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Numbers 19:1-10
EasyEnglish Bible
Numbers 19:1-10
EasyEnglish Bible
Water that makes people clean
19 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 ‘This is another rule in the Lord's law that I am telling to you: Tell the Israelites that they must bring to you a young red cow. It must not have anything wrong with it. And nobody must have put a yoke on it. 3 They must take the cow outside the camp. They must kill it and then give it to Eleazar the priest. 4 Eleazar must take some of the blood from the cow. He must splash it seven times in front of the Tent of Meeting. 5 Then they must burn the whole cow while Eleazar is watching. They must burn its body with the skin, meat, blood and everything that is inside its body. 6 The priest must take some wood, some plants and some red wool. He must throw them on the fire. 7 Then he must wash his clothes and he must wash his body with water. After that, he can come into the camp, but he will not be clean until the evening. 8 And the man who burns the animal must also wash his clothes in water. And he must wash his body in water. He will not be clean until the evening.
9 Then a man who is clean must pick up all the ashes of the cow. And he must put them outside the camp in a clean place. Keep them safe there for all the Israelites. You must mix them with water to make special water. It will be water for someone who is not clean to make them holy again. It is water to remove sin. 10 The man who picks up the ashes must also wash his clothes. He will not be clean until evening. This rule is for the Israelites and for all the people who are living with them.
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Numbers 19:1-10
New International Version
Numbers 19:1-10
New International Version
The Water of Cleansing
19 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer(A) without defect or blemish(B) and that has never been under a yoke.(C) 3 Give it to Eleazar(D) the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp(E) and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle(F) it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. 5 While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines.(G) 6 The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop(H) and scarlet wool(I) and throw them onto the burning heifer. 7 After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water.(J) He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. 8 The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.
9 “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer(K) and put them in a ceremonially clean place(L) outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing;(M) it is for purification from sin.(N) 10 The man who gathers up(O) the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening.(P) This will be a lasting ordinance(Q) both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.(R)
Numbers 19:1-10
New King James Version
Numbers 19:1-10
New King James Version
Laws of Purification
19 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “This is the [a]ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without [b]blemish, in which there is no (A)defect (B)and on which a yoke has never come. 3 You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it (C)outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him; 4 and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and (D)sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. 5 Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: (E)its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. 6 And the priest shall take (F)cedar wood and (G)hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. 7 (H)Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening. 8 And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. 9 Then a man who is clean shall gather up (I)the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel (J)for the water of [c]purification; it is for purifying from sin. 10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 19:2 statute
- Numbers 19:2 defect
- Numbers 19:9 Lit. impurity
Numbers 19:1-10
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Numbers 19:1-10
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Ceremony of the Red Heifer
19 Now the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron, 2 “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and upon which a yoke has never come. 3 And you shall give her to Elea′zar the priest, and she shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered before him; 4 and Elea′zar the priest shall take some of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of her blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. 5 And the heifer shall be burned in his sight; her skin, her flesh, and her blood, with all her dung, shall be burned; 6 and the priest shall take cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet stuff, and cast them into the midst of the burning of the heifer. 7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterwards he shall come into the camp; and the priest shall be unclean until evening. 8 He who burns the heifer shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water, and shall be unclean until evening. 9 And a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the people of Israel for the water for impurity, for the removal of sin. 10 And he who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. And this shall be to the people of Israel, and to the stranger who sojourns among them, a perpetual statute.
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EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.