Numbers 19

King James Version

19 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

²This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:

³And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:

⁴And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:

⁵And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:

⁶And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.

⁷Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.

⁸And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.

⁹And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.

¹⁰And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.

¹¹He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.

¹²He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.

¹³Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.

¹⁴This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.

¹⁵And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.

¹⁶And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

¹⁷And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:

¹⁸And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:

¹⁹And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.

²⁰But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.

²¹And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.

²²And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.

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Numbers 19

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) ³Give it to Eleazar^(D) the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp^(E) and slaughtered in his presence. ⁴Then 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. ⁵While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines.^(G) ⁶The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop^(H) and scarlet wool^(I) and throw them onto the burning heifer. ⁷After 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. ⁸The 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) ¹⁰The 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)

¹¹“Whoever touches a human corpse^(S) will be unclean for seven days.^(T) ¹²They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day;^(U) then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean.^(V) ¹³If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse,^(W) they defile the Lord’s tabernacle.^(X) They must be cut off from Israel.^(Y) Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean;^(Z) their uncleanness remains on them.

¹⁴“This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, ¹⁵and every open container^(AA) without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.

¹⁶“Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death,^(AB) or anyone who touches a human bone^(AC) or a grave,^(AD) will be unclean for seven days.^(AE)

¹⁷“For the unclean person, put some ashes^(AF) from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water^(AG) over them. ¹⁸Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop,^(AH) dip it in the water and sprinkle^(AI) the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave^(AJ) or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death. ¹⁹The man who is clean is to sprinkle^(AK) those who are unclean on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them.^(AL) Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes^(AM) and bathe with water, and that evening they will be clean. ²⁰But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled^(AN) the sanctuary of the Lord.^(AO) The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean.^(AP) ²¹This is a lasting ordinance^(AQ) for them.

“The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening. ²²Anything that an unclean^(AR) person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.”

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Numbers 19

English Standard Version

Laws for Purification

19 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ²“This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, ^(A)and on which a yoke has never come. ³And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and ^(B)it shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered before him. ⁴And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and ^(C)sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. ⁵And the heifer shall be burned in his sight. ^(D)Its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall be burned. ⁶And the priest shall take ^(E)cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn, and throw them into the fire burning the heifer. ⁷Then the priest ^(F)shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. But the priest shall be unclean until evening. ⁸^(G)The one who burns the heifer ^(H)shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water and shall be unclean until evening. ⁹And a man who is clean shall gather up ^(I)the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a ^(J)clean place. And they shall be kept for the water for ^(K)impurity for the congregation of the people of Israel; it is a sin offering. ¹⁰And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer ^(L)shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. And this shall be a perpetual statute for the people of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among them.

¹¹^(M)“Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days. ¹²He ^(N)shall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean. ¹³Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, ^(O)defiles the tabernacle of the Lord, ^(P)and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴“This is the law when someone dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be unclean seven days. ¹⁵And every ^(Q)open vessel that has no cover fastened on it is unclean. ¹⁶^(R)Whoever in the open field touches someone who was killed with a sword or who died naturally, or touches a human bone or a ^(S)grave, shall be unclean seven days. ¹⁷For the unclean they shall take ^(T)some ashes of the burnt sin offering, and fresh^[a] water shall be added in a vessel. ¹⁸Then a clean person shall take ^(U)hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there and on whoever touched the bone, or the slain or the dead or the grave. ¹⁹And the clean person shall sprinkle it on the unclean ^(V)on the third day and on the seventh day. ^(W)Thus on the seventh day he shall cleanse him, and he shall ^(X)wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and at evening he shall be clean.

²⁰“If the man who is unclean does not cleanse himself, ^(Y)that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, since he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. Because the water for impurity has not been thrown on him, he is unclean. ²¹And it shall be a statute forever for them. The one who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening. ²²And ^(Z)whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean, and anyone who touches it shall be unclean until evening.”

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Footnotes

Numbers 19:17 Hebrew living

Numbers 19

Christian Standard Bible

Purification Ritual

19 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, ²“This is the legal statute that the Lord has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red cow that has no defect and has never been yoked.^(A) ³Give it to the priest Eleazar,^(B) and he will have it brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. ⁴The priest Eleazar is to take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. ⁵The cow is to be burned in his sight. Its hide, flesh, and blood are to be burned along with its waste. ⁶The priest is to take cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson yarn,^(C) and throw them onto the fire where the cow is burning. ⁷Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening. ⁸The one who burned the cow must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he will remain unclean until evening.

⁹“A man who is clean is to gather up the cow’s ashes and deposit them outside the camp in a ceremonially clean place. The ashes will be kept by the Israelite community for preparing the water to remove impurity; it is a sin offering.^(D) ¹⁰Then the one who gathers up the cow’s ashes must wash his clothes, and he will remain unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the alien who resides among them.

¹¹“The person who touches any human corpse will be unclean for seven days. ¹²He is to purify himself with the water^[a] on the third day and the seventh day; then he will be clean.^(E) But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean. ¹³Anyone who touches a body of a person who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person will be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean because the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴“This is the law when a person dies in a tent: everyone who enters the tent and everyone who is already in the tent will be unclean for seven days, ¹⁵and any open container without a lid tied on it is unclean. ¹⁶Anyone in the open field who touches a person who has been killed by the sword or has died, or who even touches a human bone, or a grave, will be unclean for seven days. ¹⁷For the purification of the unclean person, they are to take some of the ashes of the burnt sin offering, put them in a jar, and add fresh water to them. ¹⁸A person who is clean is to take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, a corpse, or a person who had been killed.

¹⁹“The one who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being purified must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he will be clean by evening. ²⁰But a person who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person will be cut off from the assembly because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord.^(F) The water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. ²¹This is a permanent statute for them. The person who sprinkles the water for impurity is to wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water for impurity will be unclean until evening. ²²Anything the unclean person touches will become unclean, and anyone who touches it will be unclean until evening.”

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Footnotes

19:12 Or ashes; lit with it

Numbers 19

New American Standard Bible 1995

Ordinance of the Red Heifer

19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²“This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an ^(A)unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and ^(B)on which a yoke has never ^[a]been placed. ³You shall give it to ^(C)Eleazar the priest, and it shall ^(D)be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. ⁴Next Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and ^(E)sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. ⁵Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; ^(F)its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. ⁶The priest shall take ^(G)cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet material and cast it into the midst of the ^[b]burning heifer. ⁷The priest ^(H)shall then wash his clothes and bathe his ^[c]body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening. ⁸The one who burns it shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his ^[d]body in water, and shall be unclean until evening. ⁹Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and ^[e]the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep it as ^(I)water to remove impurity; it is ^[f]purification from sin. ¹⁰The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer ^(J)shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; and it shall be a perpetual statute to the sons of Israel and to the alien who sojourns among them.

¹¹‘^(K)The one who touches the corpse of any ^[g]person shall be unclean for seven days. ¹²That one shall ^(L)purify himself from uncleanness with ^[h]the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. ¹³^(M)Anyone who touches a corpse, the ^[i]body of a man who has died, and does not purify himself, ^(N)defiles the ^[j]tabernacle of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Because the water for impurity was not ^[k]^(O)sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be unclean for seven days. ¹⁵Every open vessel, which has no covering ^[l]tied down on it, shall be unclean. ¹⁶^(P)Also, anyone who in the open field touches one who has been slain with a sword or who has died naturally, or a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean for seven days. ¹⁷Then for the unclean person they shall take some of the ^[m]ashes of the ^[n]burnt ^[o]^(Q)purification from sin and ^[p]flowing water shall be ^[q]added to them in a vessel. ¹⁸A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there, and on the one who touched the bone or the one slain or the one dying naturally or the grave. ¹⁹Then the clean person ^(R)shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify him from uncleanness, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and shall be clean by evening.

²⁰‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself from uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has ^(S)defiled the sanctuary of the Lord; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean. ²¹So it shall be a perpetual statute for them. And he ^(T)who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening. ²²^(U)Furthermore, anything that the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’”

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Footnotes

Numbers 19:2 Lit come up
Numbers 19:6 Lit burning of the heifer
Numbers 19:7 Lit flesh
Numbers 19:8 Lit flesh
Numbers 19:9 Lit it shall be to the congregation...Israel, for a guarding as water of impurity
Numbers 19:9 Or a sin offering
Numbers 19:11 Lit soul of man
Numbers 19:12 Lit it
Numbers 19:13 Lit soul
Numbers 19:13 Lit dwelling place
Numbers 19:13 Or thrown
Numbers 19:15 Lit cord
Numbers 19:17 Lit dust
Numbers 19:17 Lit burning of the
Numbers 19:17 Or sin offering
Numbers 19:17 Lit living
Numbers 19:17 Lit put

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New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

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Numbers 19

King James Version