Beginning
Rules About What May Be Eaten
11 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Tell the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] this: ‘From among the land animals, these are the creatures you may eat: 3 You may eat any animal that has split hoofs completely divided and that chews the cud [C considered a normal land animal].
4 “‘Some animals only chew the cud or only have split hoofs, and you must not eat them. The camel chews the cud but does not have a split hoof; it is unclean [C in a ritual sense] for you. 5 The rock badger chews the cud but does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. 6 The rabbit chews the cud but does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. 7 Now the pig has a split hoof that is completely divided, but it does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. 8 You must not eat the meat from these animals or even touch their dead bodies; they are unclean for you.
9 “‘Of the animals that live in the sea or in a river, if the animal has fins and scales, you may eat it [C considered a normal aquatic creature]. 10 But whatever lives in the sea or in a river and does not have fins and scales—including the things that ·fill [swarm] the water and all other things that live in it—·you should hate [L they are detestable/abominable]. 11 You must not eat any meat from them or even touch their dead bodies, because ·you should hate them [L they are detestable/abominable to you]. 12 ·You must hate [Detestable/Abominable to you is] any animal in the water that does not have fins and scales.
13 “‘Also, these are the birds you ·are to hate [should find detestable/abominable]. They are ·hateful [detestable; abominable] and should not be eaten. You must not eat eagles, vultures, black vultures, 14 kites, any kind of falcon, 15 any kind of raven, 16 horned owls, screech owls, sea gulls, any kind of hawk, 17 little owls, cormorants, great owls, 18 white owls, desert owls, ospreys, 19 storks, any kind of heron, hoopoes, or bats [C exact identification is sometimes uncertain, but all eat prey or carcasses and/or live in desolate places].
20 “‘Don’t eat insects that have wings and walk on all four feet; they also are ·to be hated [detestable/abominable to you; C their way of moving makes them abnormal insects].
21 “‘But you may eat certain insects that have wings and walk on four feet. You may eat those that have legs with joints above their feet so they can ·jump [leap]. 22 These are the insects you may eat: all kinds of locusts, winged locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers [C exact identification is uncertain]. 23 But all other insects that have wings and walk on four feet ·you are to hate [are detestable/abominable to you]. 24 Those insects will make you unclean [C in a ritual sense], and anyone who touches the dead body of one of these insects will become unclean until evening. 25 Anyone who picks up one of these dead insects must wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.
26 “‘Some animals have split hoofs, but the hoofs are not completely divided; others do not chew the cud. They are unclean for you, and anyone who touches the dead body of one of these animals will become unclean [C in a ritual sense]. 27 Of all the animals that walk on four feet, the animals that walk on their paws are unclean for you. Anyone who touches the dead body of one of these animals will become unclean until evening. 28 Anyone who picks up their dead bodies must wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; these animals are unclean for you.
29 “‘These ·crawling [swarming] animals [C animals that move close to the ground] are unclean for you: moles, rats, all kinds of great lizards, 30 geckos, crocodiles, lizards, sand reptiles, and chameleons [C identification of some of these animals is uncertain]. 31 These ·crawling [swarming] animals are unclean for you [C probably because they eat carrion or touch dead bodies]; anyone who touches their dead bodies will be unclean [C in a ritual sense] until evening.
32 “‘If an unclean animal dies and falls on something, that item will also become unclean [C in a ritual sense]. This includes anything made from wood, cloth, leather, or rough cloth, regardless of its use. Whatever the animal falls on must be washed with water and be unclean until evening; then it will become clean again. 33 If the dead, unclean animal falls into a clay bowl, anything in the bowl will become unclean, and you must break the bowl. 34 If water from the unclean clay bowl gets on any food, that food will become unclean. 35 If any dead, unclean animal falls on something, it becomes unclean. If it is a clay oven or a clay baking pan, it must be broken into pieces. These things will be unclean; they are unclean for you.
36 “‘A spring or ·well that collects water [cistern] will stay clean [C in a ritual sense], but anyone who touches the dead body of any unclean animal will become unclean. 37 If a dead, unclean animal falls on a seed to be planted, that seed is still clean. 38 But if you put water on some seeds and a dead, unclean animal falls on them, they are unclean for you.
39 “‘Also, if an animal which you use for food dies, anyone who touches its body will be unclean [C in a ritual sense] until evening. 40 Anyone who eats meat from this animal’s dead body must wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. Anyone who picks up the animal’s dead body must wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.
41 “‘Every animal that ·crawls [swarms] on the ground is ·to be hated [detestable; abominable]; it must not be eaten. 42 You must not eat any of the animals that ·crawl [L walk] on the ground, including those that ·crawl [walk] on their stomachs, that walk on all four feet, or on many feet. They are ·to be hated [detestable; abominable]. 43 Do not make yourself unclean [C in a ritual sense] by these animals; you must not become unclean by them. 44 I am the Lord your God. ·Keep yourselves holy for me [L Sanctify/Consecrate yourselves and be holy] because I am holy. Don’t ·make yourselves unclean [defile yourselves] with any of these ·crawling [swarming] animals. 45 I am the Lord who brought you out of Egypt to be your God; you must be holy because I am holy.
46 “‘These are the ·teachings [laws; instructions] about all of the cattle, birds, and other animals on earth, as well as the animals ·in the sea [L that moves in the water] and those that ·crawl [swarm] on the ground. 47 These ·teachings [laws; teachings] help people know the difference between unclean animals and clean animals [C in a ritual sense]; they help people know which animals may be eaten and which ones must not be eaten.’”
Rules for New Mothers
12 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel this: ‘If a woman [L conceives; becomes pregnant and] gives birth to a son, she will become unclean [C in a ritual sense] for seven days, as she is unclean during her ·monthly period [menstruation; 15:19]. 3 On the eighth day the ·boy [L flesh of his foreskin] must be circumcised [Gen. 17:10–14]. 4 Then it will be thirty-three days before she becomes clean from her loss of blood. She must not touch anything that is holy or enter the ·Holy Tent [L sanctuary] until her time of ·cleansing [purification] is finished. 5 But if she gives birth to a daughter, the mother will be unclean for two weeks, as she is unclean during her ·monthly period [menstruation]. It will be sixty-six days before she becomes clean from her loss of blood.
6 “‘After she has a son or daughter and her days of ·cleansing [purification] are over, the new mother must bring certain sacrifices to the Meeting Tent. She must give the priest at the entrance a year-old lamb for a burnt offering [1:1–17] and a dove or young pigeon for a ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering. 7 He will offer them before the Lord to make her clean [C in a ritual sense] ·so she will belong to the Lord again [L to make atonement for her]; then she will be clean from her ·loss [flow] of blood. These are the ·teachings [laws; instructions] for a woman who gives birth to a boy or girl.
8 “‘If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering [1:1–17] and one for a ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering. In this way the priest will make her clean [C in a ritual sense] ·so she will belong to the Lord again [L and make atonement for her], and she will be clean.’”
Rules About Skin Diseases
13 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Someone might have on ·his skin [L the skin of his body; C and so throughout the passage] a swelling or a ·rash [eruption] or a bright spot. If the sore looks like ·a harmful skin disease [T leprosy; the term does not refer to modern leprosy (Hansen’s disease), but to various skin disorders], the person must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of Aaron’s sons, the priests. 3 The priest must ·look at [examine] the sore on the person’s skin. If the hair in the sore has become white, and the sore seems deeper than the person’s skin, it is a harmful skin disease [13:2]. When he has finished ·looking at [examining] the person, the priest must announce that the person is unclean [C in a ritual sense; the principle of “wholeness” was disturbed by running sores or by a skin disease that partially covered the body; see 13:12–13].
4 “If there is a white spot on a person’s skin, but the spot does not seem deeper than the skin, and if the hair from the spot has not turned white, the priest must ·separate [confine; quarantine] that person from other people for seven days. 5 On the seventh day the priest must ·look at [examine] the person again. If he sees that the sore has not changed and it has not spread on the skin, the priest must keep the person ·separated [confined; quarantined] for seven more days. 6 On the seventh day the priest must ·look at [examine] the person again. If the sore has faded and has not spread on the skin, the priest must announce that the person is clean [C in a ritual sense]. The sore is only a ·rash [eruption]. The person must wash his clothes, and he will become clean again.
7 “But if the ·rash [eruption] spreads again after the priest has announced him clean [C in a ritual sense], the person must come again to the priest. 8 The priest must ·look at [examine] him, and if the ·rash [eruption] has spread on the skin, the priest must announce that the person is unclean; it is a harmful skin disease [13:2].
9 “If a person has a harmful skin disease [13:2], he must be brought to the priest, 10 and the priest must ·look at [examine] him. If there is a white swelling in the skin, and the hair has become white, and the skin looks raw in the swelling, 11 it is a harmful skin disease [13:2]. It is one he has had for a long time. The priest must announce that the person is unclean [C in a ritual sense]. He will not need to ·separate [confine; quarantine] that person from other people, because everyone already knows that the person is unclean.
12 “If the skin disease [13:2] spreads all over a person’s body, covering his skin from his head to his feet, as far as the priest can see, the priest must ·look at [examine] the person’s whole body. 13 If the priest sees that the disease covers the whole body and has turned all of the person’s skin white, he must announce that the person is clean [C in a ritual sense; he was clean because he was whole, uniformly covered by skin disease; 13:3].
14 “But when the person has ·an open sore [raw flesh], he is unclean [C in a ritual sense; because there was a break in the surface of his body, he was no longer whole]. 15 When the priest sees the ·open sore [raw flesh], he must announce that the person is unclean. The open sore is not clean; it is a harmful skin disease [13:2]. 16 If the ·open sore [raw flesh] becomes white again, the person must come to the priest. 17 The priest must ·look at [examine] him, and if the ·sores have [raw flesh has] become white, the priest must announce that the person with the ·sores [raw flesh] is clean. Then he will be clean.
18 “Someone may have a boil on his skin that is healed. 19 If in the place where the boil was, there is a white swelling or a bright red spot, this place on the skin must be shown to the priest. 20 And the priest must ·look at [examine] it. If the spot seems deeper than the skin and the hair on it has become white, the priest must announce that the person is unclean [C in a ritual sense]. The spot is a harmful skin disease [13:2] that has broken out from inside the boil. 21 But if the priest looks at the spot and there are no white hairs in it and the spot is not deeper than the skin and it has faded, the priest must ·separate [confine; quarantine] the person from other people for seven days. 22 If the spot spreads on the skin, the priest must announce that the person is unclean; it is a disease that will spread. 23 But if the bright spot does not spread or change, it is only the scar from the old boil. Then the priest must announce that the person is clean.
24 “When a person gets a burn on his skin, if the ·open sore [raw flesh] becomes white or red, 25 the priest must ·look at [examine] it. If the white spot seems deeper than the skin and the hair at that spot has become white, it is a harmful skin disease [13:2]. The disease has broken out in the burn, and the priest must announce that the person is unclean [C in a ritual sense]. It is a harmful skin disease [13:2]. 26 But if the priest ·looks at [examines] the spot and there is no white hair in the bright spot, and the spot is no deeper than the skin and has faded, the priest must ·separate [confine; quarantine] the person from other people for seven days. 27 On the seventh day the priest must ·look at [examine] him again. If the spot has spread on the skin, the priest must announce that the person is unclean. It is a harmful skin disease [13:2]. 28 But if the bright spot has not spread on the skin but has faded, it is the swelling from the burn. The priest must announce that the person is clean, because the spot is only a scar from the burn.
29 “When a man or a woman gets a sore on the scalp or on the ·chin [or cheek; or beard], 30 a priest must ·look at [examine] the sore. If it seems deeper than the skin and the hair around it is thin and yellow, the priest must announce that the person is unclean [C in a ritual sense]. It is an ·itch [scaly patch; C perhaps eczema or ringworm], a harmful skin disease [13:2] of the head or ·chin [or cheek; or beard]. 31 But if the priest ·looks at [examines] it and it does not seem deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest must ·separate [confine; quarantine] the person from other people for seven days. 32 On the seventh day the priest must ·look at [examine] the ·sore [itch; scaly patch; 13:30]. If it has not spread, and there are no yellow hairs growing in it, and the ·sore [itch; scaly patch] does not seem deeper than the skin, 33 the person must shave himself, but he must not shave the ·sore place [itch; scaly patch]. The priest must ·separate [confine; quarantine] that person from other people for seven more days. 34 On the seventh day the priest must ·look at [examine] the ·sore [itch; scaly patch]. If it has not spread on the skin and it does not seem deeper than the skin, the priest must announce that the person is clean [C in a ritual sense]. So the person must wash his clothes and become clean. 35 But if the ·sore [itch; scaly patch] spreads on the skin after the person has become clean, 36 the priest must ·look at [examine] him again. If the sore has spread on the skin, the priest doesn’t need to look for the yellowish hair; the person is unclean. 37 But if the priest thinks the sore has stopped spreading, and black hair is growing in it, the ·sore [itch; scaly patch; 13:30] has healed. The person is clean, and the priest must announce that he is clean.
38 “When a man or a woman has white spots on the skin, 39 a priest must ·look at [examine] them. If the spots on the skin are dull white, the disease is only a harmless rash. That person is clean [C in a ritual sense].
40 “When anyone loses hair from his head and is bald, he is clean [C in a ritual sense]. 41 If he loses hair from the front of his head and has a bald forehead, he is clean. 42 But if there is a red-white sore on his bald head or forehead, it is a skin disease [13:2] breaking out in those places. 43 A priest must ·look at [examine] that person. If the swelling of the sore on his bald head or forehead is red-white, like a skin disease that spreads, 44 that person has a skin disease [13:2]. He is unclean. The priest must announce that the person is unclean because of the sore on his head.
45 “If a person has a skin disease [13:2] that spreads, he must warn other people by shouting, ‘Unclean, unclean [C in a ritual sense]!’ His clothes must be torn at the seams, he must let his hair stay uncombed, and he must cover his ·mouth [L upper lip]. 46 That person will be unclean the whole time he has the disease; he is unclean. He must live alone outside the camp.
Rules About Mildew
47 “Clothing might have ·mildew [or mold; C the same Hebrew word as for “skin disease”; 13:2] on it. It might be clothing made of linen or wool 48 (either woven or knitted), or of leather, or something made from leather. 49 If the mildew [13:47] in the clothing, leather, or woven or knitted material is green or red, it is a spreading mildew. It must be shown to the priest. 50 The priest must ·look at [examine] the mildew, and he must put that piece of clothing in a ·separate [confined; quarantined] place for seven days. 51 On the seventh day he must ·look at [examine] the mildew [13:47] again. If the mildew has spread on the cloth (either woven or knitted) or the leather, no matter what the leather was used for, it is a mildew [13:47] that destroys; it is unclean [C in a ritual sense]. 52 The priest must burn the clothing. It does not matter if it is woven or knitted, wool or linen, or made of leather, because the mildew is spreading. It must be burned.
53 “If the priest sees that the mildew [13:47] has not spread in the cloth (either knitted or woven) or leather, 54 he must order the people to wash that piece of leather or cloth. Then he must ·separate [confine; quarantine] the clothing for seven more days. 55 After the piece with the mildew has been washed, the priest must ·look at [examine] it again. If the mildew [13:47] still looks the same, the piece is unclean, even if the mildew has not spread. You must burn it in fire; it does not matter if the mildew is on one side or the other.
56 “But when the priest ·looks at [examines] that piece of leather or cloth, the mildew [13:47] might have faded after the piece has been washed. Then the priest must tear the mildew out of the piece of leather or cloth (either woven or knitted). 57 But if the mildew comes back to that piece of leather or cloth (either woven or knitted), the mildew is spreading. And whatever has the mildew must be burned with fire. 58 When the cloth (either woven or knitted) or the leather is washed and the mildew [13:47] is gone, it must be washed again; then it will be clean [C in a ritual sense].
59 “These are the ·teachings [laws; instructions] about mildew [13:47] on pieces of cloth (either woven or knitted) or leather, to decide if they are clean or unclean [C in a ritual sense].”
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