Rules about Skin Diseases

13 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²“A person might have a swelling on his skin, or it may be a scab or a bright spot. If the sore looks like the disease of leprosy,* then the person must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. ³The priest must look at the sore on the person’s skin. If the hair in the sore has become white, and if the sore seems deeper than the person’s skin, then it is a leprosy disease. When the priest has finished looking at the person, the priest must announce that the person is unclean.* ⁴“Sometimes there is a white spot on a person’s skin. But the spot does not seem deeper than the skin. If that is true, then the priest must separate that person from other people for seven days. ⁵On the seventh day, the priest must look at the person. If the priest sees that the sore has not changed and has not spread on the skin, then the priest must separate the person for seven more days. ⁶Seven days later the priest must look at the person again. If the sore has faded, and has not spread on the skin, then the priest must announce that the person is clean.* The sore is only a scab. The person must wash his clothes and become clean again. ⁷“But if, after the person has shown himself to the priest to be made clean {again,} the scab spreads more over the skin, then the person must come again to the priest. ⁸The priest must look. If the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest must announce that the person is unclean.* That is a leprosy* disease. ⁹“If a person has leprosy,* he must be brought to the priest. ¹⁰The priest must look at that person. If there is a white swelling in the skin, and if the hair has become white, and if the skin looks raw in the swelling, ¹¹then it is a leprosy that has continued for a long time on that person’s skin. The priest must announce that the person is unclean.* The priest does not have to separate that person from other people for a short time. Why? Because {the priest already knows} that the person is unclean. ¹²“Sometimes a skin disease* will spread all over a person’s body. The skin disease will cover that person’s skin from his head to his feet. The priest must look at that person’s whole body. ¹³If the priest sees that the skin disease covers the whole body and that it has turned all of that person’s skin white, then the priest must announce that the person is clean.* ¹⁴But if the person has raw skin, then he is not clean. ¹⁵When the priest sees the raw skin, he must announce that the person is unclean.* The raw skin is not clean. It is a leprosy* disease. ¹⁶“If the raw skin changes and becomes white, then the person must come to the priest. ¹⁷The priest must look at the person. If the infection has become white, then the priest must announce that the person who has the infection is clean.* That person is clean. ¹⁸“A person might get a boil on his skin that heals over. ¹⁹Then that boil might become a white swelling or a bright, white spot with red streaks in it. If this happens, the person must show that spot to a priest. ²⁰The priest must look at it. If the swelling is deeper than the skin and the hair on it has become white, then the priest must announce that the person is unclean.* The spot is the infection of leprosy.* The leprosy has broken out from inside the boil. ²¹But if the priest looks at the spot, and there are no white hairs in it, and the spot is not deeper than the skin, but is faded, then the priest must separate the person for seven days. ²²If more of the spot spreads on the skin, then the priest must announce that the person is unclean. It is an infection. ²³But if the bright spot stays in its place, and does not spread, then it is only the scar from the old boil. The priest must announce that the person is clean. ^24–25“A person might get a burn on his skin. If the raw skin becomes a white spot or white spot with red streaks in it, the priest must look at it. If that white spot seems to be deeper than the skin, and the hair at that spot has become white, then it is a leprosy* disease. The leprosy has broken out in the burn. The priest must announce that the person is unclean.* It is a leprosy disease. ²⁶But if the priest looks at the spot, and there is no white hair in the bright spot, and the spot is not deeper than the skin, but is faded, then the priest must separate the person for seven days. ²⁷On the seventh day the priest must look at the person again. If the spot spread on the skin, then the priest must announce that the person is unclean. It is a leprosy disease. ²⁸But if the bright spot did not spread on the skin, but is faded, it is the swelling from the burn. The priest must announce the person clean. It is only the scar from the burn. ²⁹“A person might get an infection on his scalp* or beard. ³⁰A priest must look at the infection. If the infection seems to be deeper than the skin, and if the hair around it is thin and yellow, then the priest must announce that the person is unclean.* It is a bad skin disease.* ³¹If the disease does not seem deeper than the skin, but there is no dark hair in it, then the priest must separate that person for seven days. ³²On the seventh day the priest must look at the infection. If the disease has not spread, and there are no yellow hairs growing in it, and the disease does not seem deeper than the skin, ³³then the person must shave himself. But he must not shave the disease. The priest must separate that person for seven more days. ³⁴On the seventh day, the priest must look at the disease. If the disease has not spread through the skin, and it does not seem deeper than the skin, then the priest must announce that the person is clean.* The person must wash his clothes and become clean. ³⁵But if the disease spreads on the skin after the person has become clean, ³⁶then the priest must look at the person again. If the disease has spread in the skin, the priest does not need to look for the yellowish hair. The person is unclean.* ³⁷But if the priest thinks that the disease has stopped, and black hair is growing in it, the disease has healed. The person is clean. The priest must announce that the person is clean. ³⁸“If a person has white spots on his skin, ³⁹then a priest must look at those spots. If the spots on that person’s skin are only dull white, then the disease is only a harmless rash. That person is clean.* ⁴⁰“A man might lose hair from his head. He is clean. It is only baldness. ⁴¹A man might lose hair from the sides of his head. He is clean. It is only another kind of baldness. ⁴²But if there is a red and white infection on his scalp,* then it is a skin disease.* ⁴³A priest must look at that person. If the swelling of the infection is red and white and looks like the leprosy* on other parts of the body, ⁴⁴then that person has a leprosy disease on his scalp. The person is unclean.* The priest must announce that the person is unclean. ⁴⁵“If a person has a leprosy* disease, {then that person must warn other people}. That person must shout, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ That person’s clothes must be torn at the seams. That person must let his hair grow wild.* And that person must cover his mouth. ⁴⁶That person will be unclean* the whole time he has the infection. That person is unclean. He must live alone. His home must be outside the camp. ^47–48“Some clothing might have mildew* on it. The cloth might be linen* or wool. The cloth might be woven or knitted. Or the mildew might be on a piece of leather or on something made from leather. ⁴⁹If that mildew is green or red, then it must be shown to a priest. ⁵⁰The priest must look at the mildew. He must put that thing in a separate place for seven days. ^51–52On the seventh day, the priest must look at the mildew. It does not matter if the mildew is on leather or cloth. It does not matter if the cloth is woven or knitted. It does not matter what the leather was used for. If the mildew spread, then that cloth or leather is unclean.* The infection is unclean. The priest must burn that cloth or leather. ⁵³“If the priest sees that the mildew* did not spread, then that cloth or leather must be washed. It does not matter if it is leather or cloth, or if the cloth is knitted or woven, it must be washed. ⁵⁴The priest must order the people to wash that piece of leather or cloth. Then the priest must separate the clothing for seven more days. ⁵⁵After that time, the priest must look again. If the mildew still looks the same, then that thing is unclean.* It does not matter if the infection has not spread. You must burn that cloth or piece of leather. ⁵⁶“But if the priest looks at that piece of leather or cloth, and the mildew has faded, then the priest must tear the infection out of the piece of leather or cloth. It does not matter if the cloth is woven or knitted. ⁵⁷But the mildew* might come back to that piece of leather or cloth. If that happens, then the mildew is spreading. That piece of leather or cloth must be burned. ⁵⁸But if the mildew did not come back after washing, then that piece of leather or cloth is clean.* It does not matter if the cloth was woven or knitted. That cloth is clean.” ⁵⁹Those are the rules for mildew* on pieces of leather or cloth. It does not matter if the cloth is woven or knitted.

leprosy The Hebrew word includes mildew, fungus, and bad skin diseases, not just the disease we call leprosy. unclean Not pure or not acceptable to God for worship. clean Pure or acceptable to God for worship. skin disease Literally, “leprosy.” The Hebrew word can mean many kinds of skin disease. scalp The skin on a person’s head. That person’s clothes … wild These things also showed a person was very sad about something. mildew A kind of fungus that often grows on cloth, leather, or wood that is in a warm, damp place. The Hebrew word also means, “leprosy,” or “skin disease.” linen Thread or cloth made from the fibers of the flax plant.