Purification of Women after Childbirth

12 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the Israelites, saying:

“If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean.^{(A) 3} On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.^{(B) 4} Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing or come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed. ⁵ If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days.

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 entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering and a pigeon or a turtledove for a purification offering.^{(C) 7} He shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement on her behalf; then she shall be clean from her flow of blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, male or female. ⁸ If she cannot afford a sheep, she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a purification offering, and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf, and she shall be clean.”^(D)

¹⁹ “When a woman has a discharge of blood that is a menstrual discharge from her body, she shall be in her impurity for seven days, and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening.^{(A) 20} Everything upon which she lies during her impurity shall be unclean; everything also upon which she sits shall be unclean. ²¹ Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.^{(B) 22} Whoever touches anything upon which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening; ²³ whether it is the bed or anything upon which she sits, when he touches it he shall be unclean until the evening. ²⁴ If any man lies with her and her impurity falls on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.^(C)

²⁵ “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her menstrual impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness; as in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean.^{(D) 26} Every bed on which she lies during all the days of her discharge shall be treated as the bed of her impurity, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her impurity. ²⁷ Whoever touches these things shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.^{(E) 28} If she is cleansed of her discharge, she shall count seven days, and after that she shall be clean. ²⁹ On the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting.^{(F) 30} The priest shall offer one for a purification offering and the other for a burnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the Lord for her unclean discharge.