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Leviticus 13
Evangelical Heritage Version

The Diagnosis of Impurity From Skin Diseases

13 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron:

2 When a person has a discoloration or a scab or a shiny patch[a] on the skin of his body,[b] which may become an outbreak of an impure skin disease[c] on the skin of his body, he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who are priests. 3 The priest shall examine the infection on the skin of his body. If the hair on the infection has turned white and if the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is an outbreak of an impure skin disease. After the priest has examined it, he shall declare it unclean.[d]

4 But if there is a white shiny patch on the skin of his body that does not appear to be any deeper than the skin and if its hair has not turned white, the priest shall quarantine the person with the infection for seven days. 5 On the seventh day the priest shall examine him, and if, in his judgment, the infection has stayed the same and has not spread in the skin, the priest shall quarantine him for seven days a second time. 6 On the seventh day the priest shall examine him a second time. If the infection has faded and has not spread in the skin, the priest shall declare it clean. It is only a scab. After he washes his clothes, he will be clean. 7 But if the scab on his skin spreads after he has shown himself to the priest for his purification, he shall show himself to the priest once again. 8 The priest shall examine him. If the scab has spread on the skin, the priest shall declare him unclean. It is an impure skin disease.

9 When a person has an outbreak of a skin disease, he shall be brought to the priest. 10 The priest shall examine him. If there is white discoloration in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is a sore of raw flesh in the discoloration, 11 it is a persistent skin disease on his body. The priest shall declare him unclean. He shall not hold him in quarantine, because he is unclean.

12 But if the disease breaks out all over the skin, so that a diseased condition covers all the skin with the infection, from his head to his feet, as far as the priest can see, 13 then the priest shall examine him. If the condition covers the whole of his body, he shall declare the infected area clean, since the whole of it has turned white. He is clean. 14 But as soon as raw flesh reappears on him, he becomes unclean. 15 The priest shall examine the raw flesh and declare it unclean. The raw flesh is unclean. It is an impure skin disease. 16 If, however, the raw flesh once again turns white, he shall come to the priest again. 17 The priest shall examine it. If the infected area has turned white, the priest shall declare the infection clean. He is clean.

18 When someone’s body has a boil on the skin that has healed, 19 and a white discoloration or shiny, reddish-white patch develops on the site of the boil, he shall show himself to the priest. 20 The priest shall examine him. If the infection appears deeper than the skin and if its hair has turned white, the priest shall declare him unclean. It is an outbreak of an impure skin disease. It has broken out in the boil. 21 But if the priest examines it and finds that the hair in it is not white, and it is not deeper than the skin, but it has faded, the priest shall quarantine him for seven days. 22 If the outbreak spreads on the skin, the priest shall declare him unclean. It is an infection. 23 But if the shiny patch remains the same and it does not spread, it is the scar of a boil. The priest shall declare him clean.

24 When someone’s body has a burn on the skin, and the sore from the burn becomes a shiny, reddish-white or white patch, 25 the priest shall examine it. If the hair in the shiny patch has turned white and it appears to be deeper than the skin, it is an impure skin disease. It has broken out in the burn. The priest shall declare him unclean. It is an outbreak of an impure skin disease. 26 But if the priest examines it and finds that the hair in the shiny patch is not white or it is not deeper than the skin, but it has faded, the priest shall quarantine him for seven days. 27 On the seventh day the priest shall examine it. If it should spread on the skin, the priest shall declare him unclean. It is an outbreak of a skin disease. 28 But if the patch remains the same, without spreading on the skin, and if it has faded, it is the discoloration from a burn. The priest shall declare him clean, because it is the scar of a burn.

29 When a man or a woman has an outbreak on the head or on the chin, 30 the priest shall examine the outbreak. If it appears deeper than the skin and if the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest shall declare the person unclean. It is a lesion.[e] It is an impure skin disease of the head or the chin. 31 If the priest examines the infected area of the sore and it appears no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall quarantine the person who has the outbreak of the sore for seven days. 32 On the seventh day the priest shall examine the infected area. If the lesion has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and if the outbreak appears no deeper than the skin, 33 the man shall shave himself, without shaving the infected area. The priest shall quarantine the person with the lesion a second time for seven days. 34 On the seventh day the priest shall examine the lesion. If the lesion has not spread on the skin and it appears no deeper than the skin, the priest shall declare him clean. After he washes his clothes, he will be clean. 35 If, however, the lesion spreads on the skin after his purification, 36 the priest shall examine it. If the lesion has spread on the skin, the priest does not need to look for the yellow hair. The person is unclean. 37 But, if in the priest’s judgment the lesion has stayed the same and black hair has grown in it, the lesion is healed. That person is clean. The priest shall declare him clean.

38 When a man or a woman has many shiny white patches on the skin of his or her body, 39 the priest shall examine that person. If the patches on the skin of the body are a faded white, it is a rash that has broken out on the skin. That person is clean.

40 When a man loses hair from the top of his head, he is bald, but he is clean. 41 If he loses hair from his forehead, he has a receding hairline, but he is clean. 42 But if he has a reddish-white infection on his bald crown or on his bald forehead, it is an impure skin disease that has broken out on his bald head or on his bald forehead. 43 The priest shall examine it. If the discoloration of the infection is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead and it looks like the disease on the skin of the body, 44 he has an impure skin disease. He is unclean. The priest shall declare him completely unclean. It is an infection on his head.

45 The person with the skin disease who has an infection on him must wear torn clothes and let his hair be disheveled. He must cover his upper lip and cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!” 46 For as long as the infection is on him he shall remain unclean. He is unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.

Contamination of Clothing

47 When an outbreak of mold[f] occurs on any piece of clothing, on woolen or linen cloth, 48 on the warp or the woof[g] of linen or wool, on leather or anything made of leather, 49 and if the contamination[h] on the cloth or the leather, or in the warp or the woof, or on any article made of leather is bright yellow-green or bright red, it is an outbreak of mold. It shall be shown to the priest. 50 The priest shall examine the contaminated area and shall quarantine the contaminated article for seven days. 51 On the seventh day he shall examine the contaminated article. If the contamination has spread on the cloth, or in the warp or the woof, or on the leather, or on any article that is made of leather, the contamination is a persistent[i] mold. It is unclean. 52 He must burn the clothing and the warp or the woof, whether it is made of wool or of linen, or whether it is any article made of leather that has the contamination on it. Because it has a persistent mold, it must be burned in fire. 53 But if the priest examines it and discovers that the contamination has not spread on the clothing, or in the warp or the woof, or on any leather article, 54 the priest shall command that the material with the contamination on it is to be washed, and he shall quarantine it for seven days a second time. 55 Then after the contaminated material has been laundered, and the priest examines it, even if he discovers that the contamination has not changed its appearance and the contamination has not spread, it is unclean. You must burn it in fire, whether the rot is on its front or its back. 56 But if the priest examines it and discovers that the contamination has faded after it has been washed, he shall tear it out of the clothing or the leather or the warp or the woof. 57 If it reappears in the clothing or the warp or the woof or any leather article, it is a new outbreak. You must burn the material with the contamination on it with fire. 58 If, however, the contamination vanishes from the clothing, or the warp or the woof, or any leather article that you wash, it shall be washed a second time; then, it will be clean.

59 These are the laws about a contamination of mold in woolen or linen clothing, in the warp or the woof, or on any leather article, in order to determine whether it is clean or unclean.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 13:2 The identification of some of the symptoms throughout this section is uncertain.
  2. Leviticus 13:2 Literally skin of his flesh. Flesh here seems to cover the whole body except for the head, which has special rules (verse 29).
  3. Leviticus 13:2 Traditionally leprosy, but the Hebrew term has wider application than to that specific disease. Though some translations add the adjectives scaly or infectious, these terms are not accurate for all cases. There is also no indication that contagion is the main issue. Impure skin disease seems generic enough to cover all cases.
  4. Leviticus 13:3 In this context purity and impurity, cleanness and uncleanness refer to ceremonial purity, not to hygiene or morality.
  5. Leviticus 13:30 The precise meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain. It may be any sort of sore spot. Leviticus contains many technical terms that are challenging to translate.
  6. Leviticus 13:47 Or mildew. This is the same word translated leprosy or skin disease when it applies to the body.
  7. Leviticus 13:48 Warp and woof are the two directions of the threads in cloth. It is, however, not clear what the two Hebrew terms mean.
  8. Leviticus 13:49 People do not usually speak of things having an infection or a sickness, so here the translation uses contamination.
  9. Leviticus 13:51 Or malignant
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Leviticus 13
Lexham English Bible

Regulations About Defiling Skin Diseases

13 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 “When a person[b] has on his body’s skin a swelling or an epidermal eruption or a spot and it becomes[c] an infectious skin disease on his body’s skin, then[d] he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. 3 And the priest shall examine the infection on his body’s skin, and if the hair in the infection turns white and the appearance of the infection is deeper than his body’s skin, it is an infectious skin disease, and the priest shall examine it, and he shall declare him unclean. 4 But[e] if a spot is white on his body’s skin and its appearance is not deeper than the skin and its hair does not turn white, then[f] the priest shall confine the afflicted person for seven days. 5 And the priest shall examine it on the seventh day, and if,[g] in his eyes, the infection has stayed unchanged, the infection has not spread on the skin, then[h] the priest shall confine him for seven days a second time. 6 And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day for a second time, and if[i] the infection has faded and the infection has not spread on the skin, then[j] the priest shall declare him clean—it is an epidermal eruption; and he shall wash his garments, and so he shall be clean. 7 But[k] if the epidermal eruption spreads further on the skin after showing himself to the priest for his cleansing, then[l] he shall appear a second time to the priest. 8 And the priest shall examine it,[m] and if[n] the epidermal eruption has spread on the skin, then[o] the priest shall declare him unclean—it is an infectious skin disease.

9 “When an infectious skin disease is on a person and he is brought to the priest, 10 the priest shall examine it,[p] and if[q] a white swelling is on the skin and it turns the hair white and raw flesh[r] is in the swelling, 11 it is a chronic infectious skin disease on his body’s skin, and the priest shall declare him unclean; he shall not confine him, because he is unclean. 12 And if the infectious skin disease breaks out all over on the skin and the infectious skin disease covers all of the afflicted person’s skin from his head to his feed, so far as the priest can see,[s] 13 then[t] the priest shall examine it,[u] and if[v] the infectious skin disease covers his whole body, then[w] he shall pronounce the afflicted person clean—all of it has turned white; he is clean. 14 But[x] whenever[y] raw flesh[z] appears on him, he shall become unclean. 15 And the priest shall examine the raw flesh,[aa] and he shall pronounce him unclean—the raw flesh[ab] is unclean; it is an infectious skin disease. 16 Or, when the raw flesh[ac] returns and it has changed to white, then[ad] he shall come to the priest, 17 and the priest shall examine him, and if[ae] the infection has changed to white, then[af] the priest shall pronounce the afflicted person clean—he is clean.

18 “And when someone’s body has[ag] a skin sore on his skin and it is healed 19 and a white swelling or a pinkish[ah] spot appears in the skin sore’s place, then[ai] he shall show himself to the priest. 20 And the priest shall examine it,[aj] and if[ak] its appearance is deeper than the skin and its hair has changed to white, then[al] the priest shall declare him unclean—it is an infectious skin disease; it has broken out in the skin sore. 21 And if the priest examines it and if[am] there is no white hair in it and it is not deeper than the skin and it is faded, then[an] the priest shall confine him for seven days. 22 But[ao] if it has spread further on the skin, then[ap] the priest shall declare him unclean—it is an infection. 23 But[aq] if the spot has stayed unchanged, it has not spread, it is the skin sore’s scar, so[ar] the priest shall declare him clean.

24 “Or when a body has[as] a burn-spot from[at] fire on its skin and the raw flesh[au] of the burn-spot is pinkish[av] or white, 25 then[aw] the priest shall examine it, and if[ax] the hair turns white in the spot and its appearance is deeper than the skin, it is an infectious skin disease—it has broken out in the burn-spot; so[ay] the priest shall declare him unclean—it is an infectious skin disease. 26 But[az] if the priest examines it and if[ba] there is not white hair in the spot and it is not deeper than the skin and it is faded, then[bb] the priest shall confine him for seven days. 27 And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day; if it has spread further on the skin, then[bc] the priest shall declare him unclean—it is an infectious skin disease. 28 But[bd] if it the spot has stayed unchanged in its place, it has not spread on the skin and it is faded, then it is the burn-spot’s swelling, so[be] the priest shall declare him clean, because it is the burn-spot’s scar.

29 “And when a man or a woman has[bf] an infection on the head or in the beard, 30 then[bg] the priest shall examine the infection, and if[bh] its appearance is deeper than the skin and in it is thin bright red hair, then[bi] the priest shall declare it unclean—it is a diseased area of skin; it is an infectious skin disease of the head or the beard. 31 But[bj] if the priest examines the diseased area of the skin’s infection and if[bk] its appearance is not deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, then[bl] the priest shall confine the afflicted person with the diseased area of skin for seven days. 32 And the priest shall examine the infection on the seventh day, and if[bm] the diseased area of skin has not spread and it does not have bright red hair in it and the diseased area of the skin’s appearance is not deeper than the skin, 33 then[bn] he shall shave himself, but[bo] he shall not shave the diseased area of skin, and the priest shall confine the person with[bp] the diseased area of skin a second time for seven days. 34 And the priest shall examine the diseased area of skin on the seventh day, and if[bq] the diseased area has not spread on the skin and its appearance is not deeper than the skin, then[br] the priest shall pronounce him clean, and he shall wash his garments, and he shall be clean. 35 But[bs] if the diseased area of skin has not spread further on the skin after his cleansing, 36 then[bt] the priest shall examine him, and if[bu] the diseased area of skin has spread on the skin, the priest shall not inspect for bright[bv] red hair—he is unclean. 37 But[bw] if, in his eyes, the diseased area of skin has stayed unchanged and black hair has grown in it, the diseased area of skin is healed—he is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

38 “And when a man or a woman has[bx] spots on their body’s skin, white spots, 39 then[by] the priest shall examine them,[bz] and if[ca] the spots on their body’s skin are a faded white, it is a skin rash; it has broken out on the skin—it is clean.

40 “And if a man becomes bald, his head is bald, he is clean. 41 And if he becomes bald from his forehead,[cb] his head is bald, he is clean. 42 But[cc] if a pinkish[cd] infection occurs[ce] on the bald spot or on the bald forehead, it is an infectious skin disease that sprouts on his bald spot or on his bald forehead. 43 So[cf] the priest shall examine him, and if[cg] the infection’s swelling is pinkish[ch] on his bald spot or on his bald forehead, like the appearance of an infectious skin disease on[ci] the body, 44 he is a man afflicted with a skin disease—he is unclean; the priest certainly shall declare him unclean—his infection is on his head.

45 “As for[cj] the person who is afflicted with a skin disease, his garments must be torn and his hair[ck] must be allowed to hang loosely, and he must cover his upper lip, and he must call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 For all the days during which the infection is on him, he shall be unclean; he must live alone; his dwelling must be outside the camp.”[cl]

Regulations About Contaminated Fabrics

47 “And when the garment has[cm] an infectious skin disease[cn] on it, on a wool garment[co] or on a linen garment,[cp] 48 or on woven material or on a linen fabric, or[cq] on wool or on leather or on any work of leather, 49 and if the infection is yellowish green or reddish on the garment or on the leather or on the woven material or on the fabric or on any leather object,[cr] it is an infectious skin disease[cs] and it shall be shown to the priest. 50 And the priest shall examine the infection, and he shall confine the infected article for seven days. 51 And he shall examine the infection on the seventh day; if the infection has spread on the garment or on the woven material or on the fabric or on the leather, for any work for which the leather is used, the infection is a destructive skin disease[ct]—it is unclean. 52 And he shall burn the garment or the woven material or the fabric, whether wool or linen,[cu] or any leather object that has[cv] the infection, because it is an infectious skin disease,[cw] which is destructive—it must be burned in the fire.

53 “But[cx] if the priest examines it[cy] and if[cz] the infection has not spread on the garment or on the woven material or on the fabric or on any leather object, 54 then[da] the priest shall command, and someone[db] shall wash that on which the infection is, and he shall confine it a second time for seven days. 55 And the priest shall examine it[dc] after the infection has been washed off, and if[dd] the infection has not changed its outward appearance and the infection has not spread, it is unclean; he must burn it in the fire; it is a fungus on its back or on its front. 56 But[de] if the priest examines it[df] and if[dg] the infection is faded after it has been washed off, then[dh] he shall tear it from the garment or from the leather or from the woven material or from the fabric. 57 And if it appears again on the garment or on the woven material or on the fabric or on any leather object, it is spreading; you[di] must burn in the fire that which has the infection in it. 58 And the garment or the woven material or the fabric or any leather object that he might wash and the infection is removed from them then[dj] shall be washed a second time, and it shall be clean.”

59 This is the regulation of the infectious skin disease[dk] in[dl] the wool garment or the linen or the woven material or the fabric or any leather object to declare it clean or to declare it unclean.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 13:1 Or “And”
  2. Leviticus 13:2 Literally “man”
  3. Leviticus 13:2 Perfect of הָיָה followed by לְ; see HALOT 244 s.v. 7.c
  4. Leviticus 13:2 Or “and”
  5. Leviticus 13:4 Or “And”
  6. Leviticus 13:4 Or “and”
  7. Leviticus 13:5 Literally “look” or “behold”
  8. Leviticus 13:5 Or “and”
  9. Leviticus 13:6 Literally “look” or “behold”
  10. Leviticus 13:6 Or “and”
  11. Leviticus 13:7 Or “And”
  12. Leviticus 13:7 Or “and”
  13. Leviticus 13:8 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  14. Leviticus 13:8 Literally “look” or “behold”
  15. Leviticus 13:8 Or “and”
  16. Leviticus 13:10 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  17. Leviticus 13:10 Literally “look” or “behold”
  18. Leviticus 13:10 Literally “living of living flesh”
  19. Leviticus 13:12 Literally “for all the sight of the eyes of the priest”
  20. Leviticus 13:13 Or “and”
  21. Leviticus 13:13 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  22. Leviticus 13:13 Literally “look” or “behold”
  23. Leviticus 13:13 Or “and”
  24. Leviticus 13:14 Or “And”
  25. Leviticus 13:14 Literally “on a day”
  26. Leviticus 13:14 Literally “living flesh”
  27. Leviticus 13:15 Literally “living flesh”
  28. Leviticus 13:15 Literally “living flesh”
  29. Leviticus 13:16 Literally “living flesh”
  30. Leviticus 13:16 Or “and”
  31. Leviticus 13:17 Literally “look” or “behold”
  32. Leviticus 13:17 Or “and”
  33. Leviticus 13:18 Literally “becomes on it”
  34. Leviticus 13:19 Literally “white red”
  35. Leviticus 13:19 Or “and”
  36. Leviticus 13:20 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  37. Leviticus 13:20 Literally “look” or “behold”
  38. Leviticus 13:20 Or “and”
  39. Leviticus 13:21 Literally “look” or “behold”
  40. Leviticus 13:21 Or “and”
  41. Leviticus 13:22 Or “And”
  42. Leviticus 13:22 Or “and”
  43. Leviticus 13:23 Or “And”
  44. Leviticus 13:23 Or “and”
  45. Leviticus 13:24 Literally “it becomes”
  46. Leviticus 13:24 Literally “of”
  47. Leviticus 13:24 Literally “living”
  48. Leviticus 13:24 Literally “white red”
  49. Leviticus 13:25 Or “and”
  50. Leviticus 13:25 Literally “look” or “behold”
  51. Leviticus 13:25 Or “and”
  52. Leviticus 13:26 Or “And”
  53. Leviticus 13:26 Literally “look” or “behold”
  54. Leviticus 13:26 Or “and”
  55. Leviticus 13:27 Or “and”
  56. Leviticus 13:28 Or “And”
  57. Leviticus 13:28 Or “and”
  58. Leviticus 13:29 Literally “becomes on him”
  59. Leviticus 13:30 Or “and”
  60. Leviticus 13:30 Literally “look” or “behold”
  61. Leviticus 13:30 Or “and”
  62. Leviticus 13:31 Or “And”
  63. Leviticus 13:31 Literally “look” or “behold”
  64. Leviticus 13:31 Or “and”
  65. Leviticus 13:32 Literally “look” or “behold”
  66. Leviticus 13:33 Or “and”
  67. Leviticus 13:33 Or “and”
  68. Leviticus 13:33 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  69. Leviticus 13:34 Literally “look” or “behold”
  70. Leviticus 13:34 Or “and”
  71. Leviticus 13:35 Or “And”
  72. Leviticus 13:36 Or “and”
  73. Leviticus 13:36 Literally “look” or “behold”
  74. Leviticus 13:36 Hebrew “the bright”
  75. Leviticus 13:37 Or “And”
  76. Leviticus 13:38 Literally “becomes”
  77. Leviticus 13:39 Or “and”
  78. Leviticus 13:39 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  79. Leviticus 13:39 Literally “look” or “behold”
  80. Leviticus 13:41 Literally “from the forehead of his face”
  81. Leviticus 13:42 Or “And”
  82. Leviticus 13:42 Literally “white red”
  83. Leviticus 13:42 Or “becomes” or “happens”
  84. Leviticus 13:43 Or “And”
  85. Leviticus 13:43 Literally “look” or “behold”
  86. Leviticus 13:43 Literally “white red”
  87. Leviticus 13:43 Literally “of”
  88. Leviticus 13:45 Or “And”
  89. Leviticus 13:45 Literally “head”
  90. Leviticus 13:46 Literally “from an outside place of the camp”
  91. Leviticus 13:47 Literally “becomes”
  92. Leviticus 13:47 Perhaps better translated “mold” rather than “skin disease”
  93. Leviticus 13:47 Literally “a garment of wool”
  94. Leviticus 13:47 Literally “a garment of linen”
  95. Leviticus 13:48 Or “and”
  96. Leviticus 13:49 Literally “an object of leather”
  97. Leviticus 13:49 Perhaps better translated “mold” rather than “skin disease”
  98. Leviticus 13:51 Perhaps better translated “mold” rather than “skin disease”
  99. Leviticus 13:52 Literally “in/on the wool or in/on the linen”
  100. Leviticus 13:52 Literally “becomes on/in it”
  101. Leviticus 13:52 Perhaps better translated “mold” rather than “skin disease”
  102. Leviticus 13:53 Or “And”
  103. Leviticus 13:53 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  104. Leviticus 13:53 Literally “look” or “behold”
  105. Leviticus 13:54 Or “and”
  106. Leviticus 13:54 Literally “he”
  107. Leviticus 13:55 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  108. Leviticus 13:55 Literally “look” or “behold”
  109. Leviticus 13:56 Or “And”
  110. Leviticus 13:56 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  111. Leviticus 13:56 Literally “look” or “behold”
  112. Leviticus 13:56 Or “and”
  113. Leviticus 13:57 Singular
  114. Leviticus 13:58 Or “and”
  115. Leviticus 13:59 Perhaps better translated “mold” rather than “skin disease”
  116. Leviticus 13:59 Hebrew “of”
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