Cleansing from Skin Diseases (Matthew 8:1–4; Mark 1:40–45; Luke 5:12–16)
1 AKJV And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses,
2 AKJV This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest: BSB BSB: “This is the law for the one afflicted with a skin disease on the day of his cleansing, when he is brought to the priest.
3 AKJV And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; BSB BSB: The priest is to go outside the camp to examine him, and if the skin disease of the afflicted person has healed,
4 AKJV Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: BSB BSB: the priest shall order that two live clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed.
5 AKJV And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: BSB BSB: Then the priest shall command that one of the birds be slaughtered over fresh water in a clay pot.
6 AKJV As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: BSB BSB: And he is to take the live bird together with the cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop, and dip them into the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water.
7 AKJV And he shall sprinkle on him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. BSB BSB: Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the skin disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and release the live bird into the open field.
8 AKJV And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days. BSB BSB: The one being cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. Afterward, he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days.
9 AKJV But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean. BSB BSB: On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair—his head, his beard, his eyebrows, and the rest of his hair. He must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and he will be clean.
10 AKJV And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. BSB BSB: On the eighth day he is to bring two unblemished male lambs, an unblemished ewe lamb a year old, a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with olive oil, and one log of olive oil.
11 AKJV And the priest that makes him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: BSB BSB: The priest who performs the cleansing shall present the one to be cleansed, together with these offerings, before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
12 AKJV And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: BSB BSB: Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and present it as a guilt offering, along with the log of olive oil; and he must wave them as a wave offering before the LORD.
13 AKJV And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy: BSB BSB: Then he is to slaughter the lamb in the sanctuary area where the sin offering and burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy.
14 AKJV And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot: BSB BSB: The priest is to take some of the blood from the guilt 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.
15 AKJV And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand: BSB BSB: Then the priest shall take some of the log of olive oil, pour it into his left palm,
16 AKJV And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD: BSB BSB: dip his right forefinger into the oil in his left palm, and sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD.
17 AKJV And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put on the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot, on the blood of the trespass offering: BSB BSB: And the priest is to put some of the oil remaining 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 top of the blood of the guilt offering.
18 AKJV And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall pour on the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD. BSB BSB: The rest of the oil in his palm, the priest is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD.
19 AKJV And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering: BSB BSB: Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering
20 AKJV And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering on the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean. BSB BSB: and offer it on the altar, with the grain offering, to make atonement for him, and he will be clean.
21 AKJV And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil; BSB BSB: If, however, the person is poor and cannot afford these offerings, he is to take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for him, along with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, a log of olive oil,
22 AKJV And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering. BSB BSB: and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whichever he can afford, one to be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.
23 AKJV And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD. BSB BSB: On the eighth day he is to bring them for his cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD.
24 AKJV And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: BSB BSB: The priest shall take the lamb for the guilt offering, along with the log of olive oil, and wave them as a wave offering before the LORD.
25 AKJV And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it on the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot: BSB BSB: And after he slaughters the lamb for the guilt offering, the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt 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.
26 AKJV And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand: BSB BSB: Then the priest is to pour some of the oil into his left palm
27 AKJV And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD: BSB BSB: and sprinkle with his right forefinger some of the oil in his left palm seven times before the LORD.
28 AKJV And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering: BSB BSB: The priest shall 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 places as the blood of the guilt offering.
29 AKJV And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the LORD. BSB BSB: The rest of the oil in his palm, the priest is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD.
30 AKJV And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get; BSB BSB: Then he must sacrifice the turtledoves or young pigeons, whichever he can afford,
31 AKJV Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the LORD. BSB BSB: one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the LORD for the one to be cleansed.
32 AKJV This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertains to his cleansing. BSB BSB: This is the law for someone who has a skin disease and cannot afford the cost of his cleansing.”
Signs of Home Contamination 33 AKJV And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
34 AKJV When you be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession; BSB BSB: “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a contamination of mildew into a house in that land,
35 AKJV And he that owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seems to me there is as it were a plague in the house: BSB BSB: the owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, ‘Something like mildew has appeared in my house.’
36 AKJV Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house: BSB BSB: The priest must order that the house be cleared before he enters it to examine the mildew, so that nothing in the house will become unclean. After this, the priest shall go in to inspect the house.
37 AKJV And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall; BSB BSB: He is to examine the house, and if the mildew on the walls consists of green or red depressions that appear to be beneath the surface of the wall,
38 AKJV Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days: BSB BSB: the priest shall go outside the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days.
39 AKJV And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house; BSB BSB: On the seventh day the priest is to return and inspect the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls,
40 AKJV Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city: BSB BSB: he must order that the contaminated stones be pulled out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city.
41 AKJV And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place: BSB BSB: And he shall have the inside of the house scraped completely and the plaster that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the city.
42 AKJV And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other mortar, and shall plaster the house. BSB BSB: So different stones must be obtained to replace the contaminated ones, as well as additional mortar to replaster the house.
43 AKJV And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he has taken away the stones, and after he has scraped the house, and after it is plastered; BSB BSB: If the mildew reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house has been scraped and replastered,
44 AKJV Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house; it is unclean. BSB BSB: the priest must come and inspect it. If the mildew has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew; the house is unclean.
45 AKJV And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the mortar of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place. BSB BSB: It must be torn down with its stones, its timbers, and all its plaster, and taken outside the city to an unclean place.
46 AKJV Moreover he that goes into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even. BSB BSB: Anyone who enters the house during any of the days that it is closed up will be unclean until evening.
47 AKJV And he that lies in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eats in the house shall wash his clothes. BSB BSB: And anyone who sleeps in the house or eats in it must wash his clothes.
Cleansing a Home 48 AKJV And if the priest shall come in, and look on it, and, behold, the plague has not spread in the house, after the house was plastered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed. BSB BSB: If, however, the priest comes and inspects it, and the mildew has not spread after the house has been replastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the mildew is gone.
49 AKJV And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: BSB BSB: He is to take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop to purify the house;
50 AKJV And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water: BSB BSB: and he shall slaughter one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot.
51 AKJV And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times: BSB BSB: Then he shall 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.
52 AKJV And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet: BSB BSB: And he shall cleanse the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet yarn.
53 AKJV But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean. BSB BSB: Finally, he is to release the live bird into the open fields outside the city. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.
54 AKJV This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scale, BSB BSB: This is the law for any infectious skin disease, for a scaly outbreak,
55 AKJV And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house, BSB BSB: for mildew in clothing or in a house,
56 AKJV And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot: BSB BSB: and for a swelling, rash, or spot,
57 AKJV To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy. BSB BSB: to determine when something is clean or unclean. This is the law regarding skin diseases and mildew.”