Numbers 19
Lexham English Bible
Ashes of the Red Heifer
19 And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “This is the decree of the law that Yahweh has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the Israelites[a] and let them take to you a red heifer without a physical defect, on which a yoke has not been placed.[b] 3 And you will give it to Eleazar the priest, and it will be brought[c] out to a place outside the camp, and it will be slaughtered[d] in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar the priest will take some of its blood on his finger and spatter it toward the mouth of the tent of assembly seven times. 5 The heifer will be burned[e] in his sight; its skin, its meat, and its blood, in addition to its offal, will burn. 6 The priest will take cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson thread, and he will throw them in the midst of the burning heifer.[f] 7 The priest will wash his garments and his body in the water, and afterward he will come to the camp; the priest will be unclean until the evening. 8 The one who burns it will wash his garments and his body in water; he will be unclean until the evening. 9 A clean man will gather the ashes of the heifer, and he will put them in a clean place outside the camp;[g] it will be for the community of the Israelites[h] as a requirement for waters of impurity; it is a purification offering. 10 The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer will wash his garments; he will be unclean until evening. It will be an eternal decree for the Israelites[i] and for one who dwells as an alien in their midst.
11 “‘The one who touches a corpse of any person[j] will be unclean for seven days. 12 He will purify himself on the third day, and on the seventh day he will be clean. If he does not purify himself on the third day, he will not be clean on the seventh day. 13 Anyone who touches a corpse, the person of a human being who died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of Yahweh, and that person will be cut off from Israel because the waters of impurity were not sprinkled on him. He will still be unclean, and uncleanness is on him.
14 “‘This is the law of a person who dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and all who are in the tent will be unclean seven days. 15 Every container that is opened that does not have a lid cord[k] on it is unclean. 16 Anyone in the open field[l] who touches one who has been slain,[m] or a corpse, or a bone of a person, or a burial site, he will be unclean for seven days. 17 For the unclean person they will take[n] from the powder of the burnt purification offering,[o] and they will put[p] running water into a container. 18 A clean person will take hyssop and dip it into the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the objects and persons who were there, and on one who touched the bone, or the one slain, or the dead, or the burial site. 19 The clean person will spatter the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he will purify him, and he will wash his garments; he will bathe in the waters, and in the evening he will be clean. 20 But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person will be cut off from the midst of the assembly because he defiled the sanctuary of Yahweh; the water of impurity was not sprinkled on him; he is unclean.
21 “‘It will be an eternal decree for them. The one who spatters the waters of impurity will wash his garments, and the one who touches the waters of impurity will be unclean until the evening. 22 Anything that the unclean person touches will be unclean, and the person who touches it will be unclean until the evening.’”
Footnotes
- Numbers 19:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Numbers 19:2 Literally “has not gone up”
- Numbers 19:3 Or “he will bring it out”
- Numbers 19:3 Or “he will slaughter it”
- Numbers 19:5 Hebrew “The heifer will burn”
- Numbers 19:6 Literally “the burning of the heifer”
- Numbers 19:9 Literally “an outside place of the camp”
- Numbers 19:9 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Numbers 19:10 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Numbers 19:11 Literally “any human person”
- Numbers 19:15 That is, “that does not have a lid tied shut”
- Numbers 19:16 Literally “upon the face of a field”
- Numbers 19:16 Literally “the dead of sword”
- Numbers 19:17 Hebrew “he will take”
- Numbers 19:17 Or “burning of the sin offering”
- Numbers 19:17 Hebrew “he will put”
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. 3 And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and (B)it shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered before him. 4 And 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. 5 And the heifer shall be burned in his sight. (D)Its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall be burned. 6 And the priest shall take (E)cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn, and throw them into the fire burning the heifer. 7 Then 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. 9 And 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. 10 And 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. 12 He (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. 13 Whoever 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. 15 And 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. 17 For the unclean they shall take (T)some ashes of the burnt sin offering, and fresh[a] water shall be added in a vessel. 18 Then 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. 19 And 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. 21 And 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. 22 And (Z)whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean, and anyone who touches it shall be unclean until evening.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 19:17 Hebrew living
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
