Bible in 90 Days

The Law of Burnt Offerings

1 The Lord ^[a]called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying, ² “Speak to the ^[b]children of Israel and say to them, ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of [domestic] animals from the herd (cattle, oxen) or from the flock (sheep, goats). ³ If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting so that he may be accepted before the Lord.^{(A) 4} He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice], that it may be ^[c]accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.^{(B) 5} He shall kill the young bull before the Lord; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. ⁶ Then he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. ⁷ The sons of Aaron the [high] priest shall put fire on the altar [of burnt offering] and arrange wood on the fire. ⁸ Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head and the fat, on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. ⁹ But he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. The priest shall offer all of it up in smoke on the altar as a burnt offering. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.^(C)

¹⁰ ‘But if his offering is from the flock, of the sheep or of the goats, as a burnt offering, he shall offer a male without blemish. ¹¹ He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. ¹² He shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. ¹³ But he shall wash the entrails and legs with water. The priest shall offer all of it, and offer it up in smoke on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

¹⁴ ‘But if his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring turtledoves or young pigeons as his offering. ¹⁵ The priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head, and offer it up in smoke on the altar; and its blood is to be drained out on the side of the altar. ¹⁶ He shall remove its ^[d]crop with its feathers and throw it next to the east side of the altar, in the place for ashes. ¹⁷ Then he shall tear it open by its wings, but shall not sever it. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

The Law of Grain Offerings

2 ‘When ^[e]anyone presents a grain offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour [olive] oil over it and put frankincense on it. ² He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. Out of it he shall take a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall offer this up in smoke on the altar [of burnt offering] as the memorial portion of it. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. ³ What is left of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings to the Lord by fire.

⁴ ‘When you bring an offering of grain baked in the oven, it shall be ^[f]unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers spread with oil. ⁵ If your offering is grain baked on a griddle, it shall be of fine unleavened flour, mixed with oil. ⁶ You are to break it into pieces, and you shall pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. ⁷ Now if your offering is grain cooked in a lidded pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. ⁸ When you bring the grain offering that is made of these things to the Lord, it shall be presented to the priest, and he shall bring it to the altar [of burnt offering]. ⁹ The priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial portion and offer it up in smoke on the altar. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁰ What is left of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings to the Lord by fire.

¹¹ ‘No grain offering that you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven, for you shall not offer up in smoke any leaven [which symbolizes the spread of sin] or any honey [which, like leaven, is subject to fermentation] in any offering by fire to the Lord.^{(D) 12} As an offering of first fruits you may offer them [leaven and honey] to the Lord, but they shall not go up [in smoke] on the altar as a sweet and soothing aroma. ¹³ You shall season every grain offering with salt so that the salt (preservation) of the covenant of your God will not be missing from your grain offering. You shall offer salt with all your offerings.^(E)

¹⁴ ‘If you bring a grain offering of early ripened things to the Lord, you shall bring fresh heads of grain roasted in the fire, crushed grain of new growth, for the grain offering of your early ripened things. ¹⁵ You shall put oil on it and lay incense on it; it is a grain offering. ¹⁶ The priest shall offer up in smoke its memorial portion, part of the crushed grain and part of its oil with all its incense; it is an offering by fire to the Lord.

The Law of Peace Offerings

3 ‘If a man’s offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings, if he offers an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. ² He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice] and kill it at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood around on the altar. ³ From the sacrifice of the peace offerings, an offering by fire to the Lord, he shall present the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails, ⁴ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the ^[g]lobe of the liver which he shall remove with the kidneys. ⁵ Aaron’s sons shall offer it up in smoke on the altar [placing it] on the burnt offering which is on the wood that is on the fire. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. ⁶ If his peace offering to the Lord is an animal from the flock, male or female, he shall offer the animal without blemish. ⁷ If he offers a lamb as his offering, then he shall present it before the Lord, ⁸ and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it before the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. ⁹ From the sacrifice of peace offerings he shall bring as an offering by fire to the Lord, its fat, the entire fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails, ¹⁰ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. ¹¹ The priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire to the Lord.

¹² ‘If his offering is a goat, he shall present it before the Lord, ¹³ and he shall lay his hand on its head [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice], and kill it before the Tent of Meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. ¹⁴ Then he shall present from it as his offering, an offering by fire to the Lord: the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails, ¹⁵ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver which he shall remove with the kidneys. ¹⁶ The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as food. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma; all the fat is the Lord’s. ¹⁷ It is a permanent statute for your generations wherever you may be, that you shall not eat any fat or any blood.’”

The Law of Sin Offerings

4 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel, ‘If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them— ³ if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer to the Lord a young bull without blemish as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.^{(F) 4} He shall bring the bull to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord, and shall lay his hand on the bull’s head [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice] and kill the bull before the Lord. ⁵ Then the anointed priest is to take some of the bull’s blood and bring it into the Tent of Meeting; ⁶ and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the Lord in front of the veil (curtain) of the sanctuary. ⁷ The priest shall also put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense which is before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting. All the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of the burnt offering which is at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. ⁸ He shall remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering—the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails, ⁹ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys ¹⁰ (just as these are removed from the ox of the sacrifice of peace offerings), and the priest is to offer them up in smoke on the altar of burnt offering. ¹¹ But the hide of the bull and all its meat, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its refuse, ¹² that is, all the rest of the bull, he is to bring outside the camp to a clean place where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on a fire of wood. Where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned.^(G)

¹³ ‘Now if the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally, and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they have done any one of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and they become guilty; ¹⁴ when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the congregation shall offer a young bull of the herd as a sin offering and bring it before the Tent of Meeting. ¹⁵ Then the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord [to transfer symbolically the congregation’s guilt to the sacrifice], and they shall kill the bull before the Lord. ¹⁶ The anointed priest is to bring some of the bull’s blood to the Tent of Meeting, ¹⁷ and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil [which screens off the Holy of Holies and the ark of the covenant]. ¹⁸ He shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar [of incense] which is before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting; and he shall pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. ¹⁹ He shall remove all its fat from the bull and offer it up in smoke on the altar. ²⁰ He shall also do with the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; that is what he shall do with this. So the priest shall make atonement for [the sin of] the people, and they will be forgiven. ²¹ Then the priest is to bring the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the congregation.

²² ‘When a ruler or leader sins and unintentionally does any one of the things the Lord his God has commanded not to be done, and he becomes guilty, ²³ if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring a goat, a male without blemish as his offering. ²⁴ He shall lay his hand on the head of the male goat [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice], and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord; it is a sin offering. ²⁵ Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering. ²⁶ And he shall offer all its fat up in smoke on the altar like the fat from the sacrifice of peace offerings; so the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin, and he will be forgiven.

²⁷ ‘If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally by doing any of the things the Lord has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty, ²⁸ if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring a goat, a female without blemish as his offering for the sin which he has committed. ²⁹ He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice], and kill it at the place of the burnt offering. ³⁰ The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and shall pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. ³¹ Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. In this way the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.

³² ‘If he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish. ³³ He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice], and kill it as a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. ³⁴ The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and all the rest of the blood of the lamb he shall pour out at the base of the altar. ³⁵ Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, on the offerings by fire to the Lord. In this way the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to the sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven.^(H)

The Law of Guilt Offerings

5 ‘If anyone sins after he hears a ^[h]public adjuration (solemn command to testify) when he is a witness, whether he has seen or [otherwise] known [something]—if he fails to report it, then he will bear his guilt and be held responsible. ² Or if someone touches any [ceremonially] unclean thing—whether the carcass of an unclean wild animal or the carcass of an unclean domestic animal or the carcass of unclean creeping things—even if he is unaware of it, he has become unclean, and he will be guilty. ³ Or if he touches human uncleanness—whatever kind it may be—and he becomes unclean, but he is unaware of it, when he recognizes it, he will be guilty. ⁴ Or if anyone swears [an oath] thoughtlessly or impulsively ^[i]aloud that he will do either evil or good, in whatever manner a person may speak thoughtlessly or impulsively with an oath, but he is unaware of it, when he recognizes it, he will be guilty in one of these.^{(I) 5} So it shall be when a person is guilty in one of these, that he shall confess the sin he has committed. ⁶ He shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord for the sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin.

⁷ ‘But if he ^[j]cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons as his guilt offering for his sin to the Lord, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. ⁸ He shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first the one for the sin offering, and shall nip its head at the front of its neck, but shall not sever it [completely]. ⁹ He shall also sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, and the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering. ¹⁰ The second [bird] he shall prepare as a burnt offering, according to the ordinance. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for the sin which he has committed, and it will be forgiven him.

¹¹ ‘But if he cannot afford to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for his sin the tenth part of an ^[k]ephah of fine flour as a sin offering; he shall not put [olive] oil or incense on it, for it is a sin offering. ¹² He shall bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful of it as a memorial portion and offer it up in smoke on the altar, with the offerings by fire to the Lord; it is a sin offering. ¹³ In this way the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in one of these things, and it will be forgiven him; then the rest shall be for the priest, like the grain offering.’”

¹⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁵ “If a person commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally against the holy things of the Lord, then he shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the flock, valued by you in shekels of silver, that is, the shekel of the sanctuary, as a guilt offering. ¹⁶ He shall make restitution for the sin which he has committed against the holy thing, and shall add a fifth [of the ram’s value] to it, and give it to the priest. The priest shall then make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven.

¹⁷ “Now if anyone sins and does any of the things which the Lord has forbidden, though he was not aware of it, still he is guilty and shall bear his punishment.^{(J) 18} He is then to bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, according to your valuation, for a guilt offering. In this way the priest shall make atonement for him regarding the error which he committed unintentionally and did not know it, and he shall be forgiven. ¹⁹ It is a guilt offering; he was certainly guilty before the Lord.”

Guilt Offerings

6 ^[l]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “When anyone sins and acts unfaithfully against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor (companion, associate) in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or through robbery, or if he has extorted from his neighbor, ³ or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins in regard to any one of the things a man may do— ⁴ then if he has sinned and is guilty, he shall restore what he took by robbery, or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him, or the lost thing which he found, ⁵ or anything about which he has sworn falsely; he shall not only restore it in full, but shall add to it one-fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day of his guilt offering. ⁶ Then he shall bring to the priest his guilt offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the flock, as valued by you, as a guilt offering. ⁷ The priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he will be forgiven for any one of the things which he may have done to incur guilt.”

The Priest’s Part in the Offerings

^8 [m]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁹ “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the burnt offering: the burnt offering shall remain on the hearth that is on the altar all night until morning and the fire is to be kept burning on the altar. ¹⁰ The priest is to put on his linen robe, with his linen undergarments next to his body. Then he shall take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has consumed on the altar and put them beside the altar. ¹¹ Then he shall take off his garments and put on something else, and take the ashes outside the camp to a (ceremonially) clean place. ¹² The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it shall not [be allowed to] go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and offer the fat portions of the peace offerings up in smoke on it. ¹³ The fire shall be burning continually on the altar; it shall not [be allowed to] go out.

¹⁴ ‘Now this is the law of the grain offering: the sons of Aaron shall present it before the Lord in front of the altar. ¹⁵ One of them shall take up from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering with its oil and all the incense that is on the grain offering, and he shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, a sweet and soothing aroma, as the memorial offering to the Lord. ¹⁶ What is left of it Aaron and his sons are to eat. It shall be eaten as unleavened bread in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.^{(K) 17} It shall not be baked with leaven [which represents corruption or sin]. I have given it as their share of My offerings by fire; it is ^[n]most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering. ¹⁸ Every male among the sons of Aaron may eat it [as his share]; it is a permanent ordinance throughout your generations, from offerings by fire to the Lord. ^[o]Whatever touches them will become consecrated (ceremonially clean).’”

¹⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁰ “This is the offering which Aaron and his sons are to present to the Lord on the day when he is anointed: the tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening. ²¹ It shall be prepared with oil on a griddle. When it is well stirred, you shall bring it. You shall present the grain offering in baked pieces as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. ²² The priest from among the sons of Aaron who is anointed in his place shall offer it. By a permanent statute it shall be entirely offered up in smoke to the Lord. ²³ So every grain offering of the priest shall be burned entirely. It shall not be eaten.”

²⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁵ “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: the sin offering shall be killed before the Lord in the [same] place where the burnt offering is killed; it is most holy. ²⁶ The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. ^27 [p]Whatever touches its meat will become consecrated (ceremonially clean). When any of its blood splashes on a garment, you shall wash what was splashed on in a holy place. ²⁸ Also the earthenware vessel in which it was boiled shall be broken; and if it was boiled in a bronze vessel, then that vessel shall be scoured and rinsed in water. ²⁹ Every male among the priests may eat this offering; it is most holy. ³⁰ But no sin offering from which any of the blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place shall be eaten; it shall be [completely] burned in the fire.^(L)

The Priest’s Part in the Offerings

7 ‘This is the law of the guilt offering; it is most holy. ² In the place where they kill the burnt offering they are to kill the guilt offering, and he shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. ³ Then he shall offer all its fat, the fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails, ⁴ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. ⁵ The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire to the Lord; it is a guilt offering. ⁶ Every male among the priests may eat it; it shall be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy. ⁷ The guilt offering is like the sin offering, there is one law for [both of] them: the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it for himself. ⁸ The priest who presents any man’s burnt offering shall have for himself the hide of the burnt offering which he has presented. ⁹ Likewise, every grain offering that is baked in the oven and everything that is prepared in a pan or on a griddle shall belong to the priest who presents it. ¹⁰ Every grain offering, mixed with [olive] oil or dry, all the sons of Aaron may have, one as well as another.

¹¹ ‘Now this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which shall be presented to the Lord: ¹² If one offers it as a sacrificial meal of thanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes of fine flour mixed with oil. ¹³ With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving, he shall present his offering with cakes of leavened bread. ¹⁴ Of this he shall present one [cake] from each offering as a contribution to the Lord; it shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings.

¹⁵ ‘The meat of the sacrifice of thanksgiving presented as a peace offering shall be eaten on the day that it is offered; none of it shall be left until morning. ¹⁶ But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day that which remains of it may be eaten; ¹⁷ but what is left over from the meat of the sacrifice on the third day shall be [completely] burned in the fire. ¹⁸ If any of the meat of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is ever eaten on the third day, then it will not be accepted, and the one who brought it will not be credited with it. It shall be an abhorred (offensive) thing; the one who eats it shall bear his own guilt.

¹⁹ ‘The meat that comes in contact with anything that is unclean shall not be eaten; it shall be burned in the fire. As for other meat, everyone who is [ceremonially] clean may eat it. ²⁰ But the one who eats meat from the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the Lord, in his uncleanness, that person shall be ^[q]cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them]. ²¹ When anyone touches any unclean thing—human uncleanness, or an unclean animal, or any unclean ^[r]detestable thing—and then eats the meat of the sacrifice of the Lord’s peace offerings, that person shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].’”

²² Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²³ “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘You shall not eat any fat from an ox, a sheep, or a goat. ²⁴ The fat of an animal which dies [of natural causes] and the fat of one which is torn [to pieces by a predator] may be put to any other use, but under no circumstances are you to eat it. ²⁵ For whoever eats the fat of the animal from which an offering by fire is presented to the Lord, that person who eats shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them]. ²⁶ Moreover, you are not to eat any blood [of any kind], whether of bird or animal, in any of your dwelling places. ²⁷ Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.’”

²⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁹ “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the Lord shall bring his offering to the Lord from the sacrifice of his peace offerings. ³⁰ With his own hands he is to bring offerings by fire to the Lord; he shall bring the fat with the breast, so that the breast may be presented as a wave offering before the Lord. ³¹ The priest shall offer up the fat in smoke on the altar, but the breast shall be for Aaron and his sons. ³² You shall give the right thigh to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifices of your peace offerings. ³³ The son of Aaron who offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat shall have the right thigh as his portion. ³⁴ For I have taken the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering from the Israelites, from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as their perpetual portion from the Israelites.

³⁵ ‘This is the consecrated portion from the offerings by fire to the Lord that was designated for Aaron and his sons on the day he presented them to serve as priests to the Lord. ³⁶ The Lord commanded this to be given to the priests by the Israelites on the day that He anointed them. It is their portion perpetually throughout their generations.’”

³⁷ This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the consecration (ordination) offering, and the sacrifice of peace offerings, ³⁸ which the Lord commanded Moses at Mount Sinai on the day He commanded the Israelites to present their offerings to the Lord, in the Wilderness of Sinai.

The Consecration of Aaron and His Sons

8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments [which are symbols of their office], and the anointing oil, and the bull for the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread; ³ and assemble the entire congregation at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.” ⁴ Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the congregation was assembled at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. ⁵ Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the Lord has commanded us to do.”

⁶ Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. ⁷ He put the undertunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him in the robe, and put the ^[s]ephod (an upper vestment) on him. He tied the [skillfully woven] band of the ephod around him, with which he secured it to Aaron. ⁸ Moses then put the breastpiece on Aaron, and he put in the breastpiece the Urim and the Thummim [the sacred articles the high priest used when seeking God’s will concerning the nation]. ⁹ He also put the turban on Aaron’s head, and on it, in the front, Moses placed the golden plate, the holy crown, just as the Lord had commanded him.

¹⁰ Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. ¹¹ He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. ¹² Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. ¹³ Next Moses brought Aaron’s sons forward, put undertunics on them, belted them with sashes, and bound caps on them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

¹⁴ Then he brought the bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull. ¹⁵ Next Moses killed it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar and purified it [from sin]. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it. ¹⁶ He took all the fat that was on the entrails, and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses offered them up in smoke on the altar. ¹⁷ But the bull (the sin offering) and its hide, its meat, and its refuse he burned in the fire outside the camp, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

¹⁸ He brought the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ¹⁹ Moses killed it and sprinkled the blood around on the altar. ²⁰ When he had cut the ram into pieces, Moses offered up the head, the pieces, and the fat in smoke. ²¹ After he had washed the entrails and the legs in water, Moses offered up the whole ram in smoke on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²² Then he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration (ordination), and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ²³ Moses killed it and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁴ He also brought Aaron’s sons forward and put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, and the thumbs of their right hands, and the big toes of their right feet; and Moses sprinkled the rest of the blood around on the altar. ²⁵ He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh; ²⁶ and from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord, he took one unleavened cake, a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer and put them on the fat and on the right thigh; ²⁷ and he put all these things in Aaron’s hands and his sons’ hands and presented them as a wave offering before the Lord. ²⁸ Then Moses took these things from their hands and offered them up in smoke on the altar with the burnt offering. They were a consecration (ordination) offering for a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. ²⁹ Moses also took the breast and presented it as a wave offering before the Lord; it was Moses’ portion of the ram of consecration (ordination), just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁰ So Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments, and also on his sons and their garments with him; so Moses consecrated Aaron and his garments, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.

³¹ Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, “Boil the meat at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting and eat it there together with the bread that is in the basket of the consecration (ordination) offering, just as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ ³² And what remains of the meat and of the bread you shall burn in the fire. ³³ You shall not go outside the doorway of the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration (ordination) are ended; for it will take seven days to consecrate you. ³⁴ As has been done this day, so the Lord has commanded to do for your atonement. ³⁵ You shall remain day and night for seven days at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, doing what the Lord has required you to do, so that you will not die; for so I (Moses) have been commanded.” ³⁶ So Aaron and his sons did all the things which the Lord had commanded through Moses.

Aaron Offers Sacrifices

9 And it happened on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel; ² and he said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, [each] without blemish, and offer both before the Lord.^{(M) 3} Then say to the Israelites, ‘Take a male goat as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both one year old, without blemish, as a burnt offering, ⁴ and a bull and a ram as peace offerings to sacrifice before the Lord, and a grain offering mixed with [olive] oil, for today the Lord will appear to you.’” ⁵ So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and all the congregation approached and stood before the Lord. ⁶ Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” ⁷ Moses said to Aaron, “Approach the altar and present your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for the people; and present the offering of the people and make atonement for them, just as the Lord has commanded.”^(N)

⁸ So Aaron approached the altar and killed the calf as the sin offering, which was designated for himself. ⁹ The sons of Aaron presented the blood to him; he dipped his finger in the blood and put some of it on the horns of the altar, and poured out the rest of the blood at the altar’s base; ¹⁰ but the fat, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver from the sin offering he offered up in smoke on the altar, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ¹¹ And Aaron burned the meat and the hide in the fire outside the camp.

¹² Then he killed the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar. ¹³ They brought the burnt offering to him piece by piece, with the head, and Aaron offered them up in smoke on the altar. ¹⁴ He also washed the entrails and the legs, and offered them up in smoke with the burnt offering on the altar.

¹⁵ Then Aaron presented the people’s offering. He took the goat for the sin offering of the people, and killed it and offered it for sin, as he did the first.^{(O) 16} He also presented the burnt offering and offered it according to the ordinance. ¹⁷ Next Aaron presented the grain offering and took a handful of it and offered it up in smoke on the altar in addition to the burnt offering of the morning.

¹⁸ He also killed the bull and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings which was for the people; and Aaron’s sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar, ¹⁹ As for the portions of fat from the bull and from the ram—the fat tail, and the fat covering the internal organs, and the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver— ²⁰ they now put the portions of fat on the breasts; and Aaron offered the fat up in smoke on the altar. ²¹ But the breasts and the right thigh Aaron presented as a wave offering before the Lord, just as Moses had commanded.

²² Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them, and came down [from the altar of burnt offering] after presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings. ²³ Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord [the Shekinah cloud] appeared to all the people [as promised].^{(P) 24} Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell face downward [in awe and worship].

The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

10 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective [ceremonial] censers, put fire in them, placed incense on it and offered ^[t]strange (unauthorized, unacceptable) fire before the Lord, [an act] which He had not commanded them to do. ² And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. ³ Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord said:

So Aaron, therefore, said nothing.

⁴ Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel who was Aaron’s uncle, and said to them, “Come here, carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary and take them outside the camp.” ⁵ So they came forward and carried them, still in their undertunics, outside the camp, as Moses had said. ⁶ Then Moses said to Aaron and to his [younger] sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not ^[u]uncover your heads nor let your hair hang loose nor tear your clothes [as expressions of mourning], so that you will not die [also] and so that He will not express His wrath and anger toward all the congregation. But your relatives, the whole house of Israel, may mourn the burning which the Lord has brought about. ⁷ You shall not even go out of the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, or you will die; for the Lord’s anointing oil is upon you.” So they did [everything] according to the word of Moses.

⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, ⁹ “^[v]Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the Tent of Meeting, so that you will not die—it is a permanent statute throughout your generations— ¹⁰ and to make a distinction and recognize a difference between the holy (sacred) and the common (profane), and between the [ceremonially] unclean and the clean;^{(Q) 11} and you are to teach the Israelites all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them ^[w]through Moses.”

¹² Then Moses said to Aaron, and to his surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that is left over from the offerings by fire to the Lord, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy. ¹³ You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your portion and your sons’ portion, from the offerings by fire to the Lord; for so I have been commanded. ¹⁴ But the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering you may eat in a clean place, you and your sons and daughters with you; for the breast and the thigh are your portion and your sons’ portion, given out of the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the Israelites. ¹⁵ They shall bring the thigh presented by lifting up and the breast presented by waving, along with the offerings by fire of the fat, to present as a wave offering before the Lord. This shall be yours and your sons’ with you, as your perpetual portion, just as the Lord has commanded.”

¹⁶ But Moses diligently tried to find the goat [that had been offered] as the sin offering, and discovered that it had been burned up [as waste, not eaten]! So he was angry with Aaron’s surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar, saying, ¹⁷ “Why did you not eat the sin offering in the holy place? For it is most holy; and God gave it to you to remove the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord. ¹⁸ Behold, its blood was not brought into the Holy Place; you certainly should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary, just as I commanded.” ¹⁹ Then Aaron said to Moses, “This very day they have [obediently] presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, but [such terrible things] as these have happened to me [and to them]; if I [and my sons] had eaten a sin offering today would it have been acceptable and pleasing in the sight of the Lord?”^{(R) 20} When Moses heard that, he was satisfied.

Laws about Animals for Food

11 The Lord spoke again to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, ² “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Among all the animals which are on the earth, these are the animals which you may eat.^{(S) 3} You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof [that is, a hoof split into two parts especially at its distal extremity] and chews the cud. ⁴ Nevertheless, you are not to eat these, among those which chew the cud or divide the hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is [ceremonially] unclean to you. ⁵ And the ^[x]shaphan, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you. ⁶ And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you. ⁷ And the swine, because it divides the hoof and makes a split hoof, but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. ⁸ You shall not eat their meat nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.

⁹ ‘These you may eat, whatever is in the water: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, these you may eat; ¹⁰ but whatever does not have fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, of all the teeming life in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are [to be considered] detestable to you.^{(T) 11} They shall be ^[y]hated things to you. You may not eat their meat; you shall detest their carcasses. ¹² Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

Avoid the Unclean

¹³ ‘These you shall detest among the birds; they are not to be eaten, for they are ^[z]hated things: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, ¹⁴ the kite, every kind of falcon, ¹⁵ every kind of raven, ¹⁶ the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, every species of hawk, ¹⁷ the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl, ¹⁸ the white owl, the pelican, the carrion vulture, ¹⁹ the stork, all kinds of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.

²⁰ ‘All winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you; ²¹ yet of all winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those which have legs above their feet with which to leap on the ground. ²² Of these you may eat: the whole species of migratory locust, of bald locust, of cricket, and of grasshopper.^{(U) 23} But all other winged insects which are four footed are detestable to you.

²⁴ ‘By [contact with] these you will become unclean; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until the evening (dusk), ²⁵ and whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. ²⁶ Concerning all the animals which divide the hoof, but do not have a split hoof, or which do not chew the cud, they are unclean to you; whoever touches them becomes unclean. ²⁷ Also all animals that walk on their paws, among all kinds of animals that walk on four legs, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until the evening, ²⁸ and the one who picks up their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.

²⁹ ‘These also are unclean to you among the swarming things that crawl around on the ground [and multiply profusely]: the mole, the mouse, and any kind of great lizard, ³⁰ the gecko, the crocodile, the lizard, the sand reptile, and the chameleon. ³¹ These [creatures] are unclean to you among all that swarm; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening. ³² Also anything on which one of them falls after dying becomes unclean, whether it is an article of wood or clothing, or a skin, or a sack—any article that is used—it must be put in water, and will be unclean until the evening; then it becomes clean. ³³ As for any earthenware container into which any of these [crawling things] falls, whatever is in it becomes unclean, and you shall break the container. ³⁴ Any of the food which may be eaten, but on which [unclean] water falls, shall become unclean, and any liquid that may be drunk in every container shall become unclean. ³⁵ Everything that part of their carcass falls on becomes unclean; an oven, or a small stove shall be smashed; they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. ³⁶ Nevertheless a spring or a cistern (reservoir) collecting water shall be clean; but whoever touches one of these carcasses shall be unclean. ³⁷ If a part of their carcass falls on any seed for sowing which is to be sown, it is clean; ³⁸ but if water is put on the seed and a part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.

³⁹ ‘If one of the animals that you may eat dies [of natural causes], whoever touches its carcass becomes unclean until the evening. ⁴⁰ And whoever eats some of its meat shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening; also whoever picks up its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.

⁴¹ ‘Now everything that swarms on the ground is detestable; it is not to be eaten. ⁴² Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all fours, and whatever has many feet among all things that swarm on the ground, you shall not eat; for they are detestable. ⁴³ Do not make yourselves loathsome (impure, repulsive) by [eating] any swarming thing; you shall not make yourselves unclean by them so as to defile yourselves. ⁴⁴ For I am the Lord your God; so consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm or crawls on the ground.^{(V) 45} For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; therefore you shall be holy, for I am holy.’”^(W)

⁴⁶ This is the law regarding the animal and the bird and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth, ⁴⁷ to make a distinction between the [ceremonially] unclean and the [ceremonially] clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.

Laws of Motherhood

12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel, saying,

‘If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male child, she shall be [ceremonially] unclean for seven days, unclean as during her monthly period. ³ On the eighth day the flesh of the male child’s foreskin shall be circumcised. ⁴ Then she shall remain [intimately separated] thirty-three days to be purified from the blood; she shall not touch any consecrated thing nor enter the [courtyard of the] sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. ⁵ But if she gives birth to a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as during her monthly period, and she shall remain [intimately separated] sixty-six days to be purified from the blood.

⁶ ‘When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting a one year old lamb as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering; ⁷ and he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who gives birth to a child, whether a male or a female child. ⁸ If she cannot afford a lamb then she shall take two turtledoves or young pigeons, one as a burnt offering, the other as a sin offering; the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”^(X)

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 ^[aa]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 ^[ab]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,^{(Y) 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 ^[ac]hyssop for the one to be cleansed.^{(Z) 5} Next the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed [as a sacrifice] in an earthenware container over [fresh] ^[ad]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.^{(AA) 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, ^[ae]whose means are limited for his [ceremonial] cleansing.”