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15 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, and unto Aaron, saying,

`Speak unto the sons of Israel, and ye have said unto them, When there is an issue out of the flesh of any man, [for] his issue he [is] unclean;

and this is his uncleanness in his issue -- his flesh hath run with his issue, or his flesh hath stopped from his issue; it [is] his uncleanness.

`All the bed on which he lieth who hath the issue is unclean, and all the vessel on which he sitteth is unclean;

and any one who cometh against his bed doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.

`And he who is sitting on the vessel on which he sitteth who hath the issue, doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.

`And he who is coming against the flesh of him who hath the issue, doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and hath been unclean till the evening.

`And when he who hath the issue spitteth on him who is clean, then he hath washed his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.

`And all the saddle on which he rideth who hath the issue is unclean;

10 and any one who is coming against anything which is under him is unclean till the evening, and he who is bearing them doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.

11 `And anyone against whom he cometh who hath the issue (and his hands hath not rinsed with water) hath even washed his garments, and bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.

12 `And the earthen vessel which he who hath the issue cometh against is broken; and every wooden vessel is rinsed with water.

13 `And when he who hath the issue is clean from his issue, then he hath numbered to himself seven days for his cleansing, and hath washed his garments, and hath bathed his flesh with running water, and been clean.

14 `And on the eighth day he taketh to himself two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, and hath come in before Jehovah unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and hath given them unto the priest;

15 and the priest hath made them, one a sin-offering, and the one a burnt-offering; and the priest hath made atonement for him before Jehovah, because of his issue.

16 `And when a man's seed of copulation goeth out from him, then he hath bathed with water all his flesh, and been unclean till the evening.

17 `And any garment, or any skin on which there is seed of copulation, hath also been washed with water, and been unclean till the evening.

18 `And a woman with whom a man lieth with seed of copulation, they also have bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.

19 `And when a woman hath an issue -- blood is her issue in her flesh -- seven days she is in her separation, and any one who is coming against her is unclean till the evening.

20 `And anything on which she lieth in her separation is unclean, and anything on which she sitteth is unclean;

21 and any one who is coming against her bed doth wash his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.

22 `And any one who is coming against any vessel on which she sitteth doth wash his garments, and hath washed with water, and been unclean till the evening.

23 `And if it [is] on the bed, or on the vessel on which she is sitting, in his coming against it, he is unclean till the evening.

24 `And if a man really lie with her, and her separation is on him, then he hath been unclean seven days, and all the bed on which he lieth is unclean.

25 `And when a woman's issue of blood floweth many days within the time of her separation, or when it floweth over her separation -- all the days of the issue of her uncleanness are as the days of her separation; she [is] unclean.

26 `All the bed on which she lieth all the days of her issue is as the bed of her separation to her, and all the vessel on which she sitteth is unclean as the uncleanness of her separation;

27 and any one who is coming against them is unclean, and hath washed his garments, and hath bathed with water, and been unclean till the evening.

28 `And if she hath been clean from her issue, then she hath numbered to herself seven days, and afterwards she is clean;

29 and on the eighth day she taketh to herself two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, and hath brought them in unto the priest, unto the opening of the tent of meeting;

30 and the priest hath made the one a sin-offering, and the one a burnt-offering, and the priest hath made atonement for her before Jehovah, because of the issue of her uncleanness.

31 `And ye have separated the sons of Israel from their uncleanness, and they die not in their uncleanness, in their defiling My tabernacle which [is] in their midst.

32 `This [is] the law of him who hath an issue, and of him whose seed of copulation goeth out from him, for uncleanness thereby,

33 and of her who is sick in her separation, and of him who hath an issue, the issue of a male or of a female, and of a man who lieth with an unclean woman.'

16 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, in their drawing near before Jehovah, and they die;

yea, Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Speak unto Aaron thy brother, and he cometh not in at all times unto the sanctuary within the vail, unto the front of the mercy-seat, which [is] upon the ark, and he dieth not, for in a cloud I am seen upon the mercy-seat.

`With this doth Aaron come in unto the sanctuary; with a bullock, a son of the herd, for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering;

a holy linen coat he putteth on, and linen trousers are on his flesh, and with a linen girdle he girdeth himself, and with a linen mitre he wrappeth himself up; they [are] holy garments; and he hath bathed with water his flesh, and hath put them on.

`And from the company of the sons of Israel he taketh two kids of the goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering;

and Aaron hath brought near the bullock of the sin-offering which is his own, and hath made atonement for himself, and for his house;

and he hath taken the two goats, and hath caused them to stand before Jehovah, at the opening of the tent of meeting.

`And Aaron hath given lots over the two goats, one lot for Jehovah, and one lot for a goat of departure;

and Aaron hath brought near the goat on which the lot for Jehovah hath gone up, and hath made it a sin-offering.

10 `And the goat on which the lot for a goat of departure hath gone up is caused to stand living before Jehovah to make atonement by it, to send it away for a goat of departure into the wilderness.

11 `And Aaron hath brought near the bullock of the sin-offering which is his own, and hath made atonement for himself, and for his house, and hath slaughtered the bullock of the sin-offering which [is] his own,

12 and hath taken the fulness of the censer of burning coals of fire from off the altar, from before Jehovah, and the fulness of his hands of thin spice-perfume, and hath brought [it] within the vail;

13 and he hath put the perfume on the fire before Jehovah, and the cloud of the perfume hath covered the mercy-seat which [is] on the testimony, and he dieth not.

14 `And he hath taken of the blood of the bullock, and hath sprinkled with his finger on the front of the mercy-seat eastward; even at the front of the mercy-seat he doth sprinkle seven times of the blood with his finger.

15 `And he hath slaughtered the goat of the sin-offering which [is] the people's, and hath brought in its blood unto the inside of the vail, and hath done with its blood as he hath done with the blood of the bullock, and hath sprinkled it on the mercy-seat, and at the front of the mercy-seat,

16 and he hath made atonement for the sanctuary because of the uncleanness of the sons of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins; and so he doth for the tent of meeting which is tabernacling with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.

17 `And no man is in the tent of meeting in his going in to make atonement in the sanctuary, till his coming out; and he hath made atonement for himself, and for his house, and for all the assembly of Israel.

18 `And he hath gone out unto the altar which [is] before Jehovah, and hath made atonement for it; and he hath taken of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and hath put on the horns of the altar round about;

19 and he hath sprinkled on it of the blood with his finger seven times, and hath cleansed it, and hath hallowed it from the uncleannesses of the sons of Israel.

20 `And he hath ceased from making atonement [for] the sanctuary, and the tent of meeting, and the altar, and hath brought near the living goat;

21 and Aaron hath laid his two hands on the head of the living goat, and hath confessed over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, and hath put them on the head of the goat, and hath sent [it] away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness;

22 and the goat hath borne on him all their iniquities unto a land of separation. `And he hath sent the goat away into the wilderness,

23 and Aaron hath come in unto the tent of meeting, and hath stripped off the linen garments which he had put on in his going in unto the sanctuary, and hath placed them there;

24 and he hath bathed his flesh with water in the holy place, and hath put on his garments, and hath come out, and hath made his burnt-offering, and the burnt-offering of the people, and hath made atonement for himself and for the people;

25 and with the fat of the sin-offering he doth make perfume on the altar.

26 `And he who is sending away the goat for a goat of departure doth wash his garments, and hath bathed his flesh with water, and afterwards he cometh in unto the camp.

27 `And the bullock of the sin-offering, and the goat of the sin-offering, whose blood hath been brought in to make atonement in the sanctuary, doth [one] bring out unto the outside of the camp, and they have burnt with fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung;

28 and he who is burning them doth wash his garments, and hath bathed his flesh with water, and afterwards he cometh in unto the camp.

29 `And it hath been to you for a statute age-during, in the seventh month, in the tenth of the month, ye humble yourselves, and do no work -- the native, and the sojourner who is sojourning in your midst;

30 for on this day he maketh atonement for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins before Jehovah ye are clean;

31 it [is] to you a sabbath of rest, and ye have humbled yourselves -- a statute age-during.

32 `And the priest whom he doth anoint, and whose hand he doth consecrate to act as priest instead of his father, hath made atonement, and hath put on the linen garments, the holy garments;

33 and he hath made atonement [for] the holy sanctuary; and [for] the tent of meeting, even [for] the altar he doth make atonement; yea, for the priests, and for all the people of the assembly he maketh atonement.

34 `And this hath been to you for a statute age-during, to make atonement for the sons of Israel, because of all their sins, once in a year;' and he doth as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

Discharges Causing Uncleanness

15 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any man has an unusual bodily discharge,(A) such a discharge is unclean. Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. This is how his discharge will bring about uncleanness:

“‘Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean. Anyone who touches his bed must wash their clothes(B) and bathe with water,(C) and they will be unclean till evening.(D) Whoever sits on anything that the man with a discharge sat on must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

“‘Whoever touches the man(E) who has a discharge(F) must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

“‘If the man with the discharge spits(G) on anyone who is clean, they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

“‘Everything the man sits on when riding will be unclean, 10 and whoever touches any of the things that were under him will be unclean till evening; whoever picks up those things(H) must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

11 “‘Anyone the man with a discharge touches without rinsing his hands with water must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

12 “‘A clay pot(I) that the man touches must be broken, and any wooden article(J) is to be rinsed with water.

13 “‘When a man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count off seven days(K) for his ceremonial cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself with fresh water, and he will be clean.(L) 14 On the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons(M) and come before the Lord to the entrance to the tent of meeting and give them to the priest. 15 The priest is to sacrifice them, the one for a sin offering[a](N) and the other for a burnt offering.(O) In this way he will make atonement before the Lord for the man because of his discharge.(P)

16 “‘When a man has an emission of semen,(Q) he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening.(R) 17 Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening. 18 When a man has sexual relations with a woman and there is an emission of semen,(S) both of them must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

19 “‘When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period(T) will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.

20 “‘Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. 21 Anyone who touches her bed will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.(U) 22 Anyone who touches anything she sits on will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening. 23 Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, they will be unclean till evening.

24 “‘If a man has sexual relations with her and her monthly flow(V) touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; any bed he lies on will be unclean.

25 “‘When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period(W) or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period. 26 Any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean, as is her bed during her monthly period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, as during her period. 27 Anyone who touches them will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

28 “‘When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. 29 On the eighth day she must take two doves or two young pigeons(X) and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 30 The priest is to sacrifice one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement for her before the Lord for the uncleanness of her discharge.(Y)

31 “‘You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place,[b](Z) which is among them.’”

32 These are the regulations for a man with a discharge, for anyone made unclean by an emission of semen,(AA) 33 for a woman in her monthly period, for a man or a woman with a discharge, and for a man who has sexual relations with a woman who is ceremonially unclean.(AB)

The Day of Atonement(AC)

16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord.(AD) The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses(AE) into the Most Holy Place(AF) behind the curtain(AG) in front of the atonement cover(AH) on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear(AI) in the cloud(AJ) over the atonement cover.

“This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place:(AK) He must first bring a young bull(AL) for a sin offering[c] and a ram for a burnt offering.(AM) He is to put on the sacred linen tunic,(AN) with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban.(AO) These are sacred garments;(AP) so he must bathe himself with water(AQ) before he puts them on.(AR) From the Israelite community(AS) he is to take two male goats(AT) for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

“Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household.(AU) Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He is to cast lots(AV) for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.[d](AW) Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement(AX) by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.

11 “Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household,(AY) and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He is to take a censer full of burning coals(AZ) from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense(BA) and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover(BB) above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die.(BC) 14 He is to take some of the bull’s blood(BD) and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.(BE)

15 “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people(BF) and take its blood behind the curtain(BG) and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He shall sprinkle(BH) it on the atonement cover and in front of it. 16 In this way he will make atonement(BI) for the Most Holy Place(BJ) because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the tent of meeting,(BK) which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.

18 “Then he shall come out to the altar(BL) that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar.(BM) 19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.(BN)

20 “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat.(BO) 21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat(BP) and confess(BQ) over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins(BR) to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

23 “Then Aaron is to go into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments(BS) he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there.(BT) 24 He shall bathe himself with water in the sanctuary area(BU) and put on his regular garments.(BV) Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people,(BW) to make atonement for himself and for the people.(BX) 25 He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

26 “The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat(BY) must wash his clothes(BZ) and bathe himself with water;(CA) afterward he may come into the camp. 27 The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp;(CB) their hides, flesh and intestines are to be burned up. 28 The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.(CC)

29 “This is to be a lasting ordinance(CD) for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month(CE) you must deny yourselves[e](CF) and not do any work(CG)—whether native-born(CH) or a foreigner residing among you— 30 because on this day atonement will be made(CI) for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins.(CJ) 31 It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves;(CK) it is a lasting ordinance.(CL) 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained(CM) to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments(CN) 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the tent of meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the members of the community.(CO)

34 “This is to be a lasting ordinance(CP) for you: Atonement is to be made once a year(CQ) for all the sins of the Israelites.”

And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 15:15 Or purification offering; also in verse 30
  2. Leviticus 15:31 Or my tabernacle
  3. Leviticus 16:3 Or purification offering; here and throughout this chapter
  4. Leviticus 16:8 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verses 10 and 26.
  5. Leviticus 16:29 Or must fast; also in verse 31