Leviticus 14

Rules for the people after an illness of the skin leaves them

1The LORD said to Moses, 2‘These rules are for a person who has had an illness on his skin. They are rules about how to make him clean. When the illness leaves the person, you must bring him to the priest. 3The priest must go outside the camp and he must look at the person. If the illness has gone away, 4he must speak to the person. He must tell the person that he must bring two birds. They must be birds that are good for food. The birds must be alive. They must also bring wood from the cedar tree, red wool and some hyssop (a plant). 5The priest will bring a pot with water in it. He will hold one of the birds over the pot and he will kill it. 6The priest will take the other bird and the wood from the cedar tree. He will take the red wool and the hyssop. He will put all of them into the blood of the dead bird. 7The priest will shake the blood over the person who had the illness. He will do this 7 times. The priest will then say that the person is clean. The priest will let the live bird go. It will fly away.

8The person who had the illness must wash his clothes. He must wash his body with water and he must cut off all his hair. Then he will be clean. He can go into the camp. But he must stay outside the home that he has made from animal skins for seven days. 9On day seven, he must cut all the hair off his head and his face. He must wash his clothes and his body with water.

10On the 8th day, the person must bring two young male sheep and one female sheep. The female sheep must be one year old. All the animals must be perfect. He must also bring three tenths (3/10) of an ephah of flour (about 6 litres or 12 pints) mixed with oil. And he must bring a log (about 0.3 litres or half a pint) of oil. 11The priest who is making him clean must be there. He must bring the person to the door of the Tent of Meeting. The person must bring with him his offerings to the LORD.

12The priest must take one of the male sheep and the oil. He must lift them up to the LORD as a gift. 13He must kill the sheep at the north side of the altar. That is where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering. The gift is holy. It is food for the priests. 14The priest must put some of the blood on the lowest part of the person’s right ear. He must put blood on the thumb of the person’s right hand. And he must put blood on the big toe of the person’s right foot. 15The priest must pour some of the oil into his own left hand. 16He must put a finger from his right hand into the oil. He must shake the oil seven times in front of the LORD‘s altar. 17The priest must put oil on the lowest part of the person’s right ear. He must put some of the oil on the thumb of the person’s right hand. He must put some of the oil on the big toe of the person’s right foot. He will put the oil on top of the offering‘s blood. 18The priest must put the oil that he did not use on the person’s head. This makes his atonement in front of the LORD.

19Then the priest must offer the sin offering. That will make atonement for the man who will become clean. Then the priest must kill another sheep. It is a burnt offering. 20The priest must sacrifice the dead animal. It is a burnt offering. The priest must offer it on the altar. He must burn the flour and the oil with it on the altar. All this will make atonement for the person. This makes the person who had the illness clean.

21If the person is poor, he must bring one young male sheep. And he must bring a tenth (1/10) of an ephah of flour (about 2 litres or 4 pints) mixed with oil. And he must give a log (about 0.3 litres or half a pint) of oil. The priest must lift them to the Lord. 22The person must also bring two birds. They must be doves or pigeons. These will be his gift. One bird is for a sin offering and the other one is for a burnt offering.

23On the 8th (eighth) day, the person must bring his gifts to the LORD. He must bring them to the door of the Tent of Meeting. 24The priest will take the young sheep and the oil and he will lift them up to the LORD. 25He will kill the sheep. He will put some of its blood on the lowest part of the person’s ear. He will put the blood on the thumb of the person’s right hand. He will put the blood on the big toe of the person’s right foot. 26The priest will pour some of the oil into his own left hand. 27He will put a finger from his right hand into the oil. He will shake it seven times in front of the LORD‘s altar. 28He will put oil from his hand on the lowest part of the person’s ear. He will also put oil on the thumb of the person’s right hand. He will put oil on the big toe of the person’s right foot. 29The priest will put the oil that he did not use on the person’s head. Then the LORD can see that he is clean. 30The priest will kill the pigeons or doves. 31One bird is for a sin offering. The priest will burn the other bird with the grain offering. This is how the priest will make atonement in front of the LORD. He will do it for the person who was not clean.

32These are the rules for a person who had an illness in his skin. They are for an illness that he might give to other people. They are for people who are too poor to buy three sheep.’

Rules for a house that has an illness called mildew

33The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 34‘The country called Canaan is my gift to you. I may put an illness called mildew in a house in that country. 35If a person finds mildew in his house, he must tell the priest. He must say, “I have found something like mildew in my house.” 36The priest will tell the person what he should do. The person must take everything out of the house. If he does, those things will still be clean. Then the priest will go into the house. 37He will look at the walls of the house. He will look for a green or red mark. If the mark goes into the wall, 38the priest will leave the house. He will shut it up for 7 (seven) days. 39On the 7th day, the priest will return to the house. The mildew may be bigger. 40The priest must say, “You must remove the stones that have mildew.” The person must put the stones outside the town. He must put them in a special place. 41The person must cut the clay from inside the walls of the house. The person must put the clay from the walls outside the town. The person must put it in a place for things that are not clean. 42The person who lives in the house must get some more stones. He must get some more clay. Then he can mend the wall.

43A person might find mildew on the wall that he has mended. He must tell the priest. 44The priest will look at the house. If the mildew is on more of the mended wall, the house is not clean. 45The person must break the house into pieces. The person who lives in the house must put the stones outside the town. He must put the wood and the clay outside the town. He must put them in the place for things that are not clean.

46A person may go into the house while it is shut up. If he does, he will not become clean until evening. 47Any person who sleeps in a house with mildew must wash his clothes. And any person who eats in a house with mildew must wash his clothes.

48If a person mends his house, the priest must look at it. There may not be any mildew. So, the priest will say that it is clean. 49The person must take two birds and some wood from the cedar tree. He must take red wool and hyssop (a plant). 50The priest will bring a pot with water in it. He will hold one of the birds over the pot and he will kill it. 51The priest will take the other bird and the wood from the cedar tree. He will take the red wool and the hyssop. He will put all of them into the blood of the dead bird. He will shake the blood and water over the house 7 (seven) times. This will make the house clean. 52The priest will use the birds and the wood from the cedar tree. And he will use the wool and the hyssop to make the house clean. 53Then the priest will take the bird that is alive outside the town. He will let the bird fly away. And the person can live in the house.’

Moses tells the people what these rules are for

54These are the rules for an illness in a person’s skin. 55These are the rules for mildew in clothes or in a house. 56These are the rules for a mark on or under the skin. 57These rules decide when a person has an illness. And they decide when he is clean. They show when a house has an illness. They are the rules for illnesses in the skin and for mildew.