Parashat Metzora

Purification of One with Tza’arat

14 Then Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: ² “This is the Torah of the one with tza’arat in the day of his cleansing. He should be brought to the kohen, ^{[a] 3} and the kohen is to go to the outside of the camp. The kohen is to examine him, and behold, if the mark of tza’arat is healed in one with tza’arat, ⁴ then the kohen is to command that two clean living birds, cedar wood, scarlet and hyssop be brought for the one being cleansed. ⁵ The kohen should command them to kill one of the birds in a clay pot over living water. ⁶ As for the living bird, he is to take it, the cedar wood, the scarlet and the hyssop, and dip them with the living bird into the blood of the bird that was killed over the living water. ⁷ He is to sprinkle on the one being cleansed from the tza’arat seven times and pronounce him clean, then release the living bird over the open field.

⁸ “The one to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water. Then he should be clean. After that he may come into the camp, but is to dwell outside his tent for seven days. ⁹ Then on the seventh day, he is to shave all his hair from his head, his beard, and his eyebrows—he must shave off all his hair. He is to wash his clothes, and bathe his body in water. Then he will be clean.

¹⁰ “On the eighth day he is to take two male lambs without blemish, a one-year-old ewe lamb without blemish, three tenths of a pint of fine flour as a grain offering, mingled with oil, and a pint of oil. ¹¹ The kohen who cleanses him is to set the man who to be cleansed along with those items before Adonai, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ¹² The kohen should then take one of the male lambs, and offer it for a trespass offering, with the pint of oil, and wave them as a wave offering before Adonai.

¹³ “Then he is to slaughter the male lamb in the place where they slaughter the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the Sanctuary area. For the sin offering like the trespass offering belongs to the kohen. It is most holy. ¹⁴ Then the kohen is to take some of the blood of the trespass offering and dab it on the tip of the right ear of the one being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. ¹⁵ The kohen should then take some of the pint of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand. ¹⁶ He is to dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before Adonai. ¹⁷ Then the kohen should dab some of the rest of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of the one being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the trespass offering. ¹⁸ From what remains of the oil that is in his hand, the kohen is to dab on the head of the one being cleansed. In this way the kohen will make atonement for him before Adonai.

¹⁹ “The kohen should offer the sin offering and make atonement for the one being cleansed because of his uncleanness. Afterward he is to slaughter the burnt offering. ²⁰ Then the kohen is to present the burnt offering along with the grain offering on the altar. So the kohen should make atonement for him, and he will be clean.

²¹ “If he is poor and cannot afford so much, then he should take one male lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, plus one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mingled with oil for a grain offering, a pint of oil, ²² two turtledoves or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford. The one should be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.

²³ “On the eighth day he is to bring them to the kohen for his cleansing, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before Adonai. ²⁴ The kohen is to take the lamb of the trespass offering and the pint of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before Adonai. ²⁵ He is to slaughter the lamb of the trespass offering. The kohen is to take some of the blood of the trespass offering and dab it on the tip of the right ear of the one being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁶ The kohen should then pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand. ²⁷ He is to sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before Adonai. ²⁸ Then the kohen is to dab some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of the one being cleansed, also on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the place of the blood of the trespass offering. ²⁹ The rest of the oil that is in his hand the kohen is to dab on the head of the one being cleansed, to make atonement for him before Adonai. ³⁰ He is to offer one of the turtledoves or the young pigeons, from what his hand can afford, ³¹ the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the grain offering. The kohen should make atonement for him being cleansed before Adonai.”

³² This is the Torah for one on who is the mark of tza’arat, who is not able to afford the sacrifice for his cleansing.

Purification of a House

³³ Adonai spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: ³⁴ “Suppose you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put a mark of tza’arat in a house in the land you possess. ³⁵ Then the one who owns the house should come and tell the kohen, saying: ‘Something like a mark has appeared in my house.’ ³⁶ The kohen is to order the house emptied before he goes in to examine the mark, so that nothing in the house might be made unclean. Then afterward the kohen is to enter to inspect the house. ³⁷ He is to examine the mark, and behold, if the mark is in the walls of the house with hollow streaks, greenish or reddish, and appears deeper than the wall, ³⁸ then the kohen is to go out of the house to the door and close up the house for seven days. ³⁹ Then the kohen is to come again on the seventh day, and behold, if the mark has spread in the walls of the house, ⁴⁰ then the kohen is to command that they take out the stones which are marked and throw them into an unclean place outside of the city. ⁴¹ He should also have the inside of the house scraped all throughout, and they are to dump the mortar that they scraped off outside of the city into an unclean place. ⁴² They may then take other stones and put them in the place of those stones. Likewise he can take other mortar, and plaster the house.

⁴³ “But suppose the contamination returns, breaking out in the house, after he has pulled out the stones and after he has scraped the house, and it has been re-plastered. ⁴⁴ Then the kohen is to go examine, and behold, if the plague has spread within the house, it is a destructive mildew inside. It is unclean. ⁴⁵ He is to break down the house, its stones, its timber, along with all the house’s mortar, and carry them out of the city into an unclean place.

⁴⁶ “Moreover, whoever goes into the house while it is shut up will be unclean until the evening. ⁴⁷ The one who lies down in the house must wash his clothes, and he who eats in the house must wash his clothes too.

⁴⁸ “But if the kohen comes in, inspects it, and behold, the plague has not spread within the house after it was re-plastered, then he should pronounce the house clean, because the contamination is healed. ⁴⁹ In order to cleanse the house he is to take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet and hyssop. ⁵⁰ He is to kill one of the birds in a clay pot over living water. ⁵¹ Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet and the living bird, and dip them into the blood of the slain bird as well as the living water, and sprinkle the house seven times. ⁵² He should cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, with the living water, with the living bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet. ⁵³ But he is to let the living bird go out of the city into the open field. So he is to make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.”

⁵⁴ This is the Torah for any mark of tza’arat—even for a scab, ⁵⁵ or the tza’arat in a garment or for a house ⁵⁶ or for a swelling, a scab, or a bright spot— ⁵⁷ to teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean.

This is the Torah of tza’arat.

Purification From Discharges

15 Adonai spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: ² “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and tell them: When any man has a fluid discharge from his body, because of his discharge he is unclean. ³ This is to be his uncleanness in his discharge. Whether his body flows with his discharge or his body obstructs his discharge, it is his uncleanness.

⁴ “Every bed on which he who has the discharge lies will become unclean, and everything he sits on will be unclean. ⁵ Whoever touches his bed is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. ⁶ Whoever sits on anything on which the man who has the discharge sat is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. ⁷ Whoever touches the body of the one who has the discharge is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. ⁸ Or if the one who has the discharge spits on someone who is clean, then he also is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.

⁹ “Any saddle the one who has the discharge rides on will be unclean. ¹⁰ Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean until the evening. Whoever carries them is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.

¹¹ “Also anyone the person with the discharge touches without rinsing his hands in water should wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.

¹² “A clay pot that one with the discharge touches should be broken, and every wooden vessel should be rinsed in water.

¹³ “When the one who has a fluid discharge is cleansed of his issue, then he is to count for himself seven days for his purification and wash his clothes. Then he is to bathe his body in running water, and he will be clean. ¹⁴ On the eighth day he is to take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and come before Adonai at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the kohen. ¹⁵ The kohen is to offer them, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So the kohen should make atonement for him before Adonai for his fluid discharge.

¹⁶ “If any man has an emission of semen, then he is to bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until the evening. ¹⁷ Every garment and all leather with semen on it are to be washed with water, and will be unclean until the evening. ¹⁸ If a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, they should both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the evening.

¹⁹ “If a woman has a discharge, and her discharge from her body is blood, she should be in her niddah seven days. And whoever touches her will be unclean until the evening. ²⁰ Everything that she lies on in her niddah will become unclean. Also everything that she sits on will become unclean. ²¹ Whoever touches her bed is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. ²² Whoever touches anything that she sits on is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. ²³ If it is on the bed or on anything where she sits, when he touches it, he will be unclean until the evening. ²⁴ If any man lies with her, so that her niddah gets on him, he will be unclean for seven days and every bed where he lies will be unclean.

²⁵ “Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days not during her niddah or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her niddah all the days of the discharge of her uncleanness should be as in the days of her niddah. She is unclean. ^{[b] 26} Every bed where she lies all the days of her discharge will be like her bed during her niddah, and everything she sits on will become unclean like the uncleanness of her niddah. ²⁷ Whoever touches these things will become unclean and is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.

²⁸ “But if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she is to count off seven days for herself, and after that she will be clean. ²⁹ On the eighth day she is to take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and bring them to the kohen, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ³⁰ The kohen is to offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. So the kohen will make atonement for her before Adonai for the uncleanness of her discharge.

³¹ “So you are to keep Bnei-Yisrael separate from their uncleanness, so they will not die in their uncleanness by defiling My Tabernacle that is in their midst.”

³² This is the Torah for one who has a discharge or for one who has an emission of semen, which causes him to become unclean, ³³ as well as for her who has her period of niddah, and for the man or woman who has a discharge, or the one who lies with her who is unclean.

³ Now there were four men with tza’arat at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why should we sit here till we die? ⁴ If we say: ‘Let’s go into the city,’ then the famine is in the city, so we will die there; but if we sit still here, we’ll die also. So come, let’s go into the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we’ll live; and if they kill us, we’ll just die.”

⁵ So they got up at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans. But when they arrived at the edge of the Aramean camp, behold, no one was there! ⁶ For Adonai had caused the army of the Arameans to hear a noise of chariots and a noise of horses—indeed a noise of a huge army. So they said one to another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians to assault us.” ⁷ So they got up and fled at twilight, abandoning their tents, their horses and their donkeys—the entire camp just as it was—and fled for their lives.

⁸ When these men with tza’arat came to the edge of the camp, they entered into one tent, ate and drank, and took from there silver, gold, and clothes, then went and hid them. Then they returned and went into another tent, and took from there too, and went and hid them. ⁹ Then they said to each other, “It’s not right, what we’re doing. This day is a day of good news, and we’re keeping silent! If we wait till the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go now and report to the king’s household.”

¹⁰ So they came and called out to the city gatekeepers, and told them, “We went to the camp of the Arameans, and look, there was not a single soul there, no human voice—just the horses and the donkeys tied up, and the tents just as they were.” ¹¹ Then the gatekeepers called out, and it was reported to the royal palace inside.

¹² When the king got up in the night, he said to his courtiers, “Let me tell you now what the Arameans have contrived against us. They know that we are hungry, so they went out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we’ll capture them alive and get into the city.’”

¹³ But one of his courtiers answered and said, “Please let some men take five of the remaining horses left in the city—look, they are just like the whole multitude left in it, and look, they will be just like the whole multitude of Israel that has already perished—so let’s send and see.”

¹⁴ So they took two chariots with horses, and the king sent them after the army of the Arameans, saying, “Go and see.” ¹⁵ They went after them to the Jordan, and behold, all the way was strewn with clothes and equipment, which the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. Then the messengers returned and reported to the king. ¹⁶ So the people went out and ransacked the camp of the Arameans. Then a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel—just as was the word of Adonai.

¹⁷ Now the king appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned, to have charge of the gate—but the people trampled on him at the gate, and he died—just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. ¹⁸ For when the man of God had spoken to the king, “Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, will be tomorrow about this time at the gate of Samaria,” ¹⁹ that officer had answered the man of God and said, “Look, even if Adonai should make windows in heaven, could such a thing happen?” and he replied, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but will not eat any of it!” ²⁰ That’s what happened to him—for the people trampled on him at the gate, and he died.