The Red Heifer 1 WBS And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
2 WBS This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, in which is no blemish, and upon which never came a yoke: BSB BSB: “This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red heifer that has no defect and has never been placed under a yoke.
3 WBS And ye shall give her to Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face: BSB BSB: Give it to Eleazar the priest, and he will have it brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.
4 WBS And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times: BSB BSB: Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting.
5 WBS And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn: BSB BSB: Then the heifer must be burned in his sight. Its hide, its flesh, and its blood are to be burned, along with its dung.
6 WBS And the priest shall take cedar-wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. BSB BSB: The priest is to take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer.
7 WBS Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the evening. BSB BSB: Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
8 WBS And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the evening. BSB BSB: The one who burned the heifer must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he too will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
9 WBS And a man that is clean shall gather the ashes of the heifer, and lay them without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel, for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin. BSB BSB: Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept by the congregation of Israel for preparing the water of purification; this is for purification from sin.
10 WBS And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening: and it shall be to the children of Israel, and to the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever. BSB BSB: The man who has gathered up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he will be ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the foreigner residing among them.
Purification of the Unclean 11 WBS He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. BSB BSB: Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days.
12 WBS He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he shall not purify himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. BSB BSB: He must purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean.
13 WBS Whoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him. BSB BSB: Anyone who touches a human corpse and fails to purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person must be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean, because the water of purification has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.
14 WBS This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days. BSB BSB: This is the law when a person dies in a tent: Everyone who enters the tent and everyone already in the tent will be unclean for seven days,
15 WBS And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean. BSB BSB: and any open container without a lid fastened on it is unclean.
16 WBS And whoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. BSB BSB: Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.
17 WBS And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put to it in a vessel: BSB BSB: For the purification of the unclean person, take some of the ashes of the burnt sin offering, put them in a jar, and pour fresh water over them.
18 WBS And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave: BSB BSB: Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, or a person who has died or been slain.
19 WBS And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at evening. BSB BSB: The man who is ceremonially clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and that evening he will be clean.
20 WBS But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him: he is unclean. BSB BSB: But if a person who is unclean does not purify himself, he will be cut off from the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.
21 WBS And it shall be a perpetual statute to them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until the evening. BSB BSB: This is a permanent statute for the people: The one who sprinkles the water of purification must wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening.
22 WBS And whatever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until the evening. BSB BSB: Anything the unclean person touches will become unclean, and anyone who touches it will be unclean until evening.”