Leviticus

Purification from Leprosy

The Lord spoke to Moses:

“This shall be the law for the leper on the day of his purification.

He shall be brought to the priest,

and the priest shall take him outside the camp to examine him. If the person has been healed from leprosy,

the priest shall order two live, clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop for the one to be cleansed.

The priest shall also order one of the birds to be slain on an earthenware pot over fresh water.

He shall take the live bird and the cedar wood, the crimson yarn, and the hyssop, and he will plunge them together, including the live bird, in the blood of the bird slain over fresh water.

Then he will sprinkle the one to be purified seven times. After that, he shall declare him clean and let the live bird go free over the open fields.

The person to be purified must wash his clothes, shave all his hair, and bathe in water; then he will be clean. After this, he may enter the camp but must stay outside his tent for seven days.

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

On the eighth day, he is to take two lambs and a yearling ewe lamb, all without defects. Three-tenths of a measure of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering and a log of oil.

The priest who declares him clean shall present the man to be purified and his offerings before the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

The priest will then take the first lamb and present it as a guilt offering together with the log of oil. He shall wave them before the Lord.

He shall slaughter the male lamb in the place where they slaughter the sin offering and the burnt offering—the holy place. The guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy.

The priest shall then take some of the blood from the guilt offering and place it on the lobe of the right ear of the one being purified, on the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot.

The priest shall take the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his left hand.

Then, dipping his right forefinger into it, he shall sprinkle it seven times before the Lord.

Then he is to take a small amount of the oil that remains in the palm of his hand and apply it to the lobe of the right ear of the man who is being purified, as well as to the thumb of his right hand and the big toe of his right foot, over the blood of the sacrifice of reparation.

He shall place the rest of the oil from his palm on the head of the man being purified. In this way, he shall perform the rite of atonement before the Lord over him.

Then the priest shall offer the sin sacrifice and perform the atonement rite for the man being purified. After this, he must slaughter the animal for the burnt offering

and present it alongside the grain offering on the altar. When the priest has completed the atonement rite in this manner, the man will be clean.

If the leper is poor and cannot afford all this, he shall take only one lamb for the guilt offering, which will be presented with the gesture of offering in the rite of atonement. For the grain offering, he will bring only one-tenth of wheaten flour mixed with oil, along with the log of oil.

Finally, if he can afford them, he must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one for a sacrifice for sin and the other for the burnt offering.

On the eighth day, he must bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord for his purification.

The priest is to take the lamb for the guilt offering and the log of oil, presenting them before the Lord with the gesture of offering.

Then he must slaughter the lamb for the guilt offering, take some of its blood, and apply it to the lobe of the right ear of the man who is being purified, as well as to the thumb of his right hand and the big toe of his right foot.

He is to pour the oil into the palm of his left hand,

and with this oil, he must make seven sprinklings with his finger before the Lord.

He must place some of it on the lobe of the right ear of the man being purified, on the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot, just as he did with the blood of the guilt offering.

The remaining oil in the palm of his hand he must apply to the head of the man being purified, performing the rite of atonement over him before the Lord.

Of the two turtledoves or two young pigeons—if he can afford them—he is to offer

one as a sacrifice for sin, and with the other, a burnt offering along with a grain offering—if he can afford them. In this way, the priest will have performed the rite of atonement before the Lord on behalf of the person being purified.

Such is the law concerning a person afflicted by leprosy who cannot afford the means for his purification.”

Infections in Houses

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

“When you reach the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your inheritance, if I strike a house with mildew in the land you are to possess,

the owner must come and warn the priest; he must say, ‘I have seen something like mildew in the house.’

The priest is to give orders for the house to be emptied before he examines the infection; thus, nothing in the house will be declared unclean. Then the priest must inspect the house;

and if, upon examination, he finds reddish or greenish spots that appear to be eating into the wall,

the priest is to go out of the house, to the door, and seal it up for seven days.

On the seventh day, he shall go back again, and if he finds that the infection has spread over the house’s walls,

he shall give orders for the affected stones to be removed and thrown into an unclean place outside the town.

Then he shall have all the interior of the house scraped, and the plaster that comes off must be emptied into an unclean place outside the town.

New stones must replace the old ones, and the house must be given a new coat of plaster.

If the infection spreads again after the stones have been removed and the house has been scraped and replastered,

the priest is to come and examine it. If he finds that the infection has spread, and mildew is affecting the house, it is unclean.

It must be pulled down, and the stones, woodwork, and all the plaster must be taken to an unclean place outside the town.

Anyone who enters the house while it is closed will be considered unclean until evening.

Anyone who sleeps there must wash their clothing.

But if the priest finds, upon examination of the infection, that it has not spread in the house since it was plastered, he must declare the house clean, for the infection is cured.

As a sacrifice for the house’s sin, he is to take two birds, cedar wood, red cord, and a sprig of hyssop.

He shall slaughter one of the birds in an earthenware pot over running water.

Then he shall take the cedar wood, hyssop, red cord, and the live bird and dip them into the blood of the slaughtered bird and the running water.

He shall sprinkle the house seven times; and after offering a sacrifice for the house’s sin with the bird’s blood, the running water, the live bird, cedar wood, hyssop, and red cord,

he shall set the live bird free to fly out of the town into the open country. When the rite of atonement has been performed over the house in this manner, it will be clean.

Such is the law for all cases

of dreaded skin diseases, mildew on clothing and houses,

swellings, scabs, and shiny spots. It defines the instances where things are unclean and when they are clean.

Such is the law on leprosy.”