Leviticus 13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Skin Disease, Varieties and Symptoms
13 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
2 “When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling[a] or an eruption or a spot and it turns into a defiling disease on the skin of his body, he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests.(A) 3 The priest shall examine the disease on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a defiling disease; after the priest has examined him he shall pronounce him unclean. 4 But if the spot is white in the skin of his body and appears no deeper than the skin and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall confine the diseased person for seven days.(B) 5 The priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if he sees that the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall confine him seven days more. 6 The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the disease has abated and the disease has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only an eruption, and he shall wash his clothes and be clean.(C) 7 But if the eruption spreads in the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest.(D) 8 The priest shall make an examination, and if the eruption has spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is defiling.
9 “When a person contracts a defiling skin disease, he shall be brought to the priest. 10 The priest shall make an examination, and if there is a white swelling[b] in the skin that has turned the hair white and there is a patch of raw flesh in the swelling,[c](E) 11 it is a chronic defiling disease in the skin of his body. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not confine him, for he is unclean. 12 But if the defiling disease breaks out in the skin so that it covers all the skin of the diseased person from head to foot, so far as the priest can see, 13 then the priest shall make an examination, and if the defiling disease has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; since it has all turned white, he is clean. 14 But if raw flesh ever appears on him, he shall be unclean; 15 the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean; it is defiling.(F) 16 But if the raw flesh again turns white, he shall come to the priest;(G) 17 the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has turned white, the priest shall pronounce the diseased person clean. He is clean.
18 “When there is on the skin of one’s body a boil that has healed,(H) 19 and in the place of the boil there appears a white swelling[d] or a reddish-white spot, it shall be shown to the priest.(I) 20 The priest shall make an examination, and if it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; this is a defiling disease, broken out in the boil. 21 But if the priest examines it and the hair on it is not white nor is it deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him seven days.(J) 22 If it spreads in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is diseased. 23 But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil; the priest shall pronounce him clean.
24 “Or when the body has a burn on the skin and the patch of the burn becomes a spot, reddish-white or white, 25 the priest shall examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and appears deeper than the skin, it is defiling; it has broken out in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a defiling disease.(K) 26 But if the priest examines it and the hair in the spot is not white and it is no deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him seven days. 27 The priest shall examine him the seventh day; if it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a defiling disease.(L) 28 But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread in the skin but has abated, it is a swelling[e] from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is the scar of the burn.
29 “When a man or a woman has a disease on the head or in the beard,(M) 30 the priest shall examine the disease. If it appears deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an itch, a defiling disease of the head or the beard. 31 If the priest examines the itching disease, and it appears no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall confine the person with the itching disease for seven days. 32 On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and the itch appears to be no deeper than the skin,(N) 33 he shall shave, but the itch he shall not shave. The priest shall confine the person with the itch for seven days more. 34 On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be clean.(O) 35 But if the itch spreads in the skin after he was pronounced clean, 36 the priest shall examine him. If the itch has spread in the skin, the priest need not seek for the yellow hair; he is unclean.(P) 37 But if in his eyes the itch is checked and black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed; he is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
38 “When a man or a woman has spots on the skin of the body, white spots, 39 the priest shall make an examination, and if the spots on the skin of the body are of a dull white, it is a rash that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.
40 “If anyone loses the hair from his head, he is bald, but he is clean.(Q) 41 If he loses the hair from his forehead and temples, he has baldness of the forehead, but he is clean. 42 But if there is on the bald head or the bald forehead a reddish-white diseased spot, it is a defiling disease breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead. 43 The priest shall examine him; if the diseased swelling[f] is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, which resembles a defiling disease in the skin of the body, 44 he is defiled; he is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; the disease is on his head.(R)
45 “The person who has the defiling disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ 46 He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.(S)
47 “Concerning clothing: when a defiling disease appears in it, in woolen or linen cloth, 48 in warp or woof of linen or wool or in a skin or in anything made of skin, 49 if the disease shows greenish or reddish in the garment, whether in warp or woof or in skin or in anything made of skin, it is a defiling disease and shall be shown to the priest. 50 The priest shall examine the disease and put the diseased article aside for seven days. 51 He shall examine the disease on the seventh day. If the disease has spread in the cloth, in warp or woof, or in the skin, whatever be the use of the skin, this is a spreading defiling disease; it is unclean.(T) 52 He shall burn the clothing, whether diseased in warp or woof, woolen or linen, or anything of skin, for it is a spreading defiling disease; it shall be burned in fire.(U)
53 “If the priest makes an examination and the disease has not spread in the clothing, in warp or woof, or in anything of skin, 54 the priest shall command that the diseased article be washed, and he shall put it aside seven days more.(V) 55 The priest shall examine the diseased article after it has been washed. If the diseased spot has not changed color, though the disease has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in fire, whether the worn[g] spot is on the inside or on the outside.
56 “If the priest makes an examination, and the disease has abated after it is washed, he shall tear the spot out of the cloth, in warp or woof, or out of skin.(W) 57 If it appears again in the garment, in warp or woof, or in anything of skin, it is spreading; you shall burn with fire that in which the disease appears. 58 But the cloth, warp or woof, or anything of skin from which the disease disappears when you have washed it shall then be washed a second time, and it shall be clean.
59 “This is the rule for a defiling disease in a cloth of wool or linen, either in warp or woof, or in anything of skin, to decide whether it is clean or unclean.”
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)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.