Leviticus 14

Cleansing of Skin Diseases

1The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “This is the law a concerning the person afflicted with a skin disease on the day of his cleansing. b He is to be brought to the priest, c 3 who will go outside the camp d and examine him. e If the skin disease has disappeared from the afflicted person,
Lit the person afflicted with skin disease
4the priest will order that two live
clean: When something is clean, it is holy or acceptable to God. When it is unclean, it is unholy (such as an unclean spirit). The term can be used in a ritual sense to apply to moral standards for living.
clean birds, h cedar wood, i scarlet j yarn, and hyssop k be brought for the one who is to be cleansed.
5Then the priest will order that one of the birds be slaughtered over fresh water in a clay pot. 6He is to take the live bird together with the cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop, and dip them all into the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water. 7He will then sprinkle the blood seven times on the one who is to be cleansed from the skin disease. He is to pronounce him clean and release the live bird over the open countryside. l 8The one who is to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; he is clean. Afterward he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days. 9He is to shave off all his hair again on the seventh day: his head, his beard, his eyebrows, and the rest of his hair. He is to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; he is clean.

10“On the eighth day he must take two unblemished m male lambs, an unblemished year-old ewe lamb, a
grain offering(s): An offering given along with animal sacrifices or given by itself. A portion was burnt and the priests and participant ate the remainder.
grain offering of three quarts
Lit three-tenths; probably 3/10 of an ephah
of fine flour mixed with olive oil, and one-third of a quart
Lit one log
of olive oil.
11The priest who performs the cleansing will place the person who is to be cleansed, together with these offerings, before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 12The priest is to take one male lamb and present it as a
restitution offering(s): An offering that was a penalty for unintentional sins, primarily in relation to the tabernacle or temple; traditionally trespass or guilt offering
restitution offering, r along with the one-third quart
Lit one log
of olive oil, and he must wave them as a presentation offering t before the Lord.
13He is to slaughter the male lamb at the place in the sanctuary area where the
sin offering(s): Or purification offering, the sin offering was the most important OT sacrifice for cleansing from impurities. It provided purification from sin and certain forms of ceremonial uncleanness.
sin offering v and
burnt offering(s): Or holocaust, an offering completely burned to ashes; it was used in connection with worship, seeking God's favor, expiating sin, or averting judgment.
burnt offering x are slaughtered, y for like the sin offering, the restitution offering belongs to the priest; z it is especially holy. aa
14The priest is to take some of the blood from the restitution offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ab 15Then the priest will take some of the one-third quart
Lit one log
of olive oil and pour it into his left palm.
16The priest will dip his right finger into the oil in his left palm and sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. 17 From the oil remaining in his palm the priest will put some on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, 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. ad 18What is left of the oil in the priest’s palm he is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed. In this way the priest will make
atone/ atonement: A theological term for God's provision to deal with human sin. In the OT, it primarily means purification. In some contexts forgiveness, pardon, expiation, propitiation, or reconciliation is included. The basis of atonement is substitutionary sacrifice offered in faith. The OT sacrifices were types and shadows of the great and final sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
atonement for him before the Lord.
19The priest must sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. af Afterward he will slaughter the burnt offering. 20The priest is to offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. The priest will make atonement for him, and he will be clean. ag

21“But if he is poor ah and cannot afford these,
Lit and his hand is not
,
aj he is to take one male lamb for a restitution offering to be waved in order to make atonement for him, along with two quarts
Lit him, and one-tenth; probably 1/10 of an ephah
of fine flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, one-third of a quart
Lit one log
of olive oil,
22and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whatever he can afford,
Lit pigeons, for which his hand is sufficient
one to be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.
23On the eighth day he is to bring these things for his cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the Lord. 24The priest will take the male lamb for the restitution offering and the one-third quart
Lit one log
of olive oil, and wave them as a presentation offering before the Lord.
25After he slaughters the male lamb for the restitution offering, the priest is to take some of the blood of the restitution offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 26Then the priest will pour some of the oil into his left palm. 27With his right finger the priest will sprinkle some of the oil in his left palm seven times before the Lord. 28The priest will also put some of the oil in his palm on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the same place as the blood of the restitution offering. 29What is left of the oil in the priest’s palm he is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed to make atonement for him before the Lord. ao 30He must then sacrifice one type of what he can afford,
Lit of that for which his hand is sufficient
either the turtledoves or young pigeons,
31 one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, sacrificing what he can afford
LXX, Syr, Vg omit what he can afford
,
Lit [sacrificing] that for which his hand is sufficient
together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the Lord for the one to be cleansed.
32 This is the law for someone who has
Lit someone on whom there is
a skin disease and cannot afford
Lit disease whose hand is not sufficient for
the cost of his cleansing.”

Cleansing of Contaminated Objects

33 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 34 “When you enter the land of Canaan au that I am giving you as a possession, av and I place a mildew contamination in a house in the land you possess,
Lit land of your possession
35the owner of the house is to come and tell the priest: Something like mildew contamination has appeared
Lit appeared to me
in my house.
36The priest must order them to clear the house before he enters to examine the contamination, so that nothing in the house becomes
unclean: When something is clean, it is holy or acceptable to God. When it is unclean, it is unholy (such as an unclean spirit). The term can be used in a ritual sense to apply to moral standards for living.
unclean. Afterward the priest will come to examine the house.
37He will examine it, and if the contamination in the walls of the house consists of green or red indentations
Or eruptions; Hb obscure
that appear to be beneath the surface of the wall,
38the priest is to go outside the house to its doorway and quarantine the house for seven days. 39The priest is to return on the seventh day and examine it. If the contamination has spread on the walls of the house, 40the priest must order that the stones with the contamination be pulled out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city. 41He is to have the inside of the house completely scraped, and the plaster
Lit dust
that is scraped off must be dumped in an unclean place outside the city.
42Then they must take different stones to replace the former ones and take additional plaster
Lit dust
to replaster the house.

43 “If the contamination reappears in the house after the stones have been pulled out, and after the house has been scraped and replastered, 44the priest must come and examine it. If the contamination has spread in the house, it is harmful mildew; the house is unclean. 45 It must be torn down with its stones, its beams, and all its plaster, and taken outside the city to an unclean place. 46Whoever enters the house during any of the days the priest quarantines it will be unclean until evening. 47Whoever lies down in the house is to wash his clothes, and whoever eats in it is to wash his clothes.

48“But when the priest comes and examines it, if the contamination has not spread in the house after it was replastered, he is to pronounce the house clean because the contamination has disappeared.
Lit healed
49He is to take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop to purify the house, 50and he is to slaughter one of the birds over a clay pot containing fresh water. 51He will take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn, and the live bird, dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52He will purify the house with the blood of the bird, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet yarn. 53Then he is to release the live bird into the open countryside bd outside the city. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.

54 “This is the law for any skin disease or mildew, for a scaly outbreak,
Or for a scall
55for mildew in clothing or on a house, 56and for a swelling, scab, or spot, 57to determine when something is unclean or clean. This is the law regarding skin disease and mildew.”
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