The Law Concerning Bodily Discharges

15 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: (A)‘When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. And this shall be his uncleanness in regard to his discharge—whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is stopped up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness. Every bed is [a]unclean on which he who has the discharge lies, and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. And whoever (B)touches his bed shall (C)wash his clothes and (D)bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. He who sits on anything on which he who has the (E)discharge sat shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. And he who touches the body of him who has the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. If he who has the discharge (F)spits on him who is clean, then he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Any saddle on which he who has the discharge rides shall be unclean. 10 Whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until evening. He who carries any of those things shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 11 And whomever the one who has the discharge touches, and has not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 12 The (G)vessel of earth that he who has the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.

13 ‘And when he who has a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then (H)he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe his body in running water; then he shall be clean. 14 On the eighth day he shall take for himself (I)two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and come before the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and give them to the priest. 15 Then the priest shall offer them, (J)the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. (K)So the priest shall make [b]atonement for him before the Lord because of his discharge.

16 (L)‘If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean until evening. 17 And any garment and any leather on which there is semen, it shall be washed with water, and be unclean until evening. 18 Also, when a woman lies with a man, and there is an emission of semen, they shall bathe in water, and (M)be unclean until evening.

19 (N)‘If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be [c]set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. 20 Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean. 21 Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 22 And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 23 If anything is on her bed or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. 24 And (O)if any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him, he shall be [d]unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

25 ‘If (P)a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. 26 Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity. 27 Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

28 ‘But (Q)if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 29 And on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 30 Then the priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a (R)burnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for the discharge of her uncleanness.

31 ‘Thus you shall (S)separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness when they (T)defile My tabernacle that is among them. 32 (U)This is the law for one who has a discharge, (V)and for him who emits semen and is unclean thereby, 33 (W)and for her who is indisposed because of her customary impurity, and for one who has a discharge, either man (X)or woman, (Y)and for him who lies with her who is unclean.’ ”

The Day of Atonement

16 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after (Z)the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the Lord, and died; and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother (AA)not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for (AB)I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

[e]“Thus Aaron shall (AC)come into the Holy Place: (AD)with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering. He shall put the (AE)holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore (AF)he shall wash his body in water, and put them on. And he shall take from (AG)the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering.

“Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and (AH)make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make (AI)atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.

11 “And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for (AJ)himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself. 12 Then he shall take (AK)a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, with his hands full of (AL)sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. 13 (AM)And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the (AN)mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he (AO)die. 14 (AP)He shall take some of the blood of the bull and (AQ)sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

15 (AR)“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood (AS)inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. 16 So he shall (AT)make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 There shall be (AU)no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 And he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord, and make atonement for (AV)it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, cleanse it, and (AW)consecrate[f] it from the [g]uncleanness of the children of Israel.

20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. 21 Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, (AX)confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, (AY)putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. 22 The goat [h]shall (AZ)bear on itself all their iniquities to an [i]uninhabited land; and he shall (BA)release the goat in the wilderness.

23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of meeting, (BB)shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. 24 And he shall wash his body with water in a holy place, put on his garments, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make [j]atonement for himself and for the people. 25 (BC)The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. 26 And he who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes (BD)and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. 27 (BE)The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. And they shall burn in the fire their skins, their flesh, and their offal. 28 Then he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.

29 This shall be a statute forever for you: (BF)In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall [k]afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who [l]dwells among you. 30 For on that day the priest shall make [m]atonement for you, to (BG)cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 31 (BH)It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. 32 (BI)And the priest, who is anointed and (BJ)consecrated to minister as priest in his father’s place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments; 33 then he shall make [n]atonement for [o]the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 (BK)This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, (BL)once a year.” And he did as the Lord commanded Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 15:4 defiled
  2. Leviticus 15:15 Lit. covering
  3. Leviticus 15:19 Lit. in her impurity
  4. Leviticus 15:24 defiled
  5. Leviticus 16:3 Lit. With this
  6. Leviticus 16:19 set it apart
  7. Leviticus 16:19 impurity
  8. Leviticus 16:22 shall carry
  9. Leviticus 16:22 solitary land
  10. Leviticus 16:24 Lit. covering
  11. Leviticus 16:29 humble yourselves
  12. Leviticus 16:29 As a resident alien
  13. Leviticus 16:30 Lit. covering
  14. Leviticus 16:33 Lit. covering
  15. Leviticus 16:33 The Most Holy Place

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)

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) 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.

“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) 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) From the Israelite community(AS) he is to take two male goats(AT) for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

“Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household.(AU) Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He is to cast lots(AV) for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.[d](AW) 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