The Test for Leprosy

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ² “When a man has a swelling on the skin of his body, a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes the infection of ^[a]leprosy on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests. ³ The priest shall look at the diseased spot on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him [ceremonially] unclean. ⁴ If the bright spot is white on the skin of his body and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has not turned white, the priest shall ^[b]isolate the person who has the infection for seven days. ⁵ The priest shall examine it on the seventh day, and if in his estimation the infection has not changed and has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days. ⁶ The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the infection has a more normal color and the spot has not spread on the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab; and he shall wash his clothes and be clean.

⁷ “But if the scab spreads farther on the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his [ceremonial] cleansing, he shall show himself to the priest again. ⁸ The priest shall look, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then he shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy.

⁹ “When a leprous infection is on a person, he shall be brought to the priest. ¹⁰ The priest shall examine him, and if there is a white swelling on the skin and it has turned the hair white and there is new raw flesh in the swelling, ¹¹ it is a chronic leprosy on the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not isolate him because he is [clearly] unclean. ¹² But if the [suspected] leprosy breaks out farther on the skin, and it covers all of the skin of the one who has the outbreak—from his head to his foot—wherever the priest looks, ¹³ the priest shall examine him. If the [suspected] leprosy has covered his entire body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; it has all turned white, and he is clean. ¹⁴ But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. ¹⁵ The priest shall examine the raw flesh, and he shall pronounce him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, it is leprosy. ¹⁶ But if the raw flesh turns again and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest, ¹⁷ and the priest shall examine him, and if the diseased part is changed to white, then the priest shall pronounce him who had the disease to be clean; he is clean.

¹⁸ “And when there is on the skin of the body [the scar of] a boil that is healed, ¹⁹ and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a bright spot, reddish white, then it shall be shown to the priest; ²⁰ and the priest shall look, and if it looks deeper than the skin and the hair on it has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the disease of leprosy; it has broken out in the boil. ²¹ But if the priest examines it and finds no white hair in it and it is not deeper than the skin and is dull in color, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days. ²² If it spreads farther on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a disease. ²³ But if the bright spot remains where it is and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

²⁴ “Or if the body has on its skin a burn from fire and the new flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish white or white, ²⁵ then the priest shall examine it, and if the hair in the bright spot has turned white, and it appears deeper than the skin, then leprosy has broken out in the burn. So the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the disease of leprosy. ²⁶ But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the bright spot and it is not deeper than [the rest of] the skin but is dull in color, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days. ²⁷ And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day; if it is spreading farther on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy. ²⁸ But if the bright spot remains in its place and has not spread in the skin, but is dull in color, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is the scar of the burn.

²⁹ “When a man or woman has a disease on the head or in the beard (face), ³⁰ the priest shall examine the diseased place; if it appears to be deeper than the skin, with yellow, thin hair in it, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a scale, it is leprosy of the head or beard. ³¹ But if the priest examines the spot infected by the scale, and it does not appear deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall isolate the person with the scaly infection for seven days. ³² On the seventh day the priest shall examine the diseased spot; if the scale has not spread and has no yellow hair in it, and the scale does not look deeper than the skin, ³³ then he shall shave himself, but he shall not shave the scale; and the priest shall isolate the person with the scale for seven more days. ³⁴ Then on the seventh day the priest shall look at the scale; if the scale has not spread on the skin and appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; he shall wash his clothes and be clean. ³⁵ But if the scale spreads farther on the skin after his cleansing, ³⁶ then the priest shall examine him, and if the scale has spread on the skin, the priest need not look for the yellowish hair; he is unclean. ³⁷ If, in the priest’s estimation, the scale has remained [without spreading], and black hair has grown in it, the scale is healed; he is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

³⁸ “When a man or a woman has bright spots on the skin of the body, even white bright spots, ³⁹ then the priest shall look, and if the bright spots on the skin of their bodies is a dull white, it is [only] a rash that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.

⁴⁰ “If a man loses the hair on his head, he is bald, but he is clean. ⁴¹ And if he loses the hair on front of his head, he is bald on the forehead, but he is clean. ⁴² But if there is a reddish-white infection on the bald head or forehead, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or forehead. ⁴³ Then the priest shall examine him, and if the diseased swelling is reddish-white on his bald head or forehead like the appearance of leprosy on the skin of the body, ⁴⁴ he is a leprous man; he is unclean; the priest shall most certainly pronounce him unclean; his disease is on his head.

⁴⁵ “As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered (disheveled), and he shall cover his mustache and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ ⁴⁶ He shall remain [ceremonially] unclean as long as the disease is on him; he is unclean. He shall live alone; he shall live outside the camp.

⁴⁷ “When a garment has a mark of leprosy in it, whether it is a wool garment or a linen garment,^{(A) 48} whether in woven or knitted material or in the warp (lengthwise strands) or woof (crosswise strands) of linen or of wool, or in a skin or on anything made of leather, ⁴⁹ if the mark is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather or in the warp or woof or in any article made of leather, it is an infestation of leprosy and shall be shown to the priest. ⁵⁰ The priest shall examine the mark and shall quarantine the article with the mark for seven days. ⁵¹ He shall examine the mark on the seventh day; if it has spread in the garment, whether in the warp or the woof, or in the leather, whatever the leather’s purpose, the mark is a malignant leprosy; it is unclean. ⁵² So he shall burn the garment, whether the warp or woof, in wool or linen, or on anything made of leather in which the mark occurs; for it is a malignant leprosy; it shall be burned in the fire.

⁵³ “But if the priest sees that the mark has not spread in the garment, either in the warp or the woof, or on anything made of leather, ⁵⁴ then the priest shall order that they wash the thing in which the mark occurs, and he shall quarantine it for seven more days. ⁵⁵ The priest shall examine the article with the mark after it has been washed, and if the mark has not changed color, even though the mark has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire; it is a corroding mildew, whether on the top or on the front of it.

⁵⁶ “If the priest looks and the mark has faded after it is washed, he shall tear it out of the garment, or the leather, or out of the warp or woof. ⁵⁷ If it still appears in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or on anything made of leather, it is an outbreak; you shall burn the marked part in the fire. ⁵⁸ The garment, whether the warp or the woof, or anything made of leather from which the mildew has departed after washing, shall then be washed a second time and it will be [ceremonially] clean.”

⁵⁹ This is the law for a leprous disease in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp or woof, or on anything made of leather, to pronounce it clean or unclean.

Law of Cleansing a Leper

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “This shall be the law of the leper on the day of his [ceremonial] cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest [at a meeting place outside the camp]; ³ the priest shall go out of the camp [to meet him]; and the priest shall examine him, and if the leper has been healed of the infection of leprosy, ⁴ then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds and cedar wood and scarlet string and ^[c]hyssop for the one to be cleansed.^{(B) 5} Next the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed [as a sacrifice] in an earthenware container over [fresh] ^[d]running water. ⁶ As for the live bird, he shall take it together with the cedar wood and the scarlet string and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird sacrificed over the running water. ⁷ He shall sprinkle [the blood] seven times on the one to be cleansed from the leprosy and shall pronounce him [ceremonially] clean. Then he shall let the live bird go free over the open field.^{(C) 8} The one to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe in water; and he shall be clean. After that he may come into the camp, but he shall stay outside of his tent for seven days. ⁹ On the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair: he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair [on his body]. Then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and be clean.

¹⁰ “Now on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and a yearling ewe lamb without blemish, and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with [olive] oil as a grain offering, and one log (about a pint) of oil; ¹¹ and the priest who cleanses him shall present the man to be cleansed and his offerings before the Lord at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. ¹² Then the priest shall take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering, with the log of oil, and present them as a wave offering before the Lord. ¹³ He shall kill the male lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the sacred place [the courtyard of the tabernacle]; for the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. ¹⁴ The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ¹⁵ The priest shall also take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand; ¹⁶ and the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the Lord. ¹⁷ Of the rest of the oil which is in his palm, the priest shall put some on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and 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. ¹⁸ The remaining oil that is in the priest’s palm shall be put on the head of the one to be cleansed. The priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord. ¹⁹ Next the priest shall offer the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness, and afterward kill the burnt offering. ²⁰ The priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar; and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

²¹ “But if the cleansed leper is poor and his means are insufficient, then he is to take one lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for him, and one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and a log of oil, ²² and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, such as he can afford, one shall be a sin offering, the other a burnt offering. ²³ He shall bring them on the eighth day for his [ceremonial] cleansing to the priest at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, before the Lord. ²⁴ The priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering, and the log of oil, and shall present them as a wave offering before the Lord. ²⁵ Next he shall kill the lamb of the guilt offering; and the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁶ The priest shall pour some of the oil into his left palm, ²⁷ and with his right finger the priest shall sprinkle some of the oil that is in his left palm seven times before the Lord. ²⁸ The priest shall put some of the oil in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the places where he has put the blood of the guilt offering. ²⁹ The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s palm shall be put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the Lord. ³⁰ Then he shall offer one of the turtledoves or young pigeons, which are within his means. ³¹ He shall offer what he can afford, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. The priest shall make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed. ³² This is the law for the one in whom there is an infection of leprosy, ^[e]whose means are limited for his [ceremonial] cleansing.”

Cleansing an Infected House

³³ The Lord further spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

³⁴ “When you come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I put ^[f]a mark of leprosy on a house in your land, ³⁵ then the one who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, ‘I have seen something that looks like a mark of leprosy in my house.’ ³⁶ The priest shall order that they empty the house before he goes in to examine the mark, so that everything in the house will not have to be declared unclean; afterward he shall go in to see the house. ³⁷ He shall examine the mark, and if the mark on the walls of the house has greenish or reddish depressions and appears deeper than the surface, ³⁸ the priest shall go out of the house, to the doorway, and ^[g]quarantine the house for seven days. ³⁹ The priest shall return on the seventh day and look; and if the mark has spread on the walls of the house, ⁴⁰ he shall order them to tear out the contaminated stones and throw them into an unclean place outside the city. ⁴¹ He shall have the entire inside area of the house scraped, and the plaster that is scraped off shall be dumped in an unclean place outside the city. ⁴² Then they shall take new stones and replace the [contaminated] stones, and he shall take plaster and replaster the house.

⁴³ “If, however, the mark breaks out again in the house after he has removed the stones and has scraped and replastered the house, ⁴⁴ then the priest shall come and look again, and if the mark has spread in the house, it is a malignant leprosy in the house; it is [ceremonially] unclean. ⁴⁵ He shall tear down the house—its stones and its timber and all the plaster of the house—and shall take everything outside the city to an unclean place. ⁴⁶ Moreover, whoever goes into the house during the time that it is quarantined becomes unclean until evening. ⁴⁷ And whoever lies down in the house [to rest] shall wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes.

⁴⁸ “But if the priest comes in and inspects it and the mark has not spread in the house after the house has been replastered, he shall pronounce the house clean because the mark has not reappeared. ⁴⁹ To cleanse the house then, he shall take two birds and cedar wood and scarlet string and hyssop; ⁵⁰ and he shall kill one of the birds in an earthenware container over running water, ⁵¹ and he shall take the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet string, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird as well as in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. ⁵² So he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the running water, along with the live bird and the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet string. ⁵³ But he shall let the live bird go free outside the city into the open field. So he shall make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.”

⁵⁴ This is the law for any mark of leprosy—even for a scale, ⁵⁵ and for the leprous garment or house, ⁵⁶ and for a swelling, and for a scab, and for a bright spot on the skin— ⁵⁷ to teach when they are unclean and when they are clean. This is the law of leprosy [in regard to both persons and property].

Cleansing Unhealthiness

15 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When any man has a bodily discharge, his discharge is unclean. ³ This shall be [the law concerning] his uncleanness in his discharge: whether his body allows its discharge to flow or obstructs its flow; it is uncleanness in him. ⁴ Every bed on which the one who has the discharge lies becomes unclean, and everything on which he sits becomes unclean. ⁵ Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening; ⁶ and whoever sits on anything on which the man with the discharge has been sitting shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ⁷ Also whoever touches the man with the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ⁸ And if he who has the discharge spits on one who is clean, then he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ⁹ Any saddle on which the man with the discharge rides becomes unclean. ¹⁰ Whoever touches anything that has been under him shall be unclean until evening; and whoever carries those things shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ¹¹ Whomever the one with the discharge touches without rinsing his hands in water shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ¹² An earthenware container that the one with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every wooden container shall be rinsed in water.

¹³ ‘When the man with the discharge becomes cleansed from his discharge, he shall count off seven days for his purification; he shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water and will become clean. ¹⁴ On the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and come before the Lord to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest; ¹⁵ and the priest shall offer them, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement for the man before the Lord because of his discharge.

¹⁶ ‘Now if any man has a seminal emission, he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean until evening. ¹⁷ Every garment and every leather on which there is semen shall be washed with water, and shall be unclean until evening. ¹⁸ If a man lies with a woman so that there is a seminal emission, they shall both bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

¹⁹ ‘When a woman has a discharge, if her bodily discharge is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. ²⁰ Everything on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean; and everything on which she sits shall be unclean. ²¹ Anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ²² Whoever touches anything on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ²³ And if it is on her bed or on the thing on which she is sitting, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. ²⁴ If a man actually lies with her so that her menstrual impurity is on him, he shall be unclean for seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

²⁵ ‘Now if a woman has a flow of blood for many days, not during the time of her menstruation, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, as long as the impure discharge continues she shall be as she is in the days of her [normal] menstrual impurity; she is unclean.^{(D) 26} Every bed on which she lies during the time of her discharge shall be to her like the bed of her menstrual impurity, and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, like the uncleanness of her monthly period. ²⁷ And whoever touches those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ²⁸ When she is cleansed from her discharge, then she shall count off for herself seven days, and after that she will be clean. ²⁹ Then on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting; ³⁰ and the priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering; and he shall make atonement for her before the Lord for her unclean discharge.’

³¹ “Thus you shall ^[h]separate the Israelites from their uncleanness, so that they do not die in their uncleanness by their defiling My tabernacle that is among them.” ³² This is the law for the one who has a discharge and for the one who has a seminal emission, so that he is unclean by it; ³³ and for the woman who is ill because of her monthly period, and for the one who has a discharge, whether man or woman, or for a man who lies with a woman who is [ceremonially] unclean.