The Test for Leprosy

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “When someone has on the skin of his [a]body a swelling, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes an infection of [b]leprosy on the skin of his [c]body, (A)then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. The priest shall look at the infected area on the skin of the [d]body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his [e]body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean. But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his [f]body, and [g]it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has not turned white, then the priest shall [h]isolate the person who has the infection for seven days. Then the priest shall look at him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the infection has [i]not changed and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall [j]isolate him for seven more days. The priest shall then look at him again on the seventh day, and if the infected area has faded and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a rash. And he shall (B)wash his clothes and be clean.

“But if the rash spreads farther on the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again to the priest. And the priest shall look, and if the rash has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy.

“When the infection of leprosy is on someone, then he shall be brought to the priest. 10 The priest shall then look, and if there is a (C)white swelling on the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is new raw flesh in the swelling, 11 it is [k]a chronic leprosy on the skin of his [l]body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not [m]isolate him, for he is unclean. 12 If the leprosy breaks out farther on the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the person who has the infection from his head even to his feet, [n]as far as the priest can see, 13 then the priest shall look, and behold, if the leprosy has covered his entire [o]body, he shall pronounce the one who has the infection clean; it has all turned white and he is clean. 14 But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. 15 The priest shall look at the raw flesh, and he shall pronounce him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, it is leprosy. 16 Or if the raw flesh turns back and is changed to white, then he shall (D)come to the priest, 17 and the priest shall look at him, and behold, if the infected area has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce the one who has the infection clean; he is clean.

18 “Now when the [p]body has a boil on its skin and it is healed, 19 and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a reddish-white, bright spot, then it shall be shown to the priest; 20 and the priest shall look, and behold, if [q]it appears to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the infection of leprosy, it has broken out in the boil. 21 But if the priest looks at it, and behold, there are no white hairs in it and it is not deeper than the skin and is faded, then the priest shall [r]isolate him for seven days; 22 and if it spreads farther on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection. 23 But if the bright spot remains in its place and does not spread, it is only the scar of the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

24 “Or if the [s]body sustains in its skin a burn by fire, and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white, or white, 25 then the priest shall look at it. And if the hair in the bright spot has (E)turned white and it appears to be deeper than the skin, it is leprosy; it has broken out in the burn. Therefore, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection of leprosy. 26 But if the priest looks at it, and indeed, there is no white hair in the bright spot and it is no deeper than the skin, but is dim, then the priest shall [t]isolate him for seven days; 27 and the priest shall look at him on the seventh day. If it spreads farther in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection of leprosy. 28 But if the bright spot remains in its place and has not spread in the skin, but is dim, it is the swelling from the burn; and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is only the scar of the burn.

29 “Now if a man or woman has an infection on the head or on the beard, 30 then the priest shall look at the infection, and if it appears to be deeper than the skin and there is thin yellowish hair in it, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a scale, it is leprosy of the head or of the beard. 31 But if the priest looks at the infection of the scale, and indeed, it appears to be no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall [u]isolate the person with the scaly infection for seven days. 32 And on the seventh day the priest shall look at the infection, and if the scale has not spread and no yellowish hair has [v]grown in it, and the appearance of the scale is no deeper than the skin, 33 then he shall shave himself, but he shall not shave the scale; and the priest shall [w]isolate the person with the scale for seven more days. 34 Then on the seventh day the priest shall look at the scale, and if the scale has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; and he shall wash his clothes and be clean. 35 But if the scale spreads farther in the skin after his cleansing, 36 then the priest shall look at him, and if the scale has spread on the skin, the priest need not look for the yellowish hair; he is unclean. 37 If in his sight the scale has remained, however, and black hair has grown in it, the scale has healed, and he is clean; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

38 “When a man or a woman has bright spots on the skin of the [x]body, white bright spots, 39 then the priest shall look, and if the bright spots on the skin of their [y]bodies are a faint white, it is [z]eczema that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.

40 “Now if a man [aa]loses the hair of his head, he is only (F)bald; he is clean. 41 And if his head becomes bald at the [ab]front and sides, he is bald on the forehead; he is clean. 42 But if on the bald head or the bald forehead there occurs a reddish-white infection, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or on his bald forehead. 43 Then (G)the priest shall look at him; and if the swelling of the infection is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprosy in the skin of the [ac]body, 44 he is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean; his infection is on his head.

45 “As for the person who has the leprous infection, his clothes shall be torn and (H)the hair of his head shall be [ad]uncovered, and he shall (I)cover his [ae]mustache and call out, ‘(J)Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; he shall live (K)outside the camp.

47 “When a garment has [af]a mark of leprosy in it, whether it is a wool garment or a linen garment, 48 whether in [ag]warp or [ah]woof, of linen or of wool, whether in leather or in any article made of leather, 49 if the [ai]mark is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather, whether in the [aj]warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, it is a leprous [ak]mark and it shall be shown to the priest. 50 Then (L)the priest shall look at the mark and shall [al]quarantine the article with the mark for seven days. 51 He shall then look at the mark on the seventh day; if the mark has spread in the garment, whether in the [am]warp or in the woof, or in the leather, whatever the purpose for which the leather is used, the mark is a [an]leprous malignancy, it is unclean. 52 So he shall burn the garment, whether it is the [ao]warp or the woof, in wool or in linen, or any article of leather, in which the mark occurs; for it is a [ap]leprous malignancy. It shall be burned in the fire.

53 “But if the priest looks, and indeed the mark has not spread in the garment, either in the [aq]warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, 54 then the priest shall order them to wash the thing in which the mark occurs, and he shall [ar]quarantine it for seven more days. 55 After the article with the mark has been washed, the priest shall again look, and if the mark has not changed its appearance, even if the mark has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire, whether an eating away has produced bareness on the back or on the front of it.

56 “But if the priest looks, and indeed the mark has faded after it has been washed, then he shall tear it out of the garment or out of the leather, whether from the [as]warp or from the woof; 57 yet if it appears again in the garment, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, it is an outbreak; the article with the mark shall be burned in the fire. 58 But the garment, whether the warp or the woof, or any article of leather from which the mark has disappeared when you washed it, shall then be washed a second time and will be clean.”

59 This is the law for the mark of leprosy in a garment of wool or linen, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, for pronouncing it clean or unclean.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 13:2 Lit flesh
  2. Leviticus 13:2 I.e., or a serious, unspecified disease, and so throughout the ch
  3. Leviticus 13:2 Lit flesh
  4. Leviticus 13:3 Lit flesh
  5. Leviticus 13:3 Lit flesh
  6. Leviticus 13:4 Lit flesh
  7. Leviticus 13:4 Lit the appearance of it is not deeper
  8. Leviticus 13:4 Lit separate
  9. Leviticus 13:5 Lit stood
  10. Leviticus 13:5 Lit separate
  11. Leviticus 13:11 Lit aging
  12. Leviticus 13:11 Lit flesh
  13. Leviticus 13:11 Lit separate
  14. Leviticus 13:12 Lit to the entire sight of the priest’s eyes
  15. Leviticus 13:13 Lit flesh
  16. Leviticus 13:18 Lit flesh
  17. Leviticus 13:20 Lit the appearance of it is deeper
  18. Leviticus 13:21 Lit separate
  19. Leviticus 13:24 Lit flesh
  20. Leviticus 13:26 Lit separate
  21. Leviticus 13:31 Lit separate
  22. Leviticus 13:32 Lit been
  23. Leviticus 13:33 Lit separate
  24. Leviticus 13:38 Lit flesh
  25. Leviticus 13:39 Lit flesh
  26. Leviticus 13:39 Lit vitiligo
  27. Leviticus 13:40 Lit becomes bald on his head
  28. Leviticus 13:41 Lit border of his face
  29. Leviticus 13:43 Lit flesh
  30. Leviticus 13:45 Or disheveled
  31. Leviticus 13:45 I.e., mouth
  32. Leviticus 13:47 Lit an infection, and so throughout the ch
  33. Leviticus 13:48 I.e., lengthwise material in weaving
  34. Leviticus 13:48 I.e., material woven crosswise
  35. Leviticus 13:49 Lit infestation; possibly material already contaminated prior to weaving
  36. Leviticus 13:49 See notes v 48
  37. Leviticus 13:49 Lit infestation; possibly material already contaminated prior to weaving
  38. Leviticus 13:50 Lit separate
  39. Leviticus 13:51 See notes v 48
  40. Leviticus 13:51 Lit malignant leprosy
  41. Leviticus 13:52 See notes v 48
  42. Leviticus 13:52 Lit malignant leprosy
  43. Leviticus 13:53 See notes v 48
  44. Leviticus 13:54 Lit separate
  45. Leviticus 13:56 See notes v 48

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

When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests:

And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight be not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days:

And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay, and the plague spread not in the skin; then the priest shall shut him up seven days more:

And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague be somewhat dark, and the plague spread not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is but a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

But if the scab spread much abroad in the skin, after that he hath been seen of the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen of the priest again.

And if the priest see that, behold, the scab spreadeth in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a leprosy.

When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought unto the priest;

10 And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the rising be white in the skin, and it have turned the hair white, and there be quick raw flesh in the rising;

11 It is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not shut him up: for he is unclean.

12 And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priest looketh;

13 Then the priest shall consider: and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean.

14 But when raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be unclean.

15 And the priest shall see the raw flesh, and pronounce him to be unclean: for the raw flesh is unclean: it is a leprosy.

16 Or if the raw flesh turn again, and be changed unto white, he shall come unto the priest;

17 And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the plague be turned into white; then the priest shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: he is clean.

18 The flesh also, in which, even in the skin thereof, was a boil, and is healed,

19 And in the place of the boil there be a white rising, or a bright spot, white, and somewhat reddish, and it be shewed to the priest;

20 And if, when the priest seeth it, behold, it be in sight lower than the skin, and the hair thereof be turned white; the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil.

21 But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hairs therein, and if it be not lower than the skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days:

22 And if it spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague.

23 But if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not, it is a burning boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

24 Or if there be any flesh, in the skin whereof there is a hot burning, and the quick flesh that burneth have a white bright spot, somewhat reddish, or white;

25 Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the hair in the bright spot be turned white, and it be in sight deeper than the skin; it is a leprosy broken out of the burning: wherefore the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.

26 But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hair in the bright spot, and it be no lower than the other skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days:

27 And the priest shall look upon him the seventh day: and if it be spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.

28 And if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not in the skin, but it be somewhat dark; it is a rising of the burning, and the priest shall pronounce him clean: for it is an inflammation of the burning.

29 If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or the beard;

30 Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard.

31 And if the priest look on the plague of the scall, and, behold, it be not in sight deeper than the skin, and that there is no black hair in it; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the scall seven days:

32 And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague: and, behold, if the scall spread not, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the scall be not in sight deeper than the skin;

33 He shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more:

34 And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall: and, behold, if the scall be not spread in the skin, nor be in sight deeper than the skin; then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

35 But if the scall spread much in the skin after his cleansing;

36 Then the priest shall look on him: and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow hair; he is unclean.

37 But if the scall be in his sight at a stay, and that there is black hair grown up therein; the scall is healed, he is clean: and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

38 If a man also or a woman have in the skin of their flesh bright spots, even white bright spots;

39 Then the priest shall look: and, behold, if the bright spots in the skin of their flesh be darkish white; it is a freckled spot that groweth in the skin; he is clean.

40 And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.

41 And he that hath his hair fallen off from the part of his head toward his face, he is forehead bald: yet is he clean.

42 And if there be in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white reddish sore; it is a leprosy sprung up in his bald head, or his bald forehead.

43 Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white reddish in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh;

44 He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head.

45 And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

47 The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;

48 Whether it be in the warp, or woof; of linen, or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin;

49 And if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a plague of leprosy, and shall be shewed unto the priest:

50 And the priest shall look upon the plague, and shut up it that hath the plague seven days:

51 And he shall look on the plague on the seventh day: if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in a skin, or in any work that is made of skin; the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean.

52 He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire.

53 And if the priest shall look, and, behold, the plague be not spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin;

54 Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more:

55 And the priest shall look on the plague, after that it is washed: and, behold, if the plague have not changed his colour, and the plague be not spread; it is unclean; thou shalt burn it in the fire; it is fret inward, whether it be bare within or without.

56 And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat dark after the washing of it; then he shall rend it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof:

57 And if it appear still in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a spreading plague: thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is with fire.

58 And the garment, either warp, or woof, or whatsoever thing of skin it be, which thou shalt wash, if the plague be departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and shall be clean.

59 This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woollen or linen, either in the warp, or woof, or any thing of skins, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.

13 1-2 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “If anyone notices a swelling in his skin, or a scab or boil or pimple with transparent skin, leprosy is to be suspected. He must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons for the spot to be examined. If the hair in this spot turns white, and if the spot looks to be more than skin-deep, it is leprosy, and the priest must declare him a leper.[a]

“But if the white spot in the skin does not seem to be deeper than the skin and the hair in the spot has not turned white, the priest shall quarantine him for seven days. At the end of that time, on the seventh day, the priest will examine him again, and if the spot has not changed and has not spread in the skin, then the priest must quarantine him seven days more. Again on the seventh day the priest will examine him, and if the marks of the disease have become fainter and have not spread, then the priest shall pronounce him cured; it was only a scab, and the man need only wash his clothes and everything will be normal again. But if the spot spreads in the skin after he has come to the priest to be examined, he must come back to the priest again, and the priest shall look again, and if the spot has spread, then the priest must pronounce him a leper.

9-10 “When anyone suspected of having leprosy is brought to the priest, the priest is to look to see if there is a white swelling in the skin with white hairs in the spot, and an ulcer developing. 11 If he finds these symptoms, it is an established case of leprosy, and the priest must pronounce him defiled. The man is not to be quarantined for further observation, for he is definitely diseased. 12 But if the priest sees that the leprosy has erupted and spread all over his body from head to foot wherever he looks, 13 then the priest shall pronounce him cured of leprosy, for it has all turned white; he is cured. 14-15 But if there is raw flesh anywhere, the man shall be declared a leper. It is proved by the raw flesh. 16-17 But if the raw flesh later changes to white, the leper will return to the priest to be examined again. If the spot has indeed turned completely white, then the priest will pronounce him cured.

18 “In the case of a man who has a boil in his skin which heals, 19 but which leaves a white swelling or a bright spot, sort of reddish white, the man must go to the priest for examination. 20 If the priest sees that the trouble seems to be down under the skin, and if the hair at the spot has turned white, then the priest shall declare him defiled, for leprosy has broken out from the boil. 21 But if the priest sees that there are no white hairs in this spot, and the spot does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and if the color is gray, then the priest shall quarantine him for seven days. 22 If during that time the spot spreads, the priest must declare him a leper. 23 But if the bright spot grows no larger and does not spread, it is merely the scar from the boil, and the priest shall declare that all is well.

24 “If a man is burned in some way, and the burned place becomes bright reddish white or white, 25 then the priest must examine the spot. If the hair in the bright spot turns white and the problem seems to be more than skin-deep, it is leprosy that has broken out from the burn, and the priest must pronounce him a leper.[b] 26 But if the priest sees that there are no white hairs in the bright spot and the brightness appears to be no deeper than the skin and is fading, the priest shall quarantine him for seven days 27 and examine him again the seventh day. If the spot spreads in the skin, the priest must pronounce him a leper. 28 But if the bright spot does not move or spread in the skin, and is fading, it is simply a scar from the burn, and the priest shall declare that he does not have leprosy.

29-30 “If a man or woman has a sore on the head or chin, the priest must examine him; if the infection seems to be below the skin and yellow hair is found in the sore, the priest must pronounce him a leper. 31 But if the priest’s examination reveals that the spot seems to be only in the skin but there is healthy hair in it, then he shall be quarantined for seven days, 32 and examined again on the seventh day. If the spot has not spread and no yellow hair has appeared, and if the infection does not seem to be deeper than the skin, 33 he shall shave off all the hair around the spot (but not on the spot itself) and the priest shall quarantine him for another seven days. 34 He shall be examined again on the seventh day, and if the spot has not spread, and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him well, and after washing his clothes, he is free.[c] 35 But if, later on, this spot begins to spread, 36 then the priest must examine him again and, without waiting to see if any yellow hair develops, declare him a leper. 37 But if it appears that the spreading has stopped and black hairs are found in the spot, then he is healed and is not a leper, and the priest shall declare him healed.

38 “If a man or a woman has white, transparent areas in the skin, 39 but these spots are growing dimmer, this is not leprosy, but an ordinary infection that has broken out in the skin.

40 “If a man’s hair is gone, this does not make him a leper even though he is bald! 41 If the hair is gone from the front part of his head, he simply has a bald forehead, but this is not leprosy. 42 However, if in the baldness there is a reddish white spot, it may be leprosy breaking out. 43 In that case the priest shall examine him, and if there is a reddish white lump that looks like leprosy, 44 then he is a leper, and the priest must pronounce him such.

45 “Anyone who is discovered to have leprosy must tear his clothes and let his hair grow in wild disarray, and cover his upper lip and call out as he goes, “I am a leper, I am a leper.”[d] 46 As long as the disease lasts, he is defiled and must live outside the camp.

47-48 “If leprosy is suspected in a woolen or linen garment or fabric, or in a piece of leather or leatherwork, 49 and there is a greenish or a reddish spot in it, it is probably leprosy, and must be taken to the priest to be examined. 50 The priest will put it away for seven days 51 and look at it again on the seventh day. If the spot has spread, it is a contagious leprosy, 52 and he must burn the clothing, fabric, linen or woolen covering, or leather article, for it is contagious and must be destroyed by fire.

53 “But if when he examines it again on the seventh day the spot has not spread, 54 the priest shall order the suspected article to be washed, then isolated for seven more days. 55 If after that time the spot has not changed its color, even though it has not spread, it is leprosy and shall be burned, for the article is infected through and through.[e] 56 But if the priest sees that the spot has faded after the washing, then he shall cut it out from the garment or leather goods or whatever it is in. 57 However, if it then reappears, it is leprosy and he must burn it. 58 But if after washing it there is no further trouble, it can be put back into service after another washing.”

59 These are the regulations concerning leprosy in a garment or anything made of skin or leather, indicating whether to pronounce it leprous or not.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 13:3 must declare him a leper, literally, “shall declare him unclean.”
  2. Leviticus 13:25 must pronounce him a leper, literally, “must pronounce him unclean.” Also v. 27.
  3. Leviticus 13:34 he is free, literally, “he is clean.”
  4. Leviticus 13:45 I am a leper, I am a leper, literally, “unclean, unclean.”
  5. Leviticus 13:55 through and through, literally, “whether the bareness be within or without,” or “whether it be bald in the head thereof or in the forehead thereof.”