Rules for the Leper Made Clean

14 The Lord said to Moses, ²“These are the rules for people who had a skin disease* and became well. These rules are for making that person clean.* “A priest must look at the person who had the skin disease.* ³The priest must go to that person outside the camp. The priest must look to see if the skin disease is healed. ⁴If the person is healthy, then the priest will tell him to do these things: That person must get two living clean* birds. He must also get a piece of cedar wood, a piece of red cloth, and a hyssop* plant. ⁵Then the priest must order one bird to be killed in a clay bowl over running water. ⁶The priest must take the other bird that is still alive and the piece of cedar wood, the piece of red cloth, and the hyssop plant. He must dip the living bird and the other things in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. ⁷The priest must sprinkle the blood seven times on the person who had the skin disease. Then the priest must announce that the person is clean. After that, the priest must go to an open field and let the living bird go free. ⁸“Then that person must wash his clothes. He must shave off all his hair. And he must wash with water. Then he will be clean.* Then that person may go into the camp. But he must stay outside his tent for seven days. ⁹On the seventh day, he must shave off all his hair. He must shave his head, his beard, and his eyebrows—yes, all his hair. Then he must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water. Then he will be clean. ¹⁰“On the eighth day, the person who had a skin disease* must take two male lambs that have nothing wrong with them. He must also take a one-year-old female lamb that has nothing wrong with it. He must take 24 cups* of fine flour mixed with oil. This fine flour is for a grain offering. The person must take 2/3 of a pint* of olive oil. ¹¹The priest must bring that person and his sacrifices before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.* (This must be the same priest who announces that the person is clean.*) ¹²The priest will offer one of the male lambs as a guilt offering. He will offer that lamb and some of the oil as a wave offering before the Lord. ¹³Then the priest will kill the male lamb in the holy place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering. The guilt offering is like the sin offering. It belongs to the priest. It is very holy. ¹⁴“The priest will take some of the blood of the guilt offering. The priest will put some of this blood on the tip of the right ear of the person to be made clean.* The priest will put some of this blood on the thumb of the right hand and on the big toe of the right foot of that person. ¹⁵The priest will also take some of the oil and pour it into his left palm. ¹⁶Then the priest will dip the finger of his right hand into the oil that is in his left palm. He will use his finger to sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the Lord. ¹⁷Then the priest will put some of the oil that is in his palm on the person to be made clean. He will put that oil on {the same places he put} the blood of the guilt offering. The priest will put some of the oil on the tip of the person’s right ear. He will put some of the oil on the thumb of the right hand. And he will put some of the oil on the big toe of the person’s right foot. ¹⁸The priest will put the oil that is left in his palm on the head of the person to be made clean. In this way, the priest will make that person pure* before the Lord. ¹⁹“Then the priest must offer the sin offering for the person to be made clean.* The priest will offer the sin offering and make that person pure.* After that, the priest will kill the animal for the burnt offering. ²⁰Then the priest will offer up the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar.* In this way, the priest will make that person pure. And the person will be clean. ²¹“But if the person is poor, and he can’t afford {those offerings}, then he must take one male lamb for a guilt offering. That will be a wave offering {so that the priest can} make that person pure.* He must take 8 cups* of fine flour mixed with oil. This flour will be used for a grain offering. The person must take 2/3 of a pint* of olive oil ²²and two doves or two young pigeons. Even poor people can afford those things. One bird will be a sin offering, and the other will be a burnt offering. ²³“On the eighth day, the person will bring those things to the priest at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Those things will be offered before the Lord so that person can become clean.* ²⁴The priest will take the lamb for the guilt offering and the oil, and the priest will offer them as a wave offering before the Lord. ²⁵Then the priest will kill the lamb of the guilt offering. The priest will take some of the blood of the guilt offering. The priest will put some of this blood on the tip of the right ear of the person to be made clean. The priest will put some of this blood on the thumb of the right hand and on the big toe of the right foot of this person. ²⁶The priest will also pour some of this oil into his left palm. ²⁷The priest will use the finger of his right hand to sprinkle some of the oil that is in his left palm seven times before the Lord. ²⁸Then the priest will put some of the oil that is in his palm on the same places he put the blood from the guilt offering. He will put some of the oil on the tip of the right ear of the person to be made clean. The priest will put some of the oil on the thumb of the right hand. And he will put some of the oil on the big toe of the person’s right foot. ²⁹The priest will put the oil that is left in his palm on the head of the person to be made clean. In this way, the priest will make that person pure* before the Lord. ³⁰“Then the priest must offer one of the doves or young pigeons. (He must offer whatever the person can afford.) ³¹He must offer one of these birds as a sin offering and the other bird as a burnt offering. He must offer the birds with the grain offering. In this way, the priest will make that person pure* before the Lord. And that person will become clean.*” ³²Those are the rules for {making a person clean} after he becomes well from a skin disease.* Those are the rules for people who cannot afford {the regular sacrifices for becoming clean}.

Rules for Mildew in a House

³³The Lord also said to Moses and Aaron, ³⁴“I am giving the land of Canaan to your people. Your people will enter that land. At that time, I might cause mildew* to grow in some person’s house. ³⁵The person who owns that house must come and tell the priest, ‘I see something like mildew in my house.’ ³⁶“Then the priest must order the people to take everything out of the house. The people must do this before the priest goes in to look at the mildew.* Then the priest will not have to say everything in the house is unclean.* After the people have taken everything out of the house, the priest will go in to look at the house. ³⁷The priest will look at the mildew. If the mildew on the walls of the house has holes that are a green color or red color, and if the mildew goes into the wall’s surface, ³⁸then the priest must go out of the house and lock the house for seven days. ³⁹“On the seventh day, the priest must come back and check the house. If the mildew* has spread on the walls of the house, ⁴⁰then the priest must order the people to tear out the stones with the mildew on them and throw them away. They must put those stones at a special unclean* place outside the city. ⁴¹Then the priest must have all the house scraped inside. The people must throw away the plaster* that they scrape off. They must put that plaster at a special unclean place outside the city. ⁴²Then that person must put new stones in the walls. And he must cover those walls with new plaster. ⁴³“Maybe a person took away the old stones and plaster* and put in new stones and plaster. And maybe mildew* again appears in that house. ⁴⁴Then the priest must come in and check the house. If the infection has spread in the house, then it is a disease that spreads quickly to other places. So the house is unclean.* ⁴⁵That person must tear down the house. They must take all of the stones, plaster, and pieces of wood to the special unclean place outside the city. ⁴⁶And any person who goes into that house will be unclean until evening. ⁴⁷If any person eats in that house or lies down in there, then that person must wash his clothes. ⁴⁸“After new stones and plaster* are put in a house, the priest must check the house. If the mildew* has not spread through the house, then the priest will announce that the house is clean.* Why? Because the mildew is gone! ⁴⁹“Then, to make the house clean,* the priest must take two birds, a piece of cedar wood, a piece of red cloth, and a hyssop* plant. ⁵⁰The priest will kill one bird in a clay bowl over running water. ⁵¹Then the priest will take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the piece of red cloth, and the living bird. The priest will dip those things in the blood of the bird that was killed over running water. Then the priest will sprinkle {that blood} on the house seven times. ⁵²The priest will use those things in that way to make the house clean.* ⁵³The priest will go to an open field outside the city and let the living bird go free. In this way, the priest will make the house pure.* The house will be clean” ⁵⁴Those are the rules for any infection of leprosy,* ⁵⁵for mildew* on pieces of cloth or in a house. ⁵⁶Those are the rules for swellings, rashes, or bright spots on the skin. ⁵⁷Those rules teach when things are clean* and when things are unclean.* Those are the rules about those kinds of disease.

skin disease Literally, “leprosy.” The Hebrew word can mean many different kinds of skin disease. clean Pure or acceptable to God for worship. hyssop A plant with fine branches and leaves used for sprinkling blood or water in cleansing ceremonies. 24 cups Literally, “3/10,” probably meaning 3/10 of an ephah. 2/3 of a pint Literally, “1 log.” Meeting Tent The Holy Tent (tabernacle) where the people of Israel went to meet with God. make … pure Literally, “make atonement.” The Hebrew word means “to cover,” “to hide,” or “to erase sins.” altar A table or raised area used for offering sacrifices. 8 cups Literally, “1/10 of an ephah.” 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.” unclean Not pure or not acceptable to God for worship. plaster A type of mud or cement that people used to cover a wall and make it smooth.

Rules for Discharges from the Body

15 The Lord also said to Moses and Aaron, ²“Say to the people of Israel: When any person has a discharge* from his body, then that person is unclean.* ³It does not matter if the discharge flows freely from his body or if his body stops it from flowing. ⁴“If the person who has a discharge* lies on any bed, that bed becomes unclean.* Everything that person sits on becomes unclean. ⁵If any person touches that person’s bed, then he must wash his clothes and bathe in water. He will be unclean until evening. ⁶If any person sits on anything that the person with the discharge sat on, then he must wash his clothes and bathe in water. He will be unclean until evening. ⁷Also, if any person touches the person who has the discharge, then he must wash his clothes and bathe in water. He will be unclean until evening. ⁸“If the person with a discharge* spits on a clean person, then the clean person must wash his clothes and bathe in water. This person will be unclean* until evening. ⁹Any saddle the person with the discharge sits on will become unclean. ¹⁰So any person who touches any of the things that were under the person with the discharge will be unclean until evening. The person who carries these things {that were under the person with the discharge} must wash his clothes and bathe in water. He will be unclean until evening. ¹¹“It may happen that the person with a discharge* has not washed his hands in water and touches another person. Then that other person must wash his clothes and bathe in water. He will be unclean* until evening. ¹²“But if the person with a discharge* touches a clay bowl, then that bowl must be broken. If the person with the discharge touches a wooden bowl, then that bowl must be washed in water. ¹³“When the person with a discharge* is ready to be made clean, he must wait seven days before he will be made clean. Then he must wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water. Then he will become clean.* ¹⁴On the eighth day, that person must take for himself two doves or two young pigeons. He must come before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.* That person will give the two birds to the priest. ¹⁵The priest will offer the birds, one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. In this way, the priest will make that person pure* before the Lord.

Rules for Men

¹⁶“If a man has a flow of semen,* he must bathe his whole body in water. He will be unclean until evening. ¹⁷If the semen is on any clothing or leather, then that clothing or leather must be washed with water. It will be unclean* until evening. ¹⁸If a man sleeps with a woman and has a flow of semen, then both the man and the woman must bathe in water. They will be unclean until evening.

Rules for Women

¹⁹“If a woman has a discharge* from her monthly time of bleeding, she will be unclean* for seven days. If any person touches her, that person will be unclean until evening. ²⁰Also, everything the woman lies on during her monthly time of bleeding will be unclean. And everything she sits on during that time will be unclean. ²¹If any person touches the woman’s bed, that person must wash his clothes and bathe in water. He will be unclean until evening. ²²If any person touches anything the woman has sat on, that person must wash his clothes and bathe in water. He will be unclean until evening. ²³It does not matter if the person touched the woman’s bed or if he touched something she sat on, that person will be unclean until evening. ²⁴“And if a man has sexual relations with a woman during her monthly time of bleeding, then the man will be unclean* seven days. Every bed that man lies on will be unclean. ²⁵“If a woman has a discharge* of blood many days, not during her time of her monthly bleeding, or if she has a discharge after that time, then she will be unclean,* like the time of monthly bleeding. She will be unclean for as long as she has a discharge. ²⁶Any bed the woman lies on during all the time of her discharge will be like her bed during her time of monthly bleeding. Everything the woman sits on will be unclean, like during the time she is unclean from her monthly time of bleeding. ²⁷If any person touches those things, that person will be unclean. That person must wash his clothes and bathe in water. He will be unclean until evening. ²⁸After the woman’s discharge stops, she must wait seven days. After that, she will be clean. ²⁹Then on the eighth day, the woman must take two doves or two young pigeons. She must bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.* ³⁰Then the priest must offer one bird for a sin offering and the other bird for a burnt offering. In this way, the priest will make her pure* before the Lord. ³¹“So you must warn the people of Israel about being unclean.* {If you don’t warn the people, then} they might make my Holy Tent* unclean. And then they would have to die!” ³²Those are the rules for people with a discharge.* Those rules are for men who become unclean* from a flow of semen.* ³³And those rules are for women who become unclean from their monthly time of bleeding. And those are the rules for any person that becomes unclean by sleeping with another person who is unclean.

discharge Fluid from a person’s body, including pus from sores, a man’s semen, or a woman’s period flow. unclean Not pure or not acceptable to God for worship. clean Pure or acceptable to God for worship. Meeting Tent The Holy Tent (tabernacle) where the people of Israel went to meet with God. make … pure Literally, “make atonement.” The Hebrew word means “to cover,” “to hide,” or “to erase sins.” semen The fluid produced by a man’s sexual organs.