Leviticus 12

The Voice

Eternal One: ² Go, talk with the Israelites, and tell them, “If a woman conceives and gives birth to a boy, then she will be ritually unclean for seven days, just like she is unclean when she is menstruating. ³ When the eighth day arrives, the boy will be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ⁴ A woman who gives birth to a boy must not have contact with any holy thing or go into the sanctuary for 33 days. She must wait until her purification is complete and her bleeding from childbirth ends. ⁵ But if the woman gives birth to a girl she will be ritually unclean for 14 days—just like she is unclean when she is menstruating. She must wait 66 days for her purification from bleeding to be complete.

⁶ After her days of purification are over—regardless of whether she had a boy or a girl—she will bring several things to the priest at the entrance of the congregation tent: a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a purification offering. ⁷ Then the priest will present it to Me and cover the woman’s blood impurity, and she will be ritually clean from her flowing of blood. This is My instruction for any woman who gives birth to a child, either a boy or a girl. ⁸ If the woman cannot afford a lamb, then she may instead present two turtledoves or two young pigeons^[a]—one for a burnt offering and the other for a purification offering. The priest will offer them to cover her blood impurity, and she will be ritually clean.