Chapter 12

Purification after Childbirth.^{[a] 1} The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel: ² When a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a male child, she shall be considered to be unclean for seven days, just as when she menstruates. ³ On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin will be circumcised. ⁴ Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch any holy thing nor shall she enter into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are complete. ⁵ But if she gives birth to a girl, she shall be unclean for two weeks as during her menstruation. She shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days.^[b]

⁶ “When the days of her purification for a son or a daughter are complete, she shall bring a year-old lamb as a burnt offering and a pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering to the priest at the entrance to the meeting tent. ⁷ He shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her. She shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for a woman who has borne a male or female child. ⁸ If she cannot afford to offer a lamb, she shall offer two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. The priest shall make atonement for her and she shall be clean.”^[c]