Regulations About Defiling Skin Diseases

13 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “When anyone has a swelling(A) or a rash or a shiny spot(B) on their skin that may be a defiling skin disease,[a](C) they must be brought to Aaron the priest(D) or to one of his sons[b] who is a priest. The priest is to examine the sore on the skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be more than skin deep, it is a defiling skin disease. When the priest examines that person, he shall pronounce them ceremonially unclean.(E) If the shiny spot(F) on the skin is white but does not appear to be more than skin deep and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest is to isolate the affected person for seven days.(G) On the seventh day(H) the priest is to examine them,(I) and if he sees that the sore is unchanged and has not spread in the skin, he is to isolate them for another seven days. On the seventh day the priest is to examine them again, and if the sore has faded and has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce them clean;(J) it is only a rash. They must wash their clothes,(K) and they will be clean.(L) But if the rash does spread in their skin after they have shown themselves to the priest to be pronounced clean, they must appear before the priest again.(M) The priest is to examine that person, and if the rash has spread in the skin, he shall pronounce them unclean; it is a defiling skin disease.

“When anyone has a defiling skin disease, they must be brought to the priest. 10 The priest is to examine them, and if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white and if there is raw flesh in the swelling, 11 it is a chronic skin disease(N) and the priest shall pronounce them unclean. He is not to isolate them, because they are already unclean.

12 “If the disease breaks out all over their skin and, so far as the priest can see, it covers all the skin of the affected person from head to foot, 13 the priest is to examine them, and if the disease has covered their whole body, he shall pronounce them clean. Since it has all turned white, they are clean. 14 But whenever raw flesh appears on them, they will be unclean. 15 When the priest sees the raw flesh, he shall pronounce them unclean. The raw flesh is unclean; they have a defiling disease.(O) 16 If the raw flesh changes and turns white, they must go to the priest. 17 The priest is to examine them, and if the sores have turned white, the priest shall pronounce the affected person clean;(P) then they will be clean.

18 “When someone has a boil(Q) on their skin and it heals, 19 and in the place where the boil was, a white swelling or reddish-white(R) spot(S) appears, they must present themselves to the priest. 20 The priest is to examine it, and if it appears to be more than skin deep and the hair in it has turned white, the priest shall pronounce that person unclean. It is a defiling skin disease(T) that has broken out where the boil was. 21 But if, when the priest examines it, there is no white hair in it and it is not more than skin deep and has faded, then the priest is to isolate them for seven days. 22 If it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce them unclean; it is a defiling disease. 23 But if the spot is unchanged and has not spread, it is only a scar from the boil, and the priest shall pronounce them clean.(U)

24 “When someone has a burn on their skin and a reddish-white or white spot appears in the raw flesh of the burn, 25 the priest is to examine the spot, and if the hair in it has turned white, and it appears to be more than skin deep, it is a defiling disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest shall pronounce them unclean; it is a defiling skin disease.(V) 26 But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the spot and if it is not more than skin deep and has faded, then the priest is to isolate them for seven days.(W) 27 On the seventh day the priest is to examine that person,(X) and if it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce them unclean; it is a defiling skin disease. 28 If, however, the spot is unchanged and has not spread in the skin but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce them clean; it is only a scar from the burn.(Y)

29 “If a man or woman has a sore on their head(Z) or chin, 30 the priest is to examine the sore, and if it appears to be more than skin deep and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest shall pronounce them unclean; it is a defiling skin disease on the head or chin. 31 But if, when the priest examines the sore, it does not seem to be more than skin deep and there is no black hair in it, then the priest is to isolate the affected person for seven days.(AA) 32 On the seventh day the priest is to examine the sore,(AB) and if it has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and it does not appear to be more than skin deep, 33 then the man or woman must shave themselves, except for the affected area, and the priest is to keep them isolated another seven days. 34 On the seventh day the priest is to examine the sore,(AC) and if it has not spread in the skin and appears to be no more than skin deep, the priest shall pronounce them clean. They must wash their clothes, and they will be clean.(AD) 35 But if the sore does spread in the skin after they are pronounced clean, 36 the priest is to examine them, and if he finds that the sore has spread in the skin, he does not need to look for yellow hair; they are unclean.(AE) 37 If, however, the sore is unchanged so far as the priest can see, and if black hair has grown in it, the affected person is healed. They are clean, and the priest shall pronounce them clean.

38 “When a man or woman has white spots on the skin, 39 the priest is to examine them, and if the spots are dull white, it is a harmless rash that has broken out on the skin; they are clean.

40 “A man who has lost his hair and is bald(AF) is clean. 41 If he has lost his hair from the front of his scalp and has a bald forehead, he is clean. 42 But if he has a reddish-white sore on his bald head or forehead, it is a defiling disease breaking out on his head or forehead. 43 The priest is to examine him, and if the swollen sore on his head or forehead is reddish-white like a defiling skin disease, 44 the man is diseased and is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean because of the sore on his head.

45 “Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes,(AG) let their hair be unkempt,[c] cover the lower part of their face(AH) and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’(AI) 46 As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.(AJ)

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 13:2 The Hebrew word for defiling skin disease, traditionally translated “leprosy,” was used for various diseases affecting the skin; here and throughout verses 3-46.
  2. Leviticus 13:2 Or descendants
  3. Leviticus 13:45 Or clothes, uncover their head

Skin Diseases

13 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: “When a person has a swelling,[a] scab,[b] or spot on the skin of his body, and it becomes a disease on the skin(A) of his body, he is to be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests. The priest will examine the infection(B) on the skin of his body. If the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean. 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 must quarantine the infected person for seven days.(C) The priest will then reexamine him on the seventh day. If he sees that the infection remains unchanged and has not spread on the skin, the priest must quarantine him for another seven days. The priest will examine him again on the seventh day. If the infection 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. But if the scab spreads further on his skin after he has presented himself to the priest for his cleansing,(E) he must present himself again to the priest. The priest will examine him, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest must pronounce him unclean; he has a skin disease.

“When a skin disease develops 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 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 infected 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 infected 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; it is a skin disease. 16 But if the raw flesh changes[c] and[d] turns white, he must go to the priest. 17 The priest will examine him, and if the infection has turned white, the priest must pronounce the infected person clean; he is clean.

18 “When a boil appears on the skin(H) of one’s body(I) and it heals, 19 and a white swelling or a reddish-white spot develops where the boil was, the person must 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 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 must quarantine him seven days. 22 If it spreads further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is an infection. 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 skin disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a 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 must 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 a 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 an infection on the head or chin, 30 the priest must examine the infection. 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,[e] a skin disease of the head or chin. 31 When the priest examines the scaly infection, if it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, the priest must quarantine the person with the scaly infection for seven days. 32 The priest will reexamine the infection 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 must shave himself(K) but not shave the scaly area. Then the priest must 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[f] 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 infection on the bald head or forehead, it is a skin disease breaking out on his head or forehead.(M) 43 The priest is to examine him, and if the swelling of the infection on his bald head or forehead is reddish-white, like the appearance of a skin disease on his body, 44 the man is afflicted with a skin disease;(N) he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean; the infection is on his head.

45 “The person afflicted with an infectious 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 infection; he is unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.(Q)

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 13:2 Or discoloration
  2. Leviticus 13:2 Or rash, or eruption
  3. Leviticus 13:16 Or recedes
  4. Leviticus 13:16 Or flesh again
  5. Leviticus 13:30 Or is scall; Hb obscure
  6. Leviticus 13:39 Hb obscure