Leviticus 13:47 – 14:32

Leviticus 13

Contamination of Clothing

⁴⁷ When an outbreak of mold ^[1] occurs on any piece of clothing, on woolen or linen cloth, ⁴⁸ on the warp or the woof ^[2] of linen or wool, on leather or anything made of leather, ⁴⁹ and if the contamination ^[3] on the cloth or the leather, or in the warp or the woof, or on any article made of leather is bright yellow-green or bright red, it is an outbreak of mold. It shall be shown to the priest. ⁵⁰ The priest shall examine the contaminated area and shall quarantine the contaminated article for seven days. ⁵¹ On the seventh day he shall examine the contaminated article. If the contamination has spread on the cloth, or in the warp or the woof, or on the leather, or on any article that is made of leather, the contamination is a persistent ^[4] mold. It is unclean. ⁵² He must burn the clothing and the warp or the woof, whether it is made of wool or of linen, or whether it is any article made of leather that has the contamination on it. Because it has a persistent mold, it must be burned in fire. ⁵³ But if the priest examines it and discovers that the contamination has not spread on the clothing, or in the warp or the woof, or on any leather article, ⁵⁴ the priest shall command that the material with the contamination on it is to be washed, and he shall quarantine it for seven days a second time. ⁵⁵ Then after the contaminated material has been laundered, and the priest examines it, even if he discovers that the contamination has not changed its appearance and the contamination has not spread, it is unclean. You must burn it in fire, whether the rot is on its front or its back. ⁵⁶ But if the priest examines it and discovers that the contamination has faded after it has been washed, he shall tear it out of the clothing or the leather or the warp or the woof. ⁵⁷ If it reappears in the clothing or the warp or the woof or any leather article, it is a new outbreak. You must burn the material with the contamination on it with fire. ⁵⁸ If, however, the contamination vanishes from the clothing, or the warp or the woof, or any leather article that you wash, it shall be washed a second time; then, it will be clean.

⁵⁹ These are the laws about a contamination of mold in woolen or linen clothing, in the warp or the woof, or on any leather article, in order to determine whether it is clean or unclean.

Purification for People With a Skin Disease

Leviticus 14

¹ The Lord spoke to Moses:

² This is the law for the purification ^[5] of a person with an impure skin disease:

When it is reported to the priest, ³ the priest shall go outside the camp. The priest shall examine him. If the area infected by the skin disease has become healthy, ⁴ the priest shall command that two clean wild birds, some cedar wood, some scarlet yarn, and some hyssop be taken for the person who is being purified. ⁵ The priest shall command that one bird be slaughtered in an earthen pot over water from a flowing source. ^{[6] 6} After taking the live bird, along with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn, and the hyssop, he shall dip them, along with the live bird, into the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the water from a flowing source. ⁷ He shall sprinkle the blood seven times on the person who is being purified from the skin disease. When he has declared him clean, he shall release the live bird into the open country. ⁸ The person who is being purified shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe in water; then, he will be clean. After that he may enter the camp, but he must stay outside his tent for seven days.

⁹ On the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair. He shall shave his head, his chin, his eyebrows, and all the rest of his hair. He shall wash his clothes and bathe in water; then, he will be clean.

¹⁰ On the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, one yearling ewe without blemish, six quarts ^[7] of fine flour for a grain offering mixed with olive oil, and one cup ^[8] of olive oil. ¹¹ The priest who performs the purification shall make the person who is being purified stand in front of the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, together with the other objects. ¹² The priest shall take one of the male lambs, bring it forward as a restitution offering, together with the cup of olive oil, and wave it as a wave offering before the Lord. ¹³ The lamb shall be slaughtered in the sanctuary, at the place where the sin offering and the burnt offering are slaughtered, because the restitution offering is like the sin offering. It belongs to the priest. It is most holy.

¹⁴ The priest shall take some of the blood of the restitution offering and put it on the right ear lobe of the person who is being purified, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ¹⁵ The priest shall take some of the olive oil from the cup and pour it into the palm of the priest’s left hand. ¹⁶ Then the priest shall dip his right finger into some of the olive oil that is in his left palm and sprinkle some of the olive oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. ¹⁷ Then the priest shall put some of the olive oil that remains in his palm on the right ear lobe of the person who is being purified, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the restitution offering. ¹⁸ The priest shall put the rest of the olive oil that is in his palm on the head of the person who is being purified. Then the priest will make atonement for him before the Lord. ¹⁹ The priest shall present the sin offering to make atonement for the person being purified from his impurity.

After that, the burnt offering is to be slaughtered, ²⁰ and the priest shall offer up the whole burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. In this way the priest shall make atonement for him so that he will be clean.

²¹ If, however, the unclean person is poor and he cannot afford all these items, he shall take one male lamb as a restitution offering to be waved to make atonement for him, two quarts ^[9] of fine flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, and one cup of olive oil, ²² as well as two turtledoves or two pigeons (whichever are within his means), one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.

²³ On the eighth day he shall bring them to the priest for his purification at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting in the presence of the Lord. ²⁴ The priest shall take the lamb for the restitution offering and the cup of olive oil, and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. ²⁵ After the lamb for the restitution offering has been slaughtered, the priest shall take some of the blood of the restitution offering and place it on the lobe of the right ear of the person who is being purified, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁶ After the priest has poured out some of the olive oil on the palm of the priest’s left hand, ²⁷ the priest shall use his right finger to sprinkle some of the olive oil from his left palm before the Lord seven times. ²⁸ The priest shall also put some of the olive oil from his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the person being purified, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot—on the same places as the blood of the restitution offering. ²⁹ Then the priest shall put the rest of the olive oil that is in his palm on the head of the person who is being purified by making atonement for him before the Lord. ³⁰ The priest shall then offer one of the turtledoves or pigeons that are within the person’s means— ³¹ whichever he can afford—one as a sin offering and the other as a whole burnt offering, together with the grain offering. This is how the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person being purified.

³² These are the laws for anyone who has an outbreak of skin disease on him and whose means are insufficient at the time of his purification.