The Third Book of Moses: Leviticus

⭑ Berean Study Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 14 -

(Matthew 8:1–4; Mark 1:40–45; Luke 5:12–16)

Then the LORD said to Moses,

“This is the law for the one afflicted with a skin disease (a) on the day of his cleansing, when he is brought to the priest.

The priest is to go outside the camp to examine him, and if the skin disease of the afflicted person has healed,

the priest shall order that two live clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed.

Then the priest shall command that one of the birds be slaughtered over fresh water

(b)

in a clay pot.

And he is to take the live bird together with the cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop, and dip them into the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water.

Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the skin disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and release the live bird into the open field.

The one being cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. Afterward, he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days.

On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair—his head, his beard, his eyebrows, and the rest of his hair. He must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and he will be clean.

On the eighth day he is to bring two unblemished male lambs, an unblemished ewe lamb a year old, a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour

(c)

mixed with olive oil, and one log of olive oil.(d)

The priest who performs the cleansing shall present the one to be cleansed, together with these offerings, before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and present it as a guilt offering, along with the log of olive oil; and he must wave them as a wave offering before the LORD.

Then he is to slaughter the lamb in the sanctuary area where the sin offering and burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy.

The priest is to take some of the blood from the guilt offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

Then the priest shall take some of the log of olive oil, pour it into his left palm,

dip his right forefinger into the oil in his left palm, and sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD.

And the priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering.

The rest of the oil in his palm, the priest is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD.

Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering

and offer it on the altar, with the grain offering, to make atonement for him, and he will be clean.

If, however, the person is poor and cannot afford these offerings, he is to take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for him, along with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour

(e)

mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, a log of olive oil,

and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whichever he can afford, one to be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.

On the eighth day he is to bring them for his cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD.

The priest shall take the lamb for the guilt offering, along with the log of olive oil, and wave them as a wave offering before the LORD.

And after he slaughters the lamb for the guilt offering, the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

Then the priest is to pour some of the oil into his left palm

and sprinkle with his right forefinger some of the oil in his left palm seven times before the LORD.

The priest shall also put some of the oil in his palm on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot—on the same places as the blood of the guilt offering.

The rest of the oil in his palm, the priest is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD.

Then he must sacrifice the turtledoves or young pigeons, whichever he can afford,

one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering,(f) together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the LORD for the one to be cleansed.

This is the law for someone who has a skin disease and cannot afford the cost of his cleansing.”

Signs of Home Contamination

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

“When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a contamination of mildew (g) into a house in that land,

the owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, ‘Something like mildew has appeared in my house.’

The priest must order that the house be cleared before he enters it to examine the mildew, so that nothing in the house will become unclean. After this, the priest shall go in to inspect the house.

He is to examine the house, and if the mildew on the walls consists of green or red depressions that appear to be beneath the surface of the wall,

the priest shall go outside the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days.

On the seventh day the priest is to return and inspect the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls,

he must order that the contaminated stones be pulled out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city.

And he shall have the inside of the house scraped completely and the plaster that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the city.

So different stones must be obtained to replace the contaminated ones, as well as additional mortar to replaster the house.

If the mildew reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house has been scraped and replastered,

the priest must come and inspect it. If the mildew has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew; the house is unclean.

It must be torn down with its stones, its timbers, and all its plaster, and taken outside the city to an unclean place.

Anyone who enters the house during any of the days that it is closed up will be unclean until evening.

And anyone who sleeps in the house or eats in it must wash his clothes.

Cleansing a Home

If, however, the priest comes and inspects it, and the mildew has not spread after the house has been replastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the mildew is gone.

He is to take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop to purify the house;

and he shall slaughter one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot.

Then he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn, and the live bird, dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times.

And he shall cleanse the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet yarn.

Finally, he is to release the live bird into the open fields outside the city. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.

This is the law for any infectious skin disease, for a scaly outbreak,

for mildew in clothing or in a house,

and for a swelling, rash, or spot,

to determine when something is clean or unclean. This is the law regarding skin diseases and mildew.(h)”

Footnotes

(a)14:2 Forms of the Hebrew tzaraath, traditionally translated as leprosy, were used for various skin diseases; also in verses 3, 7, 32, 54, and 57.

(b)14:5 Or flowing water or living water; here and in verses 6, 50, 51, and 52

(c)14:10 Three-tenths of an ephah is approximately 6 dry quarts or 6.6 liters (probably about 7.6 pounds or 3.5 kilograms of flour).

(d)14:10 Or one log of oil; that is, approximately 0.33 quarts or 0.31 liters; also in verses 12, 15, 21, and 24

(e)14:21 A tenth of an ephah is approximately 2 dry quarts or 2.2 liters (probably about 2.6 pounds or 1.2 kilograms of flour).

(f)14:31 LXX and Syriac; Hebrew includes as he is able to afford,

(g)14:34 Forms of the Hebrew tzaraath, traditionally translated as leprosy regarding skin diseases, are translated as mildew regarding blemishes on garments, utensils, or buildings; here and throughout the remainder of this chapter.

(h)14:57 The Hebrew translated here as skin diseases and mildew is one singular term; see the footnotes for verses 2 and 34.

(Matthew 8:1–4; Mark 1:40–45; Luke 5:12–16)

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest,

and the priest shall go out of the camp. The priest shall examine him. Behold, if the plague of leprosy is healed in the leper,

then the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two living clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop.

The priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water.

As for the living bird, he shall take it, the cedar wood, the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water.

He shall sprinkle on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird go into the open field.

“He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days.

It shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all his hair. He shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his body in water. Then he shall be clean.

“On the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without defect, one ewe lamb a year old without defect, three tenths of an ephah(a) of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, and one log

(b)

of oil.

The priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

“The priest shall take one of the male lambs, and offer him for a trespass offering, with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.

He shall kill the male lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary; for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering. It is most holy.

The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

The priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand.

The priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD.

The priest shall put some of the rest of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering.

The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, and the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD.

“The priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed because of his uncleanness. Afterward he shall kill the burnt offering;

then the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meal offering on the altar. The priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

“If he is poor, and can’t afford so much, then he shall take one male lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and one tenth of an ephah(c) of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering, and a log

(d)

of oil;

and two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.

“On the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, before the LORD.

The priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.

He shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering. The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

The priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand;

and the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD.

Then the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering.

The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD.

He shall offer one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, which ever he is able to afford,

of the kind he is able to afford, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meal offering. The priest shall make atonement for him who is to be cleansed before the LORD.”

This is the law for him in whom is the plague of leprosy, who is not able to afford the sacrifice for his cleansing.

Signs of Home Contamination

The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

“When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in the land of your possession,

then he who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘There seems to me to be some sort of plague in the house.’

The priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goes in to examine the plague, that all that is in the house not be made unclean. Afterward the priest shall go in to inspect the house.

He shall examine the plague; and behold, if the plague is in the walls of the house with hollow streaks, greenish or reddish, and it appears to be deeper than the wall,

then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days.

The priest shall come again on the seventh day, and look. If the plague has spread in the walls of the house,

then the priest shall command that they take out the stones in which is the plague, and cast them into an unclean place outside of the city.

He shall cause the inside of the house to be scraped all over. They shall pour out the mortar that they scraped off outside of the city into an unclean place.

They shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other mortar, and shall plaster the house.

“If the plague comes again, and breaks out in the house after he has taken out the stones, and after he has scraped the house, and after it was plastered,

then the priest shall come in and look; and behold, if the plague has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew in the house. It is unclean.

He shall break down the house, its stones, and its timber, and all the house’s mortar. He shall carry them out of the city into an unclean place.

“Moreover he who goes into the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening.

He who lies down in the house shall wash his clothes; and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes.

Cleansing a Home

“If the priest shall come in, and examine it, and behold, the plague hasn’t spread in the house, after the house was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.

To cleanse the house he shall take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop.

He shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water.

He shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times.

He shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, with the living bird, with the cedar wood, with the hyssop, and with the scarlet;

but he shall let the living bird go out of the city into the open field. So shall he make atonement for the house; and it shall be clean.”

This is the law for any plague of leprosy, and for an itch,

and for the destructive mildew of a garment, and for a house,

and for a swelling, and for a scab, and for a bright spot;

to teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean. This is the law of leprosy.

Footnotes

(a)14:10 1 ephah is about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel

(b)14:10 a log is a liquid measure of about 300 ml or 10 ounces

(d)14:21 a log is a liquid measure of about 300 ml or 10 ounces