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:

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“A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer(A) and put them in a ceremonially clean place(B) outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing;(C) it is for purification from sin.(D) 10 The man who gathers up(E) the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening.(F) This will be a lasting ordinance(G) both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.(H)

11 “Whoever touches a human corpse(I) will be unclean for seven days.(J) 12 They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day;(K) then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean.(L) 13 If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse,(M) they defile the Lord’s tabernacle.(N) They must be cut off from Israel.(O) Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean;(P) their uncleanness remains on them.

14 “This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, 15 and every open container(Q) without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.

16 “Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death,(R) or anyone who touches a human bone(S) or a grave,(T) will be unclean for seven days.(U)

17 “For the unclean person, put some ashes(V) from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water(W) over them. 18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop,(X) dip it in the water and sprinkle(Y) the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave(Z) or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death.

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Then a man who is clean shall gather up (A)the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel (B)for the water of [a]purification; it is for purifying from sin. 10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.

11 (C)‘He who touches the dead [b]body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. 12 (D)He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; 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 Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and (E)does not purify himself, (F)defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because (G)the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; (H)his uncleanness is still on him.

14 ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days; 15 and every (I)open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean. 16 (J)Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

17 ‘And for an unclean person they shall take some of the (K)ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and [c]running water shall be put on them in a vessel. 18 A clean person shall take (L)hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave.

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 19:9 Lit. impurity
  2. Numbers 19:11 Lit. soul of man
  3. Numbers 19:17 Lit. living