Leviticus 14
Common English Bible
Persons with skin disease
14 The Lord said to Moses, 2 This will be the Instruction for anyone with skin disease[a] at the time of purification: When it has been reported to the priest, 3 he will go outside the camp. If the priest sees that the person afflicted with skin disease has been healed of the infection, 4 the priest will order that two birds—wild[b] and clean—and cedarwood, crimson yarn, and hyssop be brought for the person who needs purification. 5 The priest will order that one bird be slaughtered over fresh water in a pottery jar. 6 He will then take the other wild bird, along with the cedarwood, crimson yarn, and hyssop, and will dip all of this into the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water. 7 He will sprinkle the person who needs purification from skin disease seven times and declare that they are clean. Then the priest will release the wild bird into the countryside. 8 The person who needs purification will then wash their clothes, shave off all of their hair, and bathe in water; at that point, they will be clean. After that, they can return to the camp, but they must live outside their tent for seven days. 9 On the seventh day, the person must shave off all their hair again: head, beard, and eyebrows—everything. They must wash their clothes and bathe in water; then they will be clean again.
10 On the eighth day, that person must take two flawless male sheep, one flawless one-year-old ewe, a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah[c] of choice flour mixed with oil, and one log[d] of oil. 11 The priest performing the purification will place these and the person needing purification before the Lord at the meeting tent’s entrance.
12 The priest will take one of the male sheep and present it as a compensation offering, along with the log of oil, and will lift them as an uplifted offering before the Lord. 13 The priest will slaughter the sheep at the same place where the purification offering and the entirely burned offering are slaughtered: in the holy area. The compensation offering, like the purification offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 14 The priest will take some of the blood from the compensation offering and will put it on the right earlobe, the right thumb, and the right big toe of the person needing purification. 15 Then the priest will take some of the log of oil and pour it into his left palm. 16 The priest will then dip his right finger into the oil and sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the Lord. 17 Then the priest will put some of the oil that is left in his hand on the right earlobe, the right thumb, and the right big toe of the person needing purification—this oil will be placed on top of the blood of the compensation offering. 18 The priest will put whatever is left of the oil in his hand on the head of the person needing purification. In this way, the priest will make reconciliation for the person before the Lord.
19 The priest will then perform the purification offering and make reconciliation for the person needing purification from their uncleanness. After that, the entirely burned offering will be slaughtered. 20 The priest will offer up the entirely burned offering and the grain offering on the altar. In this way, the priest will make reconciliation for the person, and they will be clean again.
21 Now if the person is poor and cannot afford these things, they can bring one male sheep as a compensation offering, to be lifted up in order to make reconciliation for them; a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil; a log of oil; 22 and two turtledoves or two pigeons, whatever they can afford—one as a purification offering and the other as an entirely burned offering. 23 On the eighth day, they must bring these items for their purification to the priest at the meeting tent’s entrance before the Lord.
24 The priest will take the male sheep for the compensation offering and the log of oil, and will lift them as an uplifted offering before the Lord. 25 The priest will slaughter the sheep for the compensation offering and will take some of its blood and put it on the right earlobe, the right thumb, and the right big toe of the person needing purification. 26 The priest will pour some of the oil into his left palm. 27 Next, the priest will sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the Lord using his right finger. 28 The priest will then put some of the oil that is in his hand on the right earlobe, the right thumb, and the right big toe of the person needing purification—on top of the same places as the blood of the compensation offering. 29 The priest will put whatever is left of the oil in his hand on the head of the person needing purification, to make reconciliation for them before the Lord.
30 The person will then offer one of the turtledoves or pigeons, whatever they can afford— 31 one as a purification offering and the other as an entirely burned offering along with the grain offering.[e] In this way, the priest will make reconciliation before the Lord for the person needing purification.
32 This is the Instruction concerning those who have an infection of skin disease but who cannot afford the normal means of purification.
Houses with skin disease
33 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 34 When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving to you as a possession, and I put an infection of skin disease on a house in the land you possess, 35 the homeowner must come and tell the priest, “I think some sort of infection is in my house.” 36 The priest will order that the house be emptied before he comes to examine it so that nothing else in the house will become unclean. After that, the priest will come to examine the house. 37 If he examines the infection, and the infection in the walls of the house consists of greenish or reddish depressions, which appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall, 38 the priest will exit the house, go to the front door, and quarantine the house for seven days. 39 On the seventh day, the priest will return. If he finds that the infection has spread over the walls of the house, 40 the priest will order the stones in which the infection is found to be pulled out and discarded outside the city in an unclean area. 41 The inside of the house will then be scraped on all sides, and the plaster that has been scraped off must be dumped outside the city in an unclean area. 42 Then different stones will be used in place of the first ones, and new coating will be used to replaster the house.
43 If the infection breaks out again in the house after the stones have been pulled out and the house scraped and replastered, 44 the priest will return. If he finds that the infection has spread throughout the house, it is a case of infectious skin disease in the house; the house is unclean. 45 The house must be destroyed—its stones, wood, and all the plaster in the house. All of it must be taken outside the city to an unclean area. 46 Anyone who enters the house during the entire period when it is quarantined will be unclean until evening. 47 Anyone who lies down in the house must wash their clothes. Anyone who eats in the house must also wash their clothes.
48 But if the priest arrives and finds that the infection has not spread after the house was replastered, the priest will declare the house clean because the infection has been healed. 49 To cleanse the house, the priest will take two birds, cedarwood, crimson yarn, and hyssop. 50 He will slaughter one bird over fresh water in a pottery jar. 51 He will then take the cedarwood, hyssop, and crimson yarn, along with the wild[f] bird, and will dip all of this into the fresh water and into the blood of the bird that was slaughtered. He will then sprinkle the house seven times. 52 In this way, the priest will cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, the fresh water, the wild bird, the cedarwood, the hyssop, and the crimson yarn. 53 Then he will release the wild bird outside the city into the countryside. In this way, he will make reconciliation for the house, and it will be clean.
Conclusion concerning skin disease
54 This concludes the Instruction concerning every infection of skin disease: for scabies, 55 for skin disease on clothing or in houses, 56 and for swelling, scabs, or shiny spots, 57 in order to determine when it is unclean or clean. This concludes the Instruction concerning skin disease.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 14:2 The precise meaning is uncertain; traditionally leprosy—a term used for several different skin diseases.
- Leviticus 14:4 Or live or healthy; also in 14:6-7
- Leviticus 14:10 Heb lacks ephah; an ephah is approximately twenty quarts dry.
- Leviticus 14:10 Heb log; two-thirds of a pint; also in 14:12, 15, 21, 24
- Leviticus 14:31 LXX, Syr; MT repeats whatever they can afford at the beginning of 14:31.
- Leviticus 14:51 Or live or healthy
Leviticus 14
Easy-to-Read Version
Rules for Those With Skin Diseases
14 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “These are the rules for people who have had a skin disease and have been made well. These rules are for making them clean.
“A priest must look at those who had the skin disease. 3 The priest must go to them outside the camp and look to see if the skin disease is healed. 4 If they are healthy, the priest will tell them to do these things: They must bring two clean birds that are still alive, a piece of cedar wood, a piece of red cloth, and a hyssop plant. 5 Then the priest must order one bird to be killed in a clay bowl over running water. 6 He must take the other bird that is still alive and the piece of cedar wood, the piece of red cloth, and the hyssop plant and dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. 7 He must sprinkle the blood seven times on those who had the skin disease. Then he must announce that they are clean. After that the priest must go to an open field and let the living bird go free.
8 “The people going through this purification ceremony must wash their clothes, shave off all their hair, and wash with water. Then they will be clean. They may then go into the camp, but they must stay outside their tent for seven days. 9 On the seventh day, they must shave off all their hair. They must shave their head, their beard, and their eyebrows—yes, all their hair. Then they must wash their clothes and bathe their bodies in water. Then they will be clean.
10 “On the eighth day, anyone who had a skin disease must take two male lambs that have nothing wrong with them and a one-year-old female lamb that has nothing wrong with it. They must also take 24 cups[a] of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering and 2/3 of a pint[b] of olive oil. 11 The priest must bring that person and those sacrifices before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. (This must be the same priest who announced that the person is clean.) 12 The priest will take one of the lambs and the oil as a guilt offering. He will lift them in front of the Lord to show they were presented to God. 13 Then the priest will kill the male lamb in the holy place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest. It is very holy.
14 “The priest will take some of the blood of the guilt offering. He will put some of this blood on the tip of the right ear of the person to be made clean. The priest will put some of this blood on the thumb of the right hand and on the big toe of the right foot of that person. 15 The priest will also take some of the oil and pour it into his own left palm. 16 Then the priest will dip the finger of his right hand into the oil that is in his left palm. He will use his finger to sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the Lord. 17 Then he will put some of the oil that is in his palm on the person to be made clean. He will put that oil on the same places he put the blood of the guilt offering. The priest will put some of the oil on the tip of the person’s right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the person’s right foot. 18 He will put the oil that is left in his palm on the head of the person to be made clean. In this way he will make that person pure before the Lord.
19 “Then the priest must offer the sin offering to make that person pure. After that he will kill the animal for the burnt offering. 20 He will then offer up the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. In this way the priest will make that person pure, and that person will become clean.
21 “A poor person might not be able to afford all these offerings. So that poor person can use one male lamb as a guilt offering. It will be presented to God so that the priest can make that person pure. The poor person must take 8 cups[c] of fine flour mixed with oil. This flour will be used for a grain offering. The poor person must also take 2/3 of a pint of olive oil 22 and two doves or two young pigeons. Even poor people can afford these things. One bird will be a sin offering, and the other will be a burnt offering.
23 “On the eighth day, that person will bring these things to the priest at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. These things will be offered before the Lord so that the person can become clean. 24 The priest will take the lamb for the guilt offering and the oil, and he will lift them up to show they were offered before the Lord. 25 Then he will kill the lamb of the guilt offering, take some of its blood, and put it on the tip of the right ear of the person to be made clean. The priest will put some of this blood on the thumb of the right hand and on the big toe of the right foot of this person. 26 He will also pour some of this oil into his own left palm. 27 He will use the finger of his right hand to sprinkle some of the oil that is in his left palm seven times before the Lord. 28 Then he will put some of the oil that is in his palm on the same places he put the blood from the guilt offering. He will put some of the oil on the tip of the right ear of the person to be made clean. The priest will put some of the oil on the thumb of the right hand and on the big toe of the person’s right foot. 29 He will put the oil that is left in his palm on the head of the person to be made clean. In this way he will make that person pure before the Lord.
30 “Then the priest must offer one of the doves or young pigeons. (He must offer whichever the person can afford.) 31 He must offer one of these birds as a sin offering and the other bird as a burnt offering. He must offer the birds with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make that person pure before the Lord, and that person will become clean.”
32 These are the rules for making people clean after they become well from a skin disease. These are the rules for those who cannot afford the regular sacrifices for becoming clean.
Rules for Mildew in a House
33 The Lord also said to Moses and Aaron, 34 “I am giving the land of Canaan to your people. Your people will enter that land. At that time I might cause mildew to grow in someone’s house. 35 The person who owns that house must come and tell the priest, ‘I see something like mildew in my house.’
36 “Then the priest must order the people to take everything out of the house before he goes in to look at the mildew. Then the priest will not have to say everything in the house is unclean. After the people have taken everything out of the house, the priest will go in to look at the house. 37 He will look at the mildew. If the mildew on the walls of the house has holes that are a green or red color, and if the mildew goes into the wall’s surface, 38 he must go out of the house and lock the house for seven days.
39 “On the seventh day the priest must come back and check the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls of the house, 40 then he must order the people to tear out the stones with the mildew on them and throw them away. They must put these stones at a special unclean place outside the city. 41 Then the priest must have the entire house scraped inside. The people must throw away the plaster that was scraped off the walls. They must put that plaster at a special unclean place outside the city. 42 Then new stones must be put in the walls, and the walls must be covered with new plaster.
43 “Maybe someone took away the old stones and plaster and put in new stones and plaster. And maybe mildew again appears in that house. 44 Then the priest must come in and check the house. If the infection has spread in the house, it is a disease that spreads quickly to other places. So the house is unclean. 45 The house must be torn down. All the stones, plaster, and pieces of wood must be taken to the special unclean place outside the city. 46 Anyone who goes into that house will be unclean until evening. 47 Anyone who eats in that house or lies down in there must wash their clothes.
48 “After new stones and plaster are put in a house, the priest must check the house. If the mildew has not spread through the house, the priest will announce that the house is clean, because the mildew is gone.
49 “Then, to make the house clean, the priest must take two birds, a piece of cedar wood, a piece of red cloth, and a hyssop plant. 50 He will kill one bird in a clay bowl over running water. 51 Then he will take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the piece of red cloth, and the living bird and dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed over running water. Then he will sprinkle that blood on the house seven times. 52 In this way he will use these things to make the house clean. 53 He will go to an open field outside the city and let the living bird go free. In this way the priest will make the house pure. The house will be clean.”
54 These are the rules for any infection of leprosy, 55 for mildew on pieces of cloth or in a house. 56 These are the rules for swellings, rashes, or bright spots on the skin. 57 These rules teach when something is clean and when something is unclean. These are the rules about these kinds of disease.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 14:10 24 cups Literally, “3/10,” probably meaning 3/10 of an ephah (6.6 l).
- Leviticus 14:10 2/3 of a pint Literally, “1 log” (.3 l). Also in verse 21.
- Leviticus 14:21 8 cups Literally, “1/10 of an ephah” (2.2 l).
Leviticus 14
New King James Version
The Ritual for Cleansing Healed Lepers(A)
14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “This shall be the law of the [a]leper for the day of his cleansing: He (B)shall be brought to the priest. 3 And the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall examine him; and indeed, if the [b]leprosy is healed in the leper, 4 then the priest shall command to take for him who is to be cleansed two living and clean birds, (C)cedar wood, (D)scarlet, and (E)hyssop. 5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water. 6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. 7 And he shall (F)sprinkle it (G)seven times on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose in the open field. 8 He who is to be cleansed (H)shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and (I)wash himself in water, that he may be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, and (J)shall stay outside his tent seven days. 9 But on the (K)seventh day he shall shave all the hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows—all his hair he shall shave off. He shall wash his clothes and wash his body in water, and he shall be clean.
10 “And on the eighth day (L)he shall take two male lambs without blemish, one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as (M)a grain offering, and one log of oil. 11 Then the priest who makes him clean shall present the man who is to be made clean, and those things, before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 12 And the priest shall take one male lamb and (N)offer it as a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and (O)wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. 13 Then he shall kill the lamb (P)in the place where he kills the sin offering and the burnt offering, in a holy place; for (Q)as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering. (R)It is most holy. 14 The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it (S)on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 15 And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand. 16 Then the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall (T)sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. 17 And of the rest of the oil in his hand, the priest shall put some on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the trespass offering. 18 The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. (U)So the priest shall make [c]atonement for him before the Lord.
19 “Then the priest shall offer (V)the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Afterward he shall kill the burnt offering. 20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be (W)clean.
21 “But (X)if he is poor and cannot afford it, then he shall take one male lamb as a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, [d]one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, a log of oil, 22 (Y)and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford: one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. 23 (Z)He shall bring them to the priest on the eighth day for his cleansing, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, before the Lord. 24 (AA)And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. 25 Then he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, (AB)and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 26 And the priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand. 27 Then the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord. 28 And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering. 29 The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the Lord. 30 And he shall offer one of (AC)the turtledoves or young pigeons, such as he can afford— 31 such as he is able to afford, the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him who is to be cleansed before the Lord. 32 This is the law for one who had a leprous sore, who cannot afford (AD)the usual cleansing.”
The Law Concerning Leprous Houses
33 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 34 (AE)“When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give you as a possession, and (AF)I put the [e]leprous plague in a house in the land of your possession, 35 and he who owns the house comes and tells the priest, saying, ‘It seems to me that there is (AG)some plague in the house,’ 36 then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goes into it to examine the plague, that all that is in the house may not be made unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to examine the house. 37 And he shall examine the plague; and indeed if the plague is on the walls of the house with ingrained streaks, greenish or reddish, which appear to be [f]deep in the wall, 38 then the priest shall go out of the house, to the door of the house, and [g]shut up the house seven days. 39 And the priest shall come again on the seventh day and look; and indeed if the plague has spread on the walls of the house, 40 then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which is the plague, and they shall cast them into an unclean place outside the city. 41 And he shall cause the house to be scraped inside, all around, and the dust that they scrape off they shall pour out in an unclean place outside the city. 42 Then they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other mortar and plaster the house.
43 “Now if the plague comes back and breaks out in the house, after he has taken away the stones, after he has scraped the house, and after it is plastered, 44 then the priest shall come and look; and indeed if the plague has spread in the house, it is (AH)an active leprosy in the house. It is unclean. 45 And he shall break down the house, its stones, its timber, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall carry them outside the city to an unclean place. 46 Moreover he who goes into the house at all while it is shut up shall be [h]unclean (AI)until evening. 47 And he who lies down in the house shall (AJ)wash his clothes, and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes.
48 “But if the priest comes in and examines it, and indeed the plague has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed. 49 And (AK)he shall take, to cleanse the house, two birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop. 50 Then he shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water; 51 and he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 And he shall [i]cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and the running water and the living bird, with the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet. 53 Then he shall let the living bird loose outside the city in the open field, and (AL)make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.
54 “This is the law for any (AM)leprous sore and scale, 55 for the (AN)leprosy of a garment (AO)and of a house, 56 (AP)for a swelling and a scab and a bright spot, 57 to (AQ)teach when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the law of leprosy.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 14:2 See note at 13:2
- Leviticus 14:3 Heb. saraath, disfiguring skin diseases, including leprosy, and so in vv. 2–32
- Leviticus 14:18 Lit. covering
- Leviticus 14:21 Approximately two dry quarts
- Leviticus 14:34 Decomposition by mildew, mold, dry rot, etc., and so in vv. 34–53
- Leviticus 14:37 Lit. lower than the wall
- Leviticus 14:38 quarantine
- Leviticus 14:46 defiled
- Leviticus 14:52 ceremonially cleanse
Leviticus 14
King James Version
14 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:
3 And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;
4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:
6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:
7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.
8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.
9 But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.
10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.
11 And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
12 And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord:
13 And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest's, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy:
14 And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:
15 And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand:
16 And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord:
17 And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering:
18 And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord.
19 And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering:
20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
21 And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil;
22 And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.
23 And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord.
24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord:
25 And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:
26 And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand:
27 And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord:
28 And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering:
29 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the Lord.
30 And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get;
31 Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the Lord.
32 This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.
33 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
34 When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;
35 And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house:
36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house:
37 And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall;
38 Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days:
39 And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house;
40 Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city:
41 And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:
42 And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other morter, and shall plaister the house.
43 And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered;
44 Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house; it is unclean.
45 And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.
46 Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even.
47 And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.
48 And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.
49 And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
50 And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water:
51 And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times:
52 And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet:
53 But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.
54 This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall,
55 And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house,
56 And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot:
57 To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.
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Leviticus 14
Contemporary English Version
The Ceremony for People Healed of Leprosy
14 The Lord told Moses to say to the people:
2-3 (A) After you think you are healed of leprosy,[a] you must ask for a priest to come outside the camp and examine you. And if you are well, 4 he will order someone to bring out two live birds that are acceptable for sacrifice, together with a stick of cedar wood, a piece of red yarn, and a branch from a hyssop plant. 5 The priest will order someone to kill one of the birds over a clay pot of spring water. 6 Then he will dip the other bird, the cedar, the red yarn, and the hyssop in the blood of the dead bird. 7 Next, he will sprinkle you seven times with the blood and say, “You are now clean.” Finally, he will release the bird and let it fly away.
8 After this you must wash your clothes, shave your entire body, and take a bath before you are completely clean. You may move back into camp, but you must not enter your tent for seven days. 9 Then you must once again shave your head, face, and eyebrows, as well as the hair on the rest of your body. Finally, wash your clothes and take a bath, and you will be completely clean.
10 On the eighth day you must bring to the priest two rams and a year-old female lamb that have nothing wrong with them; also bring 300 milliliters of olive oil and 3 kilograms of your finest flour mixed with oil. 11 Then the priest will present you and your offerings to me at the entrance to my sacred tent. 12 There he will offer one of the rams, together with the oil, as a sacrifice to make things right.[b] He will also lift them up[c] to show that they are dedicated to me. 13 This sacrifice is very holy. It belongs to the priest and must be killed in the same place where animals are killed as sacrifices for sins and as sacrifices to please me.[d]
14 The priest will smear some of the blood from this sacrifice on your right ear lobe, some on your right thumb, and some on the big toe of your right foot. 15 He will then pour some of the olive oil into the palm of his left hand, 16 dip a finger of his right hand into the oil, and sprinkle some of it seven times toward the sacred tent. 17 Next, the priest will smear some of the oil on your right ear lobe, some on your right thumb, and some on the big toe of your right foot, 18-20 and he will pour the rest of the oil from his palm on your head. Then he will offer the other two animals—one as a sacrifice for sin and the other as a sacrifice to please me, together with a grain sacrifice. After this you will be completely clean.
21 If you are poor and cannot afford to offer this much, you may offer a ram as a sacrifice to make things right, together with 300 milliliters of olive oil and one kilogram of flour mixed with oil as a grain sacrifice. The priest will then lift these up[e] to dedicate them to me. 22 Depending on what you can afford, you must also offer either two doves or two pigeons, one as a sacrifice for sin and the other as a sacrifice to please me. 23 The priest will offer these to me in front of the sacred tent on the eighth day.
24-25 The priest will kill this ram for the sacrifice to make things right, and he will lift it up[f] with the olive oil in dedication to me. Then he will smear some of the blood on your right ear lobe, some on your right thumb, and some on the big toe of your right foot.
26 The priest will pour some of the olive oil into the palm of his left hand, 27 then dip a finger of his right hand in the oil and sprinkle some of it seven times toward the sacred tent. 28 He will smear some of the oil on your right ear lobe, some on your right thumb, and some on the big toe of your right foot, just as he did with the blood of the sacrifice to make things right. 29-31 And he will pour the rest of the oil from his palm on your head.
Then, depending on what you can afford, he will offer either the doves or the pigeons together with the grain sacrifice. One of the birds is the sacrifice for sin, and the other is the sacrifice to please me. After this you will be completely clean.
32 These are the things you must do if you have leprosy and cannot afford the usual sacrifices to make you clean.
When There Is Mildew in a House
33 The Lord told Moses and Aaron to say to the people:
34 After I have given you the land of Canaan as your permanent possession, here is what you must do, if I ever put mildew[g] on the walls of any of your homes. 35 First, you must say to a priest, “I think there is mildew on the wall of my house.”
36 The priest will reply, “Empty the house before I inspect it, or else everything in it will be unclean.”
37 If the priest discovers greenish or reddish spots that go deeper than the surface of the walls, 38 he will have the house closed for seven days. 39 Then he will return and check to see if the mildew has spread. 40-41 If so, he will order someone to scrape the plaster from the walls, remove the stones covered with mildew, then haul everything off and dump it in an unclean place outside the town. 42 Afterwards the wall must be repaired with new stones and fresh plaster.
43 If the mildew appears a second time, 44 the priest will come and say, “This house is unclean. It's covered with mildew that can't be removed.” 45 Then he will have the house torn down and every bit of wood, stone, and plaster hauled off to an unclean place outside the town. 46 Meanwhile, if any of you entered the house while it was closed, you will be unclean until evening. 47 And if you either slept or ate in the house, you must wash your clothes.
48 On the other hand, if the priest discovers that mildew hasn't reappeared after the house was newly plastered, he will say, “This house is clean—the mildew has gone.” 49 Then, to show that the house is now clean, he will get two birds, a stick of cedar wood, a piece of red yarn, and a branch from a hyssop plant and bring them to the house. 50 He will kill one of the birds over a clay pot of spring water 51-52 and let its blood drain into the pot. Then he will dip the cedar, the hyssop, the yarn, and the other bird into the mixture of blood and water. Next, he will sprinkle the house seven times with the mixture, then the house will be completely clean. 53 Finally, he will release the bird and let it fly away, ending the ceremony for purifying the house.
54-57 These are the things you must do if you discover that you are unclean because of an itch or a sore, or that your clothing or house is unclean because of mildew.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 14.2,3 leprosy: See the note at 13.3.
- 14.12 sacrifice to make things right: See 7.1-10.
- 14.12 lift them up: See the note at 7.29,30.
- 14.13 sacrifices to please me: See the note at 1.1-3.
- 14.21 lift these up: See the note at 7.29,30.
- 14.24,25 lift these up: See the note at 7.29,30.
- 14.34 mildew: The Hebrew word translated “mildew” is the same one translated “leprosy” and “spot” in chapter 13.
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Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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