Cleansing a Leprous House

33 The Lord further spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying:

34 (A)When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I put a spot 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 spot 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 spot, 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 spot, and if the spot on the walls of the house has greenish or reddish depressions and appears deeper than the [a]surface, 38 the priest shall come out of the house, to the [b]doorway, and [c]quarantine the house for seven days. 39 Then the priest shall return on the seventh day and [d]make an inspection. If the spot has indeed spread on the walls of the house, 40 the priest shall order them to pull out the stones with the spot on them and throw them away [e]at an unclean place outside the city. 41 And he shall have the house scraped all around [f]inside, and they shall dump the plaster that they scrape off at an unclean place outside the city. 42 Then they shall take other stones and replace the discarded stones, and he shall take other plaster and replaster the house.

43 “If, however, the spot breaks out again in the house after he has pulled out the stones and scraped the house, and after it has been replastered, 44 then the priest shall come in and [g]make an inspection. If he sees that the spot has indeed spread in the house, it is (C)a malignant spot in the house; it is unclean. 45 The owner shall therefore tear down the house, its stones, 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 [h]quarantined it, 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 [i]makes an inspection and the spot has not indeed spread in the house after the house has been replastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean because the spot has [j]not reappeared. 49 To cleanse the house then, he shall take (F)two birds, cedar wood, a [k]scarlet string, and hyssop, 50 and he shall slaughter the one bird in an earthenware vessel over [l]running water. 51 Then he shall take the cedar wood, the (G)hyssop, and the [m]scarlet string, with the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird as well as in the [n]running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 So he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the [o]running water, along with the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the [p]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 spot of leprosy—even for a (H)scale, 55 and for the (I)leprous garment or house, 56 and (J)for a swelling, for a scab, and for a bright spot— 57 to teach [q]when they are unclean and [r]when they are clean. This is the law of leprosy.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 14:37 Lit wall
  2. Leviticus 14:38 Lit doorway of the house
  3. Leviticus 14:38 Lit separate
  4. Leviticus 14:39 Lit look
  5. Leviticus 14:40 Lit to
  6. Leviticus 14:41 Lit from the house
  7. Leviticus 14:44 Lit look
  8. Leviticus 14:46 Lit separated
  9. Leviticus 14:48 Lit looks
  10. Leviticus 14:48 Lit healed
  11. Leviticus 14:49 Lit scarlet color
  12. Leviticus 14:50 Lit living
  13. Leviticus 14:51 Lit scarlet color
  14. Leviticus 14:51 Lit living
  15. Leviticus 14:52 Lit living
  16. Leviticus 14:52 Lit scarlet color
  17. Leviticus 14:57 Lit on the day of uncleanness
  18. Leviticus 14:57 Lit on the day of cleanness

33 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

34 “When you come into the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a defiling disease in a house in the land of your possession,(A) 35 the owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘There seems to me to be some sort of disease in my house.’(B) 36 The priest shall command that they empty the house before the priest goes to examine the disease, or all that is in the house will become unclean, and afterward the priest shall go in to inspect the house. 37 He shall examine the disease; if the disease is in the walls of the house with greenish or reddish spots, and if it appears to be deeper than the surface, 38 the priest shall go outside to the door of the house and shut up the house seven days.(C) 39 The priest shall come again on the seventh day and make an inspection; if the disease has spread in the walls of the house, 40 the priest shall command that the stones in which the disease appears be taken out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city.(D) 41 He shall have the inside of the house scraped thoroughly, and the plaster that is scraped off shall be dumped in an unclean place outside the city. 42 They shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones and take other plaster and plaster the house.

43 “If the disease breaks out again in the house, after he has taken out the stones and scraped the house and plastered it, 44 the priest shall go and make inspection; if the disease has spread in the house, it is a spreading defiling disease in the house; it is unclean.(E) 45 He shall have the house torn down, its stones and timber and all the plaster of the house, and taken outside the city to an unclean place. 46 All who enter the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening, 47 and all who sleep in the house shall wash their clothes, and all who eat in the house shall wash their clothes.

48 “If the priest comes and makes an inspection and the disease has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, the priest shall pronounce the house clean; the disease is healed. 49 For the cleansing of the house he shall take two birds, with cedarwood and crimson yarn and hyssop,(F) 50 and shall slaughter one of the birds over fresh water in a clay vessel 51 and shall take the cedarwood and the hyssop and the crimson yarn, along with the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water and sprinkle the house seven times.(G) 52 Thus he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the fresh water, and with the living bird, and with the cedarwood and hyssop and crimson yarn, 53 and he shall let the living bird go out of the city into the open field; so he shall make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.(H)

54 “This is the rule for any defiling disease: for an itch,(I) 55 for defiling diseases in clothing and houses, 56 and for a swelling[a] or an eruption or a spot,(J) 57 to determine when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the rule for defiling diseases.”

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Footnotes

  1. 14.56 Meaning of Heb uncertain