Leviticus 13

The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said:

1And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying,

Note"The LORD" in small capitals stands in for the personal name of Israel's God, written in Hebrew with four letters (YHWH) that readers traditionally did not pronounce aloud. Where the King James has "God" or "Lord" in ordinary type, a different Hebrew word lies behind it.

2When a person has a swelling, a rash, or a bright spot on the skin of his body, and on the skin it looks like the mark of a skin disease, then he must be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons, who are also priests.

2When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests:

NoteThe King James word "leprosy" translates Hebrew *tsara'at*, a broad term covering a range of flaking, scaling, discolouring conditions of the skin, and, from verse 47 on, mold or rot in cloth and leather. It is almost certainly not the disease called leprosy today (Hansen's disease). "Plague" in the King James here means a mark or affliction on the body, not an epidemic. Aaron was Moses' brother and Israel's first priest, and his male descendants inherited the office; their role in this chapter is to inspect cases and rule on them, not to treat them. Nothing in the chapter prescribes any cure.

3The priest must look at the mark on the skin of the body. If the hair in the mark has turned white, and the mark looks deeper than the skin, it is a skin disease. When the priest has looked at him, he must declare him unclean.

3And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

Note"Clean" and "unclean" are terms of ritual status, not of hygiene or of morality. To be unclean meant a person could not take part in worship at the sanctuary or mix normally with the community until the condition passed and the status was formally reversed. It is the priest's declaration, not the condition itself, that settles the matter.

4If the bright spot on the skin of his body is white, and does not look deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, then the priest must keep the person who has the mark apart from others for seven days.

4If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight be not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days:

Note"Shut up" in the King James means confined or kept apart. This is a period of observation to see whether the mark changes, not a punishment, and seven days is the standard waiting period used throughout the chapter.

5On the seventh day the priest must look at him. If the mark looks unchanged, and the mark has not spread on the skin, then the priest must keep him apart for seven more days.

5And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay, and the plague spread not in the skin; then the priest shall shut him up seven days more:

6On the seventh day the priest must look at him again. If the mark has faded, and the mark has not spread on the skin, the priest must declare him clean. It is only a rash. The man must wash his clothes, and he is clean.

6And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague be somewhat dark, and the plague spread not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is but a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

NoteWashing one's clothes is a required step in the formal process of returning to clean status, not ordinary laundry.

7But if the rash spreads widely on the skin after he has shown himself to the priest to be declared clean, he must show himself to the priest again.

7But if the scab spread much abroad in the skin, after that he hath been seen of the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen of the priest again:

8If the priest sees that the rash has spread on the skin, then the priest must declare him unclean. It is a skin disease.

8And if the priest see that, behold, the scab spreadeth in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a leprosy.

9When the mark of a skin disease is on a person, he must be brought to the priest.

9When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought unto the priest;

10The priest must look at him. If there is a white swelling on the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is live raw flesh in the swelling,

10And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the rising be white in the skin, and it have turned the hair white, and there be quick raw flesh in the rising;

11it is a long-standing skin disease on the skin of his body. The priest must declare him unclean. He must not keep him apart, because the man is unclean.

11It is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not shut him up: for he is unclean.

12If a skin disease breaks out widely, and the disease covers all the skin of the person who has the mark, from his head to his foot, everywhere the priest looks,

12And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priest looketh;

13then the priest must look closely. If the disease has covered his whole body, he must declare the person who has the mark clean. It has all turned white. He is clean.

13Then the priest shall consider: and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean.

NoteThe priest's warning signs are raw flesh, spreading, and hair turned white. A body wholly turned white with none of these was judged an inactive condition, so it did not carry unclean status.

14But when raw flesh appears on him, he is unclean.

14But when raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be unclean.

15The priest must look at the raw flesh and declare him unclean. The raw flesh is unclean. It is a skin disease.

15And the priest shall see the raw flesh, and pronounce him to be unclean: for the raw flesh is unclean: it is a leprosy.

16Or if the raw flesh changes back and turns white, he must come to the priest.

16Or if the raw flesh turn again, and be changed unto white, he shall come unto the priest;

17The priest must look at him. If the mark has turned white, then the priest must declare the person who has the mark clean. He is clean.

17And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the plague be turned into white; then the priest shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: he is clean.

18When there is a boil on a person's body, on the skin, and it heals,

18The flesh also, in which, even in the skin thereof, was a boil, and is healed,

NoteHealed boils and burns leave marks that can look like the condition described above, so the chapter handles them as separate cases with their own tests, in verses 18–23 and 24–28.

19and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling, or a bright spot that is white and somewhat red, it must be shown to the priest.

19And in the place of the boil there be a white rising, or a bright spot, white, and somewhat reddish, and it be shewed to the priest;

20When the priest looks at it, if it appears lower than the skin, and the hair in it has turned white, then the priest must declare him unclean. It is the mark of a skin disease that has broken out in the boil.

20And if, when the priest seeth it, behold, it be in sight lower than the skin, and the hair thereof be turned white; the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil.

21But if the priest looks at it and there are no white hairs in it, and it is not lower than the skin, but has faded, then the priest must keep him apart for seven days.

21But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hairs therein, and if it be not lower than the skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days:

22If it spreads widely on the skin, then the priest must declare him unclean. It is a diseased mark.

22And if it spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague.

23But if the bright spot stays in its place and does not spread, it is the scar left by the boil, and the priest must declare him clean.

23But if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not, it is a burning boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

24Or if there is a burn on the skin of someone's body, and the raw flesh of the burn has a bright spot that is white and somewhat red, or white,

24Or if there be any flesh, in the skin whereof there is a hot burning, and the quick flesh that burneth have a white bright spot, somewhat reddish, or white;

25then the priest must look at it. If the hair in the bright spot has turned white, and it looks deeper than the skin, it is a skin disease that has broken out in the burn. So the priest must declare him unclean. It is the mark of a skin disease.

25Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the hair in the bright spot be turned white, and it be in sight deeper than the skin; it is a leprosy broken out of the burning: wherefore the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.

26But if the priest looks at it and there is no white hair in the bright spot, and it is not lower than the rest of the skin, but has faded, then the priest must keep him apart for seven days.

26But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hair in the bright spot, and it be no lower than the other skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days:

27On the seventh day the priest must look at him. If it has spread widely on the skin, then the priest must declare him unclean. It is the mark of a skin disease.

27And the priest shall look upon him the seventh day: and if it be spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.

28But if the bright spot stays in its place and has not spread on the skin, and it has faded, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest must declare him clean. It is only the scar left by the burn.

28And if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not in the skin, but it be somewhat dark; it is a rising of the burning, and the priest shall pronounce him clean: for it is an inflammation of the burning.

29If a man or a woman has a mark on the head or in the beard,

29If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or the beard;

30then the priest must look at the mark. If it looks deeper than the skin, and there is thin yellow hair in it, then the priest must declare that person unclean. It is a dry scaly outbreak, a skin disease of the head or the beard.

30Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard.

Note"Scall" is an old English word, now out of use, for a scabby or scaly eruption of the scalp or chin. The Hebrew word behind it suggests something torn or scraped away.

31If the priest looks at the mark of the scaly outbreak, and it does not look deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then the priest must keep the person who has that mark apart for seven days.

31And if the priest look on the plague of the scall, and, behold, it be not in sight deeper than the skin, and that there is no black hair in it; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the scall seven days:

32On the seventh day the priest must look at the mark. If the scaly outbreak has not spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and it does not look deeper than the skin,

32And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague: and, behold, if the scall spread not, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the scall be not in sight deeper than the skin;

33then the person must be shaved, but the scaly place must not be shaved. The priest must keep the person who has the scaly outbreak apart for seven more days.

33He shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more:

NoteShaving the surrounding hair let the priest see whether the patch was spreading beyond its old edges; the patch itself was left unshaved so that edge stayed visible.

34On the seventh day the priest must look at the scaly outbreak. If it has not spread on the skin, and does not look deeper than the skin, then the priest must declare him clean. He must wash his clothes, and he is clean.

34And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall: and, behold, if the scall be not spread in the skin, nor be in sight deeper than the skin; then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

35But if the scaly outbreak spreads widely on the skin after he has been declared clean,

35But if the scall spread much in the skin after his cleansing;

36then the priest must look at him. If the scaly outbreak has spread on the skin, the priest does not need to look for yellow hair. The person is unclean.

36Then the priest shall look on him: and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow hair; he is unclean.

37But if the scaly outbreak looks unchanged to him, and black hair has grown in it, then the outbreak is healed. He is clean, and the priest must declare him clean.

37But if the scall be in his sight at a stay, and that there is black hair grown up therein; the scall is healed, he is clean: and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

38If a man or a woman has bright spots on the skin of the body, white bright spots,

38If a man also or a woman have in the skin of their flesh bright spots, even white bright spots;

39then the priest must look. If the bright spots on the skin of the body are a dull white, it is a spotty rash that has broken out on the skin. That person is clean.

39Then the priest shall look: and, behold, if the bright spots in the skin of their flesh be darkish white; it is a freckled spot that groweth in the skin; he is clean.

NoteThe Hebrew word here refers to a dull-white harmless blemish on the skin. The point of the verse is that not every white patch counted as the condition under examination.

40If a man's hair falls off his head, he is bald, but he is clean.

40And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.

NoteA change in the hair is one of the priest's chief diagnostic signs, so ordinary hair loss is ruled out explicitly: baldness in itself carried no status at all.

41If his hair falls off the part of his head toward his face, he is bald on the forehead, but he is clean.

41And he that hath his hair fallen off from the part of his head toward his face, he is forehead bald: yet is he clean.

42But if there is a white and reddish sore on the bald head or the bald forehead, it is a skin disease breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead.

42And if there be in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white reddish sore; it is a leprosy sprung up in his bald head, or his bald forehead.

43Then the priest must look at it. If the swollen sore on his bald head or his bald forehead is white and reddish, the way a skin disease looks on the skin of the body,

43Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white reddish in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh;

44then he is a man with a skin disease. He is unclean. The priest must declare him completely unclean. His mark is on his head.

44He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head.

45The person with this disease must wear torn clothes and leave his head uncovered. He must put a covering over his upper lip and call out, "Unclean, unclean!"

45And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

NoteTorn clothes, uncovered or loosened hair, and a covered upper lip were the recognized outward signs of mourning in Israel. The call of "Unclean, unclean" warned others away from contact, which would have passed the status on to them.

46As long as the mark is on him he is defiled. He is unclean. He must live alone. His home must be outside the camp.

46All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

NoteThe camp is Israel's encampment in the wilderness, laid out around the sanctuary. Living outside it meant separation from the settled community and from worship at its center.

47The same kind of mark can appear in clothing, whether it is a wool garment or a linen garment,

47The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;

NoteThe Hebrew uses the same word here that it used for the skin condition. What is described (greenish or reddish patches that spread through the material, eat into it, and come back after washing) corresponds to mold, mildew or rot.

48whether it is in the woven part or the knitted part, of linen or of wool, or in leather, or in anything made of leather.

48Whether it be in the warp, or woof; of linen, or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin;

Note"Warp" and "woof" are weaving terms: the warp is the lengthwise threads held on the loom, the woof (or weft) the threads passed across them. The two Hebrew words are of uncertain meaning, and may instead distinguish two kinds or two stages of cloth, which is why modern translations render them differently.

49If the mark in the clothing, or in the leather, or in the woven part, or in the knitted part, or in anything made of leather, is greenish or reddish, it is such a mark, and it must be shown to the priest.

49And if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a plague of leprosy, and shall be shewed unto the priest:

50The priest must look at the mark, and he must shut away the thing that has the mark for seven days.

50And the priest shall look upon the plague, and shut up it that hath the plague seven days:

51On the seventh day he must look at the mark. If the mark has spread in the clothing, or in the woven part, or in the knitted part, or in leather, or in anything made of leather, the mark is a growth that eats into the material. It is unclean.

51And he shall look on the plague on the seventh day: if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in a skin, or in any work that is made of skin; the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean.

52So he must burn the clothing, whether the woven part or the knitted part, in wool or in linen, or anything made of leather that has the mark in it. It is a growth that eats into the material, and it must be burned in the fire.

52He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire.

53But if the priest looks, and the mark has not spread in the clothing, or in the woven part, or in the knitted part, or in anything made of leather,

53And if the priest shall look, and, behold, the plague be not spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin;

54then the priest must order them to wash the thing that has the mark, and he must shut it away for seven more days.

54Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more:

55The priest must look at the mark after it has been washed. If the mark has not changed its color, and the mark has not spread, it is unclean. You must burn it in the fire. It is eaten through, whether the bare place is on the inside or on the outside.

55And the priest shall look on the plague, after that it is washed: and, behold, if the plague have not changed his colour, and the plague be not spread; it is unclean; thou shalt burn it in the fire; it is fret inward, whether it be bare within or without.

NoteThe Hebrew of the final clause is obscure. It has been understood as the worn or bald patch being on the back or the front of the material, and as the rot having eaten in on the inside or the outside; translations differ.

56If the priest looks, and the mark has faded after the washing, then he must tear it out of the clothing, or out of the leather, or out of the woven part, or out of the knitted part.

56And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat dark after the washing of it; then he shall rend it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof:

57If it shows up again in the clothing, or in the woven part, or in the knitted part, or in anything made of leather, it is a spreading mark. You must burn with fire whatever has the mark in it.

57And if it appear still in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a spreading plague: thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is with fire.

58As for the clothing, or the woven part, or the knitted part, or anything made of leather, that you wash: if the mark has gone away from it, then it must be washed a second time, and it is clean.

58And the garment, either warp, or woof, or whatsoever thing of skin it be, which thou shalt wash, if the plague be departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and shall be clean.

59This is the law about this kind of mark in a garment of wool or linen, or in the woven part, or in the knitted part, or in anything made of leather, for declaring it clean or declaring it unclean.

59This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woollen or linen, either in the warp, or woof, or any thing of skins, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.

Note"This is the law of..." is a standard closing formula in Leviticus, marking the end of a block of instructions. The Hebrew word translated "law" means instruction or ruling rather than legislation in the modern sense.