leviticus 15:25 Lit her menstrual impurity
  8. Leviticus 15:25 Lit in the days of
  9. Leviticus 15:26 Lit the bed of her menstrual impurity
  10. Leviticus 15:26 Lit the uncleanness of her menstrual impurity
  11. Leviticus 15:30 Or purification offering
  12. Leviticus 15:31 Or dwelling place
  13. Leviticus 15:32 Lit whose seminal emission goes out from him
  14. Leviticus 16:2 I.e., of his own choosing
  15. Leviticus 16:2 Also called mercy seat, and so throughout the ch; i.e., where blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement
  16. Leviticus 16:2 Also called mercy seat, and so throughout the ch; i.e., where blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement
  17. Leviticus 16:3 Or bull of the herd
  18. Leviticus 16:3 Or purification offering
  19. Leviticus 16:4 Lit flesh
  20. Leviticus 16:4 Lit flesh
  21. Leviticus 16:5 Or purification offering
  22. Leviticus 16:6 Or purification offering
  23. Leviticus 16:8 Or possibly, Azazel (a name)
  24. Leviticus 16:8 I.e., the goat that leaves (escapes); or goat of removal of sins
  25. Leviticus 16:9 Or purification offering
  26. Leviticus 16:10 Or possibly, Azazel (a name)
  27. Leviticus 16:10 I.e., the goat that leaves (escapes); or goat of removal of sins
  28. Leviticus 16:10 Or possibly, for Azazel
  29. Leviticus 16:10 I.e., the goat that leaves (escapes); or goat of removal of sins
  30. Leviticus 16:11 Or purification offering
  31. Leviticus 16:11 Or purification offering
  32. Leviticus 16:12 Lit the filling of the hollow of his hands
  33. Leviticus 16:22 Or infertile
  34. Leviticus 16:24 Lit flesh
  35. Leviticus 16:26 Or possibly, for Azazel (a name)
  36. Leviticus 16:26 I.e., the goat that leaves (escapes); or goat of removal of sins
  37. Leviticus 16:26 Lit flesh
  38. Leviticus 16:27 Or purification offering
  39. Leviticus 16:27 Or purification offering
  40. Leviticus 16:29 Lit your souls
  41. Leviticus 16:30 Lit he shall make atonement
  42. Leviticus 16:31 Lit your souls
  43. Leviticus 16:32 Lit whose hand is filled
Listen to Leviticus 15-16
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Leviticus 15-16
New International Version

Discharges Causing Uncleanness

15 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any man has an unusual bodily discharge,(A) such a discharge is unclean. 3 Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. This is how his discharge will bring about uncleanness:

4 “‘Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean. 5 Anyone who touches his bed must wash their clothes(B) and bathe with water,(C) and they will be unclean till evening.(D) 6 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.

7 “‘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.

8 “‘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.

9 “‘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)

The Day of Atonement(AC)

16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord.(AD) 2 The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses(AE) into the Most Holy Place(AF) behind the curtain(AG) in front of the atonement cover(AH) on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear(AI) in the cloud(AJ) over the atonement cover.

3 “This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place:(AK) He must first bring a young bull(AL) for a sin offering[c] and a ram for a burnt offering.(AM) 4 He is to put on the sacred linen tunic,(AN) with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban.(AO) These are sacred garments;(AP) so he must bathe himself with water(AQ) before he puts them on.(AR) 5 From the Israelite community(AS) he is to take two male goats(AT) for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

6 “Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household.(AU) 7 Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 He is to cast lots(AV) for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.[d](AW) 9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement(AX) by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.

11 “Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household,(AY) and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He is to take a censer full of burning coals(AZ) from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense(BA) and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover(BB) above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die.(BC) 14 He is to take some of the bull’s blood(BD) and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.(BE)

15 “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people(BF) and take its blood behind the curtain(BG) and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He shall sprinkle(BH) it on the atonement cover and in front of it. 16 In this way he will make atonement(BI) for the Most Holy Place(BJ) because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the tent of meeting,(BK) which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.

18 “Then he shall come out to the altar(BL) that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar.(BM) 19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.(BN)

20 “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat.(BO) 21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat(BP) and confess(BQ) over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins(BR) to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

23 “Then Aaron is to go into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments(BS) he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there.(BT) 24 He shall bathe himself with water in the sanctuary area(BU) and put on his regular garments.(BV) Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people,(BW) to make atonement for himself and for the people.(BX) 25 He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

26 “The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat(BY) must wash his clothes(BZ) and bathe himself with water;(CA) afterward he may come into the camp. 27 The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp;(CB) their hides, flesh and intestines are to be burned up. 28 The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.(CC)

29 “This is to be a lasting ordinance(CD) for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month(CE) you must deny yourselves[e](CF) and not do any work(CG)—whether native-born(CH) or a foreigner residing among you— 30 because on this day atonement will be made(CI) for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins.(CJ) 31 It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves;(CK) it is a lasting ordinance.(CL) 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained(CM) to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments(CN) 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the tent of meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the members of the community.(CO)

34 “This is to be a lasting ordinance(CP) for you: Atonement is to be made once a year(CQ) for all the sins of the Israelites.”

And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 15:15 Or purification offering; also in verse 30
  2. Leviticus 15:31 Or my tabernacle
  3. Leviticus 16:3 Or purification offering; here and throughout this chapter
  4. Leviticus 16:8 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verses 10 and 26.
  5. Leviticus 16:29 Or must fast; also in verse 31
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Leviticus 14
Leviticus 17
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