Rules for Cleansing from Skin Diseases

14 The Lord said to Moses, ² “These are the teachings for people who had a harmful skin disease and have become well. These teachings are for making that person clean.

³ “A priest must look at the person who had the skin disease. He must go to that person outside the camp. He must see if the skin disease is healed. ⁴ If the person is healthy, the priest will tell him to do these things: He must get two living, clean birds. He must also get a piece of cedar wood, a piece of red cloth and a hyssop plant. These things are for cleansing the person with the skin disease.

⁵ “The priest must order one bird to be killed in a clay bowl containing fresh water. ⁶ Then he will take the other bird that is still alive. He will take the piece of cedar wood, the red cloth and the hyssop. He will dip the living bird and other things into the blood. (This is the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.) ⁷ The priest will sprinkle the blood seven times on the person who had the skin disease. He must announce that the person is clean. Then the priest must go to an open field. He must let the living bird go free.

⁸ “Next, that person must wash his clothes. He must shave off all his hair. And he must wash with water. Then he will be clean and may go into the camp. But at first he must stay outside his tent for seven days. ⁹ On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair. He must shave off his hair, his beard and his eyebrows. He must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water. Then he will be clean.

¹⁰ “On the eighth day the person who had the skin disease must take two male lambs. They must have nothing wrong with them. He must also take a year-old female lamb. It must have nothing wrong with it. The person must take six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil. This is for a grain offering. He must also take two-thirds of a pint of olive oil. ¹¹ A priest must announce that the person is clean. Then he must bring that person and his sacrifices before the Lord. This is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. ¹² The priest will take one of the male lambs. He will offer it and the olive oil as a guilt offering. And he will present them before the Lord as an offering. ¹³ Then he will kill the male lamb in the holy place. He will kill it where they kill the sin offering and the whole burnt offering. The penalty offering is like the sin offering. It belongs to the priest. It is most holy.

¹⁴ “The priest will take some of the blood of the penalty offering. He will put some of it on the bottom of the right ear of the person to be made clean. He will put some of it on the thumb of the person’s right hand. And he will put some on the big toe of the person’s right foot. ¹⁵ The priest will also take some of the oil and pour it into his own left hand. ¹⁶ Then he will dip a finger of his right hand into the oil that is in his left hand. He will use his finger to sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the Lord. ¹⁷ The priest will put some oil from his hand on the bottom of the right ear of the person to be made clean. He will put some of it on the thumb of the person’s right hand. And he will put some of it on the big toe of the person’s right foot. The oil will go on these places on top of the blood for the penalty offering. ¹⁸ He will put the rest of the oil that is in his left hand on the head of the person to be made clean. In this way the priest will make that person clean so he can belong to the Lord again.

¹⁹ “Next the priest will offer the sin offering. It will make that person clean so he can belong to the Lord again. After this the priest will kill the animal for the whole burnt offering. ²⁰ Then he will offer the burnt offering and grain offering on the altar. In this way he will make that person clean so he can belong to the Lord again.

²¹ “But the person may be poor and unable to afford these offerings. Then he must take one male lamb for a penalty offering. It will be presented to the Lord so the priest can make that person clean. Then he can belong to the Lord again. The person must take two quarts of fine flour mixed with oil. It will be used for a grain offering. He must also take two-thirds of a pint of olive oil. ²² He must take two doves or two young pigeons, which he can afford. One bird will be a sin offering. The other will be a whole burnt offering. ²³ On the eighth day the person will bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. The gifts will be offered before the Lord. This is so the person can become clean. ²⁴ The priest will take the lamb for the penalty offering and the oil. He will present them as an offering before the Lord. ²⁵ Then he will kill the lamb of the penalty offering. He will take some of the blood of the penalty offering. He will put it on the bottom of the right ear of the person to be made clean. The priest will put some of this blood on the thumb of the person’s right hand. And he will put some on the big toe of the person’s right foot. ²⁶ He will also pour some of the oil into his own left hand. ²⁷ Then with a finger of his right hand, he will sprinkle some of the oil from his left hand. He will sprinkle it seven times before the Lord. ²⁸ Then the priest will take some of the oil from his hand. He will put it on the bottom of the right ear of the person to be made clean. He will also put some of it on the thumb of the person’s right hand. And he will put some on the big toe of the person’s right foot. The oil will go on these places on top of the blood from the penalty offering. ²⁹ The priest must put the rest of the oil that is in his hand on the head of the person to be made clean. In this way the priest will make the person clean so he can belong to the Lord again. ³⁰ Then the priest will offer one of the doves or young pigeons. He must offer what the person can afford. ³¹ He must offer one of the birds as a sin offering. And he must offer the other bird as a whole burnt offering. He must offer them with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make the person clean so he can belong to the Lord again. The person will become clean.

³² “These are the teachings for making a person clean. This is done after he has become well from a skin disease. These teachings are for people who cannot afford the regular sacrifices for becoming clean.”

Rules for Cleaning Mildew

³³ The Lord also said to Moses and Aaron, ³⁴ “I am giving the land of Canaan to your people. When they enter that land, I might cause mildew to grow in someone’s house. ³⁵ The owner of that house must come and tell the priest. He should say, ‘I have seen something like mildew in my house.’ ³⁶ Then the priest must order the people to empty the house. They must do this before he goes in to look at the mildew. This is so he will not have to say that everything in the house is unclean. After the people have emptied the house, the priest will go in to look at it. ³⁷ He will look at the mildew. The mildew on the walls of the house might be green or red. It might go into the wall’s surface. ³⁸ If these things are true, he must go out and close up the house for seven days. ³⁹ On the seventh day the priest must come back and check the house. The mildew may have spread on the walls of the house. ⁴⁰ If it has, the priest must order the people to tear out the stones with the mildew on them. They should throw the stones away. They must put the stones at a certain unclean place outside the city. ⁴¹ Then the priest must have all the inside of the house scraped. The people must throw away the plaster they scraped off the walls. They must put the plaster at a certain unclean place outside the city. ⁴² Then the owner must put new stones in the walls. And he must cover the walls with new clay plaster.

⁴³ “A person may have taken away the old stones and plaster. He may have put in new stones and plaster. But mildew may again appear in his house. ⁴⁴ If it does, the priest must come back and check the house again. If the mildew has spread in the house, it is a mildew that destroys things. So the house is unclean. ⁴⁵ Then the owner must tear down the house. He must remove all its stones, plaster and wood. He must take them to the unclean place outside the city. ⁴⁶ Anyone who goes into that house will be unclean until evening. ⁴⁷ Anyone who eats in that house or lies down there must wash his clothes.

⁴⁸ “After new stones and plaster have been put in a house, the priest must check it again. The mildew may not have spread in the house. Then the priest will announce that the house is clean. This is because the mildew is gone.

⁴⁹ “Then, to make the house clean, the priest must take two birds. He must also take a piece of cedar wood, a piece of red cloth and a hyssop plant. ⁵⁰ He will kill one bird in a clay bowl containing fresh water. ⁵¹ Then he will take the other bird that is still alive. He will also take the cedar wood, the hyssop and the red cloth. He will dip the living bird and other things into the blood. (This is the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.) Then the priest will sprinkle the blood on the house seven times. ⁵² He will use the bird’s blood, the fresh water and the live bird. And he will use the cedar wood, the hyssop and the red cloth. With these things he will make the house clean. ⁵³ The priest will go to an open field outside the city. And he will let the living bird go free. This is how the priest makes the house clean and ready for service to the Lord.”

⁵⁴ These are the teachings about any kind of skin disease. ⁵⁵ These are the teachings for mildew on pieces of cloth or in a house. ⁵⁶ These are also the teachings for swellings, rashes or bright spots on the skin. ⁵⁷ They teach when things are unclean and when they are clean. These are the teachings about all these kinds of diseases.