Leviticus 12
New American Standard Bible
Laws of Motherhood
12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying:
‘When a woman gives birth and delivers a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days; (A)as she is in the days of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. 3 Then on (B)the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 And she shall stay at home in her condition of [a]blood purification for thirty-three days; she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed. 5 But if she gives birth to a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her menstruation; and she shall stay at home in her condition of [b]blood purification for sixty-six days.
6 ‘(C)When the days of her purification are completed, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the tent of meeting a one-year-old lamb as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove (D)as a [c]sin offering. 7 Then he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the [d]flow of her blood. This is the law for her who gives birth to a child, whether a male or a female. 8 But if [e]she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take (E)two turtledoves or two young doves, (F)the one as a burnt offering and the other as a [f]sin offering; and the (G)priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 12:4 Lit blood of purifying; i.e., ritually clean blood from childbirth
- Leviticus 12:5 See note v 4
- Leviticus 12:6 Or purification offering
- Leviticus 12:7 Lit fountain
- Leviticus 12:8 Lit her hand does not find enough for
- Leviticus 12:8 Or purification offering
Leviticus 12
International Standard Version
Post-Natal Purification
12 The Lord told Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelis that a woman who conceives and bears a son is unclean for seven days. Just like the days of her menstruation,[a] she is unclean. 3 On the eighth day, the flesh of the baby’s foreskin is to be circumcised. 4 For 33 days after this, she is to remain in purification due to her blood loss.[b] She is not to touch any sacred thing or enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification have been completed.
5 “If she gives birth to a female, then she is to remain unclean for two weeks, just like her menstruation. She is to remain in purification for 66 days due to her blood loss.[c] 6 When the days of her purification have been completed, whether for her son or daughter, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a one year old lamb for a whole burnt offering or a young dove for a sin offering. 7 He is to offer it in the Lord’s presence and make atonement for her so that she becomes clean from her blood loss. This is the law concerning the bearing of a male or female child. 8 If she cannot afford a goat, then two turtledoves or two young doves—one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering—will serve for him to make atonement for her, so that she becomes clean.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 12:2 Lit. days of her impurity, she is ill
- Leviticus 12:4 The Heb. lacks loss
- Leviticus 12:5 The Heb. lacks loss
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