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Purification of the Diseased

14 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “This shall be the rule for the person with a defiling skin disease at the time of his cleansing:

“He shall be brought to the priest;(A) the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall make an examination. If the disease is healed in the defiled person, the priest shall command that two living clean birds and cedarwood and crimson yarn and hyssop be brought for the one who is to be cleansed.(B) The priest shall command that one of the birds be slaughtered over fresh water in a clay vessel. He shall take the living bird with the cedarwood and the crimson yarn and the hyssop and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water. He shall sprinkle it seven times upon the one who is to be cleansed of the defiling disease; then he shall pronounce him clean, and he shall let the living bird go into the open field.(C) The one who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp but shall live outside his tent seven days.(D) On the seventh day he shall shave all his hair: of head, beard, eyebrows; he shall shave all his hair. Then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean.

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Cleansing From Defiling Skin Diseases

14 The Lord said to Moses, “These are the regulations for any diseased person at the time of their ceremonial cleansing, when they are brought to the priest:(A) The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them.(B) If they have been healed of their defiling skin disease,[a](C) the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop(D) be brought for the person to be cleansed.(E) Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot.(F) He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.(G) Seven times(H) he shall sprinkle(I) the one to be cleansed of the defiling disease, and then pronounce them clean. After that, he is to release the live bird in the open fields.(J)

“The person to be cleansed must wash their clothes,(K) shave off all their hair and bathe with water;(L) then they will be ceremonially clean.(M) After this they may come into the camp,(N) but they must stay outside their tent for seven days. On the seventh day(O) they must shave off all their hair;(P) they must shave their head, their beard, their eyebrows and the rest of their hair. They must wash their clothes and bathe themselves with water, and they will be clean.(Q)

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 14:3 The Hebrew word for defiling skin disease, traditionally translated “leprosy,” was used for various diseases affecting the skin; also in verses 7, 32, 54 and 57.