Numbers 19:1-10

EasyEnglish Bible

Water that makes people clean

19 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² ‘This is another rule in the Lord's law that I am telling to you: Tell the Israelites that they must bring to you a young red cow. It must not have anything wrong with it. And nobody must have put a yoke on it. ³ They must take the cow outside the camp. They must kill it and then give it to Eleazar the priest. ⁴ Eleazar must take some of the blood from the cow. He must splash it seven times in front of the Tent of Meeting. ⁵ Then they must burn the whole cow while Eleazar is watching. They must burn its body with the skin, meat, blood and everything that is inside its body. ⁶ The priest must take some wood, some plants and some red wool. He must throw them on the fire. ⁷ Then he must wash his clothes and he must wash his body with water. After that, he can come into the camp, but he will not be clean until the evening. ⁸ And the man who burns the animal must also wash his clothes in water. And he must wash his body in water. He will not be clean until the evening.

⁹ Then a man who is clean must pick up all the ashes of the cow. And he must put them outside the camp in a clean place. Keep them safe there for all the Israelites. You must mix them with water to make special water. It will be water for someone who is not clean to make them holy again. It is water to remove sin. ¹⁰ The man who picks up the ashes must also wash his clothes. He will not be clean until evening. This rule is for the Israelites and for all the people who are living with them.