Leviticus 12:1-13:8

New American Standard Bible 1995

Laws of Motherhood

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

‘When a woman ^[a]gives birth and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days, ^(A)as in the days of ^[b]her menstruation she shall be unclean. ³ On ^(B)the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. ⁴ Then she shall remain in the blood of her purification for thirty-three days; she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed. ⁵ But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her ^[c]menstruation; and she shall remain in the blood of her purification for sixty-six days.

⁶ ‘^(C)When the days of her purification are completed, 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 for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove ^(D)for a sin offering. ⁷ Then he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the ^[d]flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, whether a male or a female. ⁸ But if ^[e]she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take ^(E)two turtledoves or two young pigeons, ^(F)the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the ^(G)priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”

The Test for Leprosy

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ² “When a man has on the skin of his ^[f]body a swelling or a scab or a bright spot, and it becomes ^[g]an infection of leprosy on the skin of his ^[h]body, ^(H)then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. ³ The priest shall look at the mark on the skin of the ^[i]body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his ^[j]body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean. ⁴ But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his ^[k]body, and ^[l]it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has not turned white, then the priest shall ^[m]isolate him who has the infection for seven days. ⁵ The priest shall look at him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the infection ^[n]has not changed and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall ^[o]isolate him for seven more days. ⁶ The priest shall look at him again on the seventh day, and if the infection has faded and the mark has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab. And he shall ^(I)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 cleansing, he shall appear again to the priest. ⁸ The priest shall look, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy.