Bodily Discharges

15 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any man has a discharge(A) from his member, he is unclean. This is uncleanness of his discharge: Whether his member secretes the discharge or retains it, he is unclean. All the days that his member secretes or retains anything because of his discharge,[a] he is unclean. Any bed the man with the discharge lies on will be unclean, and any furniture he sits on will be unclean. Anyone who touches his bed is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. Whoever sits on furniture that the man with the discharge was sitting on is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. Whoever touches the body[b] of the man with a discharge is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. If the man with the discharge spits on anyone who is clean, he is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. Any saddle the man with the discharge rides on will be unclean.(B) 10 Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening, and whoever carries such things is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 11 If the man with the discharge touches anyone without first rinsing his hands in water,(C) the person who was touched is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 12 Any clay pot that the man with the discharge touches must be broken, while any wooden utensil is to be rinsed with water.(D)

13 “When the man with the discharge has been cured of it, he is to count seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe his body in fresh water; he will be clean. 14 He must take two turtledoves or two young pigeons on the eighth day, come before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and give them to the priest. 15 The priest is to sacrifice them, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.(E) In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the Lord because of his discharge.

16 “When a man has an emission of semen,(F) he is to bathe himself completely with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 17 Any clothing or leather on which there is an emission of semen is to be washed with water, and it will remain unclean until evening. 18 If a man sleeps with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them are to bathe with water, and they will remain unclean until evening.(G)

19 “When a woman has a discharge, and it consists of blood from her body, she will be unclean because of her menstruation(H) for seven days. Everyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. 20 Anything she lies on during her menstruation will become unclean, and anything she sits on will become unclean. 21 Everyone who touches her bed is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 22 Everyone who touches any furniture she was sitting on is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 23 If discharge is on the bed or the furniture she was sitting on, when he touches it he will be unclean until evening. 24 If a man sleeps with her, and blood from her menstruation gets on him, he will be unclean for seven days, and every bed he lies on will become unclean.(I)

25 “When a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days, though it is not the time of her menstruation, or if she has a discharge beyond her period, she will be unclean all the days of her unclean discharge, as she is during the days of her menstruation. 26 Any bed she lies on during the days of her discharge will be like her bed during menstrual impurity; any furniture she sits on will be unclean as in her menstrual period. 27 Everyone who touches them will be unclean; he must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 28 When she is cured of her discharge, she is to count seven days, and after that she will be clean.(J) 29 On the eighth day she must take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 30 The priest is to sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her before the Lord because of her unclean discharge.

31 “You must keep the Israelites from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling my tabernacle(K) that is among them. 32 This is the law for someone with a discharge: a man who has an emission of semen, becoming unclean by it; 33 a woman who is in her menstrual period; anyone who has a discharge, whether male or female; and a man who sleeps with a woman who is unclean.”

Footnotes

  1. 15:3 DSS, Sam, LXX; MT omits he is unclean. All the days that his member secretes or retains anything because of his discharge
  2. 15:7 Or member, also in v. 13

Male genital emissions

15 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Speak to the Israelites and say to them: Whenever a man has a genital emission, that emission is unclean. This is the nature of the uncleanness brought about by his emission: regardless of whether his genital organ allows his emission to flow or blocks the flow, it is unclean to him. Any bed on which someone with an emission lies will be unclean, and any object on which that person sits will be unclean. Anyone who touches such a bed must wash their clothes, bathe in water, and will be unclean until evening. Anyone who sits on something that the one with the emission also sat on must wash their clothes, bathe in water, and will be unclean until evening. Anyone who touches the body of the one with the emission must wash their clothes, bathe in water, and will be unclean until evening. If the one with the emission spits on a clean person, the clean person must wash their clothes, bathe in water, and will be unclean until evening. Every saddle on which the person with the emission rode will be unclean. 10 Anyone who touches anything that has been under such a person will be unclean until evening. Anyone who carries such items must wash their clothes, bathe in water, and will be unclean until evening. 11 If the one with the emission touches someone without first rinsing his hands with water, that person must wash their clothes, bathe in water, and will be unclean until evening. 12 Any pottery jar that the one with the emission touches must be broken, and any wooden tool must be rinsed with water.

13 When the man with the emission is cleansed of his emission, he will count off seven days for his purification. He must wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water; then he will be clean again. 14 On the eighth day he will take two turtledoves or two pigeons and come before the Lord to the meeting tent’s entrance and give these to the priest. 15 The priest will offer them, one as a purification offering and the other as an entirely burned offering. In this way, the priest will make reconciliation for him before the Lord because of his emission.

16 If it is an emission of semen, the man must bathe his whole body in water and will be unclean until evening. 17 Any clothing or skin on which there is an emission of semen must be washed in water and will be unclean until evening. 18 If a man lies with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them must bathe in water and will be unclean until evening.

Female genital emissions

19 Whenever a woman has a discharge of blood that is her normal bodily discharge, she will be unclean due to her menstruation for seven days. Anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. 20 Anything on which she lies or sits during her menstruation will be unclean. 21 Anyone who touches her bed must wash their clothes, bathe in water, and will be unclean until evening. 22 Anyone who touches anything on which she has sat must wash their clothes, bathe in water, and will be unclean until evening. 23 Whenever anyone touches something—whether it was on the bed or where she has been sitting—they will be unclean until evening. 24 If a man has sexual intercourse with her and her menstruation gets on him, he will be unclean for seven days. Any bed he lies on will be unclean.

25 Whenever a woman has a bloody discharge for a long time, which is not during her menstrual period, or whenever she has a discharge beyond her menstrual period, the duration of her unclean discharge will be like the period of her menstruation; she will be unclean.

26 Any bed she lies on during the discharge should be treated like the bed she uses during her menstruation; and any object she sits on will be unclean, as during her menstruation. 27 Anyone who touches these things will be unclean. They must wash their clothes, bathe in water, and will be unclean until evening.

28 When the woman is cleansed of her discharge, she will count off seven days; after that, she will be clean again. 29 On the eighth day she will take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest at the meeting tent’s entrance. 30 The priest will perform a purification offering with one and an entirely burned offering with the other. In this way, the priest will make reconciliation for her before the Lord because of her unclean discharge.

31 You must separate the Israelites from their uncleanness so that they don’t die on account of it, by making my dwelling[a] unclean, which is in their midst.

32 This concludes the Instruction concerning those with discharges: men with emissions of semen that make them unclean, 33 women during their menstruation, men or women with discharges, and men who have had sexual intercourse with an unclean woman.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 15:31 Or tabernacle