Leviticus 13
Christian Standard Bible
Skin Diseases
13 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 “When a person has a swelling,[a] scab,[b] or spot on the skin of his body, and it may be a serious disease on the skin(A) of his body, he is to be brought to the priest Aaron or to one of his sons, the priests. 3 The priest will examine the sore(B) on the skin of his body. If the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is in fact a serious skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean. 4 But if the spot on the skin of his body is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest will quarantine the stricken person for seven days.(C) 5 The priest will then reexamine him on the seventh day. If he sees that the sore remains unchanged and has not spread on the skin, the priest will quarantine him for another seven days. 6 The priest will examine him again on the seventh day. If the sore has faded and has not spread on the skin, the priest is to pronounce him clean;(D) it is a scab. The person is to wash his clothes and will become clean. 7 But if the scab spreads further on his skin after he has presented himself to the priest for his cleansing,(E) he is to present himself again to the priest. 8 The priest will examine him, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest must pronounce him unclean; he has a serious skin disease.
9 “When a case of serious skin disease may have developed on a person, he is to be brought to the priest. 10 The priest will examine him. If there is a white swelling on the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is a patch of raw flesh in the swelling, 11 it is a chronic serious disease on the skin of his body, and the priest must pronounce him unclean.(F) He need not quarantine him, for he is unclean. 12 But if the skin disease breaks out all over the skin so that it covers all the skin of the stricken person from his head to his feet so far as the priest can see, 13 the priest will look, and if the skin disease has covered his entire body, he is to pronounce the stricken person clean.(G) Since he has turned totally white, he is clean. 14 But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he will be unclean. 15 When the priest examines the raw flesh, he must pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean; this is a serious skin disease. 16 But if the raw flesh changes[c] and[d] turns white, he is to go to the priest. 17 The priest will examine him, and if the sore has turned white, the priest must pronounce the stricken person clean; he is clean.
18 “When a boil appears on the skin(H) of someone’s body(I) and it heals, 19 and a white swelling or a reddish-white spot develops where the boil was, the person is to present himself to the priest. 20 The priest will make an examination, and if the spot seems to be beneath the skin and the hair in it has turned white, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a case of serious skin disease that has broken out in the boil. 21 But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in it, and it is not beneath the skin but is faded, the priest will quarantine him seven days. 22 If it spreads further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is in fact a disease. 23 But if the spot remains where it is and does not spread, it is only the scar from the boil. The priest is to pronounce him clean.
24 “When there is a burn on the skin of one’s body produced by fire, and the patch made raw by the burn becomes reddish-white or white, 25 the priest is to examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and the spot appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a serious skin disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a serious skin disease. 26 But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in the spot and it is not beneath the skin but is faded, the priest will quarantine him seven days. 27 The priest will reexamine him on the seventh day. If it has spread further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is in fact a case of serious skin disease. 28 But if the spot has remained where it was and has not spread on the skin but is faded, it is the swelling from the burn. The priest is to pronounce him clean, for it is only the scar from the burn.
29 “When a man or woman has a condition on the head or chin, 30 the priest is to examine the condition. If it appears to be deeper than the skin,(J) and the hair in it is yellow and sparse, the priest must pronounce the person unclean. It is a scaly outbreak, a serious skin disease of the head or chin. 31 When the priest examines the scaly condition, if it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, the priest will quarantine the person with the scaly condition for seven days. 32 The priest will reexamine the condition on the seventh day. If the scaly outbreak has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, 33 the person is to shave himself(K) but not shave the scaly area. Then the priest will quarantine the person who has the scaly outbreak for another seven days. 34 The priest will examine the scaly outbreak on the seventh day, and if it has not spread on the skin and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, the priest is to pronounce the person clean. He is to wash his clothes, and he will be clean. 35 But if the scaly outbreak spreads further on the skin after his cleansing, 36 the priest is to examine the person. If the scaly outbreak has spread on the skin, the priest does not need to look for yellow hair; the person is unclean. 37 But if as far as he can see, the scaly outbreak remains unchanged and black hair has grown in it, then it has healed; he is clean. The priest is to pronounce the person clean.
38 “When a man or a woman has white spots on the skin of the body, 39 the priest is to make an examination. If the spots on the skin of the body are dull white, it is only a rash[e] that has broken out on the skin; the person is clean.
40 “If a man loses the hair of his head, he is bald,(L) but he is clean. 41 Or if he loses the hair at his hairline, he is bald on his forehead, but he is clean. 42 But if there is a reddish-white condition on the bald head or forehead, it is a serious skin disease breaking out on his head or forehead.(M) 43 The priest is to examine him, and if the swelling of the condition on his bald head or forehead is reddish-white, like the appearance of a serious skin disease on his body, 44 the man is afflicted with a serious skin disease;(N) he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean; the infection is on his head.
45 “The person who has a case of serious skin disease is to have his clothes torn(O) and his hair hanging loose, and he must cover his mouth(P) and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ 46 He will remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.(Q)
Contaminated Fabrics
47 “If a fabric is contaminated with mildew—in wool or linen fabric, 48 in the warp or weft of linen or wool, or in leather or anything made of leather— 49 and if the contamination is green or red in the fabric, the leather, the warp, the weft, or any leather article, it is a mildew contamination and is to be shown to the priest. 50 The priest is to examine the contamination and quarantine the contaminated fabric for seven days. 51 The priest is to reexamine the contamination on the seventh day. If it has spread in the fabric, the warp, the weft, or the leather, regardless of how it is used, the contamination is harmful mildew; it is unclean.(R) 52 He is to burn the fabric, the warp or weft in wool or linen, or any leather article, which is contaminated. Since it is harmful mildew it must be burned.
53 “When the priest examines it, if the contamination has not spread in the fabric, the warp or weft, or any leather article, 54 the priest is to order whatever is contaminated to be washed and quarantined for another seven days. 55 After it has been washed, the priest is to reexamine the contamination. If the appearance of the contaminated article has not changed, it is unclean. Even though the contamination has not spread, you must burn the fabric. It is a fungus[f] on the front or back of the fabric.
56 “If the priest examines it, and the contamination has faded after it has been washed, he is to cut the contaminated section out of the fabric, the leather, or the warp or weft. 57 But if it reappears in the fabric, the warp or weft, or any leather article, it has broken out again. You must burn whatever is contaminated. 58 But if the contamination disappears from the fabric, the warp or weft, or any leather article, which have been washed, it is to be washed again, and it will be clean.
59 “This is the law concerning a mildew contamination in wool or linen fabric, warp or weft, or any leather article, in order to pronounce it clean or unclean.”(S)
Leviticus 13
Common English Bible
Diagnosis of skin disease
13 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 When a person has a swelling, a scab, or a shiny spot on their skin, and it becomes an infection of skin disease[a] on their skin, they will be brought to the priests, either to Aaron or one of his sons. 3 The priest will examine the infection on the skin. If hair in the infected area has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin, then it is an infection of skin disease. Once the priest sees this, he will declare the person unclean. 4 But if the shiny spot on the skin is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin and the hair has not turned white, the priest will quarantine the infected person for seven days. 5 On the seventh day the priest will again examine the infection. If he sees that it has remained the same—the infection has not spread on the skin—the priest will quarantine the person for seven more days. 6 On the seventh day the priest will examine it again. If the infection has faded and has not spread over the skin, the priest will declare the person clean; it is just a rash. The person must wash their clothes, then they will be clean again. 7 But if the rash continues to spread over the skin after they appeared before the priest for purification, they must again show themselves to the priest. 8 If the priest sees that the rash has spread over the skin, the priest will declare the person unclean; it is a case of skin disease.
9 Whenever someone has an infection of skin disease, they will be brought to the priest. 10 If the priest sees that there is a white swelling on the skin, it has turned the hair white, and there is a patch of raw flesh in the swelling, 11 then it is a case of chronic skin disease on their skin. The priest will declare the person unclean. The priest will not quarantine such persons, because they are already unclean. 12 But if the skin disease continues to break out so that the disease covers all of the infected person’s skin from head to toe, as far as the priest can tell— 13 then the priest will make an examination. If the skin disease has covered the person’s whole body, the priest will declare the infected person clean. The person has turned entirely white; he is clean. 14 But as soon as raw flesh appears in the swelling, they will be unclean. 15 When the priest sees the raw flesh, he will declare the person unclean. Raw flesh is unclean; it is a case of skin disease. 16 But if the raw flesh turns white again, the person will go back to the priest. 17 The priest will examine it. If the infection has turned white, the priest will declare the infected person clean; at that point, the person is clean.
18 Whenever someone has a boil on their skin, it heals, 19 and in place of the boil there is a white swelling or reddish-white shiny spot, it must be shown to the priest. 20 If the priest sees that it appears to be lower than the skin, and its hair has turned white, the priest will declare the person unclean. It is an infection of skin disease that has broken out in the boil. 21 But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in it, it is not lower than the skin, and it is faded, the priest will quarantine the person seven days. 22 If it continues to spread over the skin, the priest will declare the person unclean; it is an infection. 23 But if the shiny spot remains where it was and does not spread, it is just a scar from the boil. The priest will declare the person clean.
24 Whenever there is a burn on someone’s skin, and the raw patch of the burn becomes a reddish-white or white shiny spot, 25 the priest will examine it. If the hair has turned white in the shiny spot, and it appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a case of skin disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest will declare the person unclean; it is an infection of skin disease. 26 But if the priest examines it, and there is no white hair in the shiny spot, it is not lower than the skin, and it is faded, the priest will quarantine the person seven days. 27 On the seventh day the priest will again examine it. If it has continued to spread over the skin, the priest will declare the person unclean; it is an infection of skin disease. 28 But if the shiny spot remains where it was, has not spread over the skin, and is faded, it is just swelling from the burn. The priest will declare the person clean, because it is just the scar from the burn.
29 Whenever a man or woman has an infection, whether on the head or in the beard, 30 the priest will examine it. If it appears to be deeper than the skin, and there is thin yellow hair in it, the priest will declare the person unclean; it is a case of scabies—a skin disease of the head or beard. 31 When the priest examines the scabies infection, if it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, but there is no black hair in it, the priest will quarantine the person with the scabies infection for seven days. 32 On the seventh day the priest will examine the infection again. If the scabies has not spread, there is no yellow hair in it, and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, 33 the person must shave the area, without shaving the scabies. The priest will then quarantine that person another seven days. 34 On the seventh day the priest will again examine the scabies. If it has not spread over the skin and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, the priest will declare the person clean. They must wash their clothes; then they will be clean again. 35 But if the scabies continues to spread over the skin after the person’s purification, 36 the priest must examine it again. If the scabies has spread over the skin at all, the priest does not need to look for the yellow hair; the person is unclean. 37 But if the priest sees that the scabies has remained the same, and black hair has grown in it, the scabies has healed. The person is clean, and the priest will declare them to be so.
38 Whenever a man or woman has many white shiny spots on their skin, 39 if the priest sees that there are faded white shiny spots on the skin of the body, it is just a rash that has broken out on the skin; the person is clean.
40 If someone loses their hair, they are bald, but they are clean. 41 If the hair is lost at the sides of the forehead, the person has a receding hairline, but they are clean. 42 But whenever there is a reddish-white infection in the bald spot or in the receding hairline, it is a case of skin disease breaking out there. 43 The priest must examine it. If the swelling of the infection is reddish white in the bald spot or receding hairline and resembles skin disease on the body, 44 the person is afflicted with skin disease; they are unclean. The priest must declare them unclean on account of the head infection.
45 Anyone with an infection of skin disease must wear torn clothes, dishevel their hair, cover their upper lip, and shout out, “Unclean! Unclean!” 46 They will be unclean as long as they are infected. They are unclean. They must live alone outside the camp.
Articles with skin disease
47 Whenever there is an infection of skin disease on clothing—on wool or linen clothing, 48 in the weaving of the linen or wool, or on a skin or skin item— 49 and the infection is greenish or reddish on the clothing, the weaving, or the skin or skin item, it is an infection of skin disease. It must be shown to the priest. 50 The priest will examine the infection and quarantine the infected item seven days. 51 On the seventh day he will examine the infection again. If the infection has spread in the clothing, the weaving, or the skin, whatever it is used for, the infection is a case of infectious skin disease; the item is unclean. 52 The priest will burn the clothing, the weaving of the wool or linen, or whatever skin item in which the infection was found, because it is an infectious skin disease; it must be burned with fire.
53 But if the priest sees that the infection has not spread in the clothing, the weaving, or on any skin item, 54 the priest will order that the infected piece be washed, and he will quarantine it for another seven days. 55 After it has been washed, if the priest sees that the infection has not changed its appearance, even though the infection has not spread, it is unclean. You must burn it with fire. It is a fungus,[b] whether it is on the inside or outside.
56 But if, after it is washed, the priest sees that the infection has faded, he will tear the infected part out of the cloth, the weaving, or the skin. 57 If it appears again in the cloth, the weaving, or any item of skin, it is starting to break out. You must burn the infected item with fire. 58 But if the infection disappears from the cloth, the weaving, or any item of skin that you washed, it must be washed again. Then it will be clean.
59 This concludes the Instruction about the infection of skin disease in a woolen or linen cloth, weaving, or any skin item, in order to declare whether it is clean or unclean.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 13:2 The precise meaning is uncertain; traditionally leprosy—a term used for several different skin diseases.
- Leviticus 13:55 Heb uncertain
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