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Statute for Cleansing a Leprous House

33 Yahweh further spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying:

34 (A)When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you for a possession, and I put a mark of leprosy on a house in the land of your possession, 35 then the one who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘Something like (B)a mark of leprosy has become visible to me in the house.’ 36 The priest shall then command that they empty the house before the priest goes in to look at the mark, so that everything in the house need not become unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to look at the house. 37 So he shall look at the mark, and if the mark on the walls of the house has greenish or reddish depressions and appears deeper than the surface of the wall, 38 then the priest shall come out of the house, to the [a]doorway, and [b]put the house under isolation for seven days. 39 And the priest shall return on the seventh day and look again. If the mark has indeed spread in the walls of the house, 40 then the priest shall command them to tear out the stones with the mark in them and throw them away [c]at an unclean place outside the city. 41 And he shall have the house scraped all around [d]inside, and they shall pour out the plaster that they scrape off at an unclean place outside the city. 42 Then they shall take other stones and replace those stones, and he shall take other plaster and replaster the house.

43 “If, however, the mark breaks out again in the house after he has torn out the stones and scraped the house, and after it has been replastered, 44 then the priest shall come in and look again. If he sees that the mark has indeed spread in the house, it is (C)a [e]leprous malignancy in the house; it is unclean. 45 He shall therefore tear down the house, its stones and its timbers and all the plaster of the house, and he shall take them outside the city to an (D)unclean place. 46 Moreover, whoever goes into the house during the time that he has [f]put it under isolation becomes (E)unclean until evening. 47 Likewise, whoever lies down in the house shall wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes.

48 “If, on the other hand, the priest comes in and looks again, and the mark has not indeed spread in the house after the house has been replastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean because the mark has [g]not reappeared. 49 To cleanse the house then, he shall take (F)two birds and cedar wood and a [h]scarlet string and hyssop, 50 and he shall slaughter the one bird in an earthenware vessel over [i]running water. 51 Then he shall take the cedar wood and the (G)hyssop and the [j]scarlet string, with the live bird, and he shall dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird as well as in the [k]running water, and he shall sprinkle the house seven times. 52 He shall thus cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the [l]running water, along with the live bird and with the cedar wood and with the hyssop and with the [m]scarlet string. 53 However, he shall let the live bird go free outside the city into the open field. So he shall make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.”

54 This is the law for any mark of leprosy—even for a (H)scale, 55 and for the (I)leprous garment or house, 56 and (J)for a swelling and for a scab and for a bright spot— 57 to instruct [n]when they are unclean and [o]when they are clean. This is the law of leprosy.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 14:38 Lit doorway of the house
  2. Leviticus 14:38 Lit shut up
  3. Leviticus 14:40 Lit to
  4. Leviticus 14:41 Lit from the house around
  5. Leviticus 14:44 Lit malignant leprosy
  6. Leviticus 14:46 Lit shut up
  7. Leviticus 14:48 Lit healed
  8. Leviticus 14:49 Lit scarlet color
  9. Leviticus 14:50 Lit living
  10. Leviticus 14:51 Lit scarlet color
  11. Leviticus 14:51 Lit living
  12. Leviticus 14:52 Lit living
  13. Leviticus 14:52 Lit scarlet color
  14. Leviticus 14:57 Lit in the day of uncleanness
  15. Leviticus 14:57 Lit in the day of cleanness

Treatment of Contaminated Houses

33 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 34 “When you arrive in Canaan, the land I am giving you as your own possession, I may contaminate some of the houses in your land with mildew.[a] 35 The owner of such a house must then go to the priest and say, ‘It appears that my house has some kind of mildew.’ 36 Before the priest goes in to inspect the house, he must have the house emptied so nothing inside will be pronounced ceremonially unclean. 37 Then the priest will go in and examine the mildew on the walls. If he finds greenish or reddish streaks and the contamination appears to go deeper than the wall’s surface, 38 the priest will step outside the door and put the house in quarantine for seven days. 39 On the seventh day the priest must return for another inspection. If he finds that the mildew on the walls of the house has spread, 40 the priest must order that the stones from those areas be removed. The contaminated material will then be taken outside the town to an area designated as ceremonially unclean. 41 Next the inside walls of the entire house must be scraped thoroughly and the scrapings dumped in the unclean place outside the town. 42 Other stones will be brought in to replace the ones that were removed, and the walls will be replastered.

43 “But if the mildew reappears after all the stones have been replaced and the house has been scraped and replastered, 44 the priest must return and inspect the house again. If he finds that the mildew has spread, the walls are clearly contaminated with a serious mildew, and the house is defiled. 45 It must be torn down, and all its stones, timbers, and plaster must be carried out of town to the place designated as ceremonially unclean. 46 Those who enter the house during the period of quarantine will be ceremonially unclean until evening, 47 and all who sleep or eat in the house must wash their clothing.

48 “But if the priest returns for his inspection and finds that the mildew has not reappeared in the house after the fresh plastering, he will pronounce it clean because the mildew is clearly gone. 49 To purify the house the priest must take two birds, a stick of cedar, some scarlet yarn, and a hyssop branch. 50 He will slaughter one of the birds over a clay pot filled with fresh water. 51 He will take the cedar stick, the hyssop branch, the scarlet yarn, and the live bird, and dip them into the blood of the slaughtered bird and into the fresh water. Then he will sprinkle the house seven times. 52 When the priest has purified the house in exactly this way, 53 he will release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. Through this process, the priest will purify the house, and it will be ceremonially clean.

54 “These are the instructions for dealing with serious skin diseases,[b] including scabby sores; 55 and mildew,[c] whether on clothing or in a house; 56 and a swelling on the skin, a rash, or discolored skin. 57 This procedure will determine whether a person or object is ceremonially clean or unclean.

“These are the instructions regarding skin diseases and mildew.”

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Footnotes

  1. 14:34 Traditionally rendered leprosy; see note on 13:47.
  2. 14:54 Traditionally rendered leprosy; see note on 13:2a.
  3. 14:55 Traditionally rendered leprosy; see note on 13:47.