Leviticus 14

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

1The LORD spoke to Moses. He said:

2This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:

2"Here is the rule for a person with a bad skin disease. It tells how he is made clean again. He must be brought to the priest. A priest is a man who served God at the worship tent."

3And 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;

3The priest must go outside the camp and look at him. He checks whether the skin disease has healed.

4Then 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:

4If it has healed, the priest tells them to bring some things. They bring two live birds of a kind allowed for offerings. They also bring cedar wood, red yarn, and hyssop, a leafy plant.

5And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:

5The priest tells them to kill one of the birds. It is killed over fresh water in a clay pot.

Note"Running water" here means fresh water from a stream or spring. It does not mean water from a tap.

6As 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:

6The priest takes the live bird, the cedar wood, the red yarn, and the hyssop. He dips them all in the blood of the killed bird.

7And he shall sprinkle upon 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.

7He sprinkles the healed man with the blood seven times. Then he says out loud that the man is clean. He lets the live bird go free into the open field.

8And 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.

8The man washes his clothes. He shaves off all his hair and washes his whole body. Then he is clean. He may come back into the camp. But he must stay outside his tent for seven days.

9But 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.

9On the seventh day he shaves off all his hair again. He shaves his head, his beard, and his eyebrows. He washes his clothes and his body. Then he is clean.

10And 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.

10On the eighth day he brings two male lambs with nothing wrong with them. He also brings a young female lamb, also with nothing wrong. He brings about six pounds of fine flour mixed with olive oil. That is his grain offering. He also brings one log of olive oil.

NoteThe KJV calls this a "meat offering," but no meat is in it. In 1611 "meat" meant any food, and this gift is flour and oil. A "log" was a small measure of oil, a little less than a cup.

11And the priest that maketh 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:

11The priest brings the man and these gifts before the LORD. They stand at the door of the worship tent.

12And 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:

12The priest takes one male lamb and the log of oil. He offers the lamb as a guilt offering, given to make up for wrong. He lifts them up and waves them before the LORD.

13And 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:

13He kills the lamb in the holy place by the tent. That is where the sin offering and the burnt offering are killed. Like the sin offering, this guilt offering belongs to the priest. It is most holy.

14And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:

14The priest takes some blood from the guilt offering. He puts it on the man's right earlobe. He also puts it on his right thumb and his right big toe.

15And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand:

15Then the priest takes some of the oil. He pours it into his own left palm.

16And 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:

16He dips his right finger into the oil in his hand. He sprinkles the oil seven times before the LORD.

17And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering:

17He puts more of that oil on the man's right earlobe. He also puts it on his right thumb and right big toe. It goes right on top of the blood.

18And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD.

18The rest of the oil in his hand goes on the man's head. In this way the priest makes things right between the man and the LORD.

19And 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:

19Then the priest offers the sin offering. This makes things right for the man who was unclean. After that he kills the animal for the burnt offering.

20And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

20The priest burns the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. The altar was the special table where gifts to God were burned. In this way things are made right, and the man is clean.

21And 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;

21Some people are poor and cannot bring that much. Such a man brings one lamb as a guilt offering to be waved. He brings about two pounds of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. He also brings a log of oil.

22And 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.

22He brings two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whichever he can afford. One bird is a sin offering. The other is a burnt offering.

23And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD.

23On the eighth day he brings them to the priest. He comes to the door of the worship tent, before the LORD.

24And 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:

24The priest takes the lamb for the guilt offering and the log of oil. He waves them before the LORD.

25And 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 upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:

25He kills the lamb for the guilt offering. He takes some of its blood and puts it on the man's right earlobe. He also puts it on his right thumb and right big toe.

26And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand:

26The priest pours some of the oil into his own left palm.

27And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD:

27He sprinkles some of that oil with his right finger. He does this seven times before the LORD.

28And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering:

28He puts some of the oil on the man's right earlobe. He also puts it on his right thumb and right big toe. It goes on the same spots as the blood.

29And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the LORD.

29The rest of the oil in his hand goes on the man's head. In this way things are made right for him before the LORD.

30And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get;

30Then he offers one of the turtledoves or young pigeons, whichever the man could afford.

31Even 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.

31One bird is a sin offering. The other is a burnt offering. The grain offering goes with them. In this way the priest makes things right for the man before the LORD.

32This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.

32This is the rule for a person with a skin disease. It is for the one who cannot afford the usual gifts.

33And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

33The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said:

34When ye 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;

34"You will come into the land of Canaan. I am giving you that land to keep as your own. I may put a spreading mold in a house there."

NoteThe KJV uses the same word, "leprosy," for skin disease and for what grows in a house. In a house it means something like mold or mildew spreading in the walls.

35And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house:

35Then the owner of the house must go and tell the priest. He says, "I think there is something like mold in my house."

36Then 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:

36The priest tells them to empty the house first. Then nothing inside will be called unclean. After that the priest goes in to look at the spot.

37And 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;

37He looks at the spot on the walls. He checks for green or red dents that sink below the surface.

38Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days:

38Then the priest goes out the door of the house. He shuts the house up for seven days.

39And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house;

39On the seventh day the priest comes back and looks. He checks whether the mold has spread on the walls.

40Then 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:

40If it has spread, he tells them to pull out the stones with mold on them. They throw those stones into an unclean place outside the town.

41And 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:

41He has the inside walls scraped all over. The scraped dust is dumped outside the town in an unclean place.

42And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other morter, and shall plaister the house.

42They put new stones where the old ones had been. They use new mortar and cover the walls again.

43And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered;

43Sometimes the mold comes back after all this work. That can happen even after the stones, the scraping, and the new plaster.

44Then 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.

44Then the priest comes and looks again. If the mold has spread, it is eating away at the house. The house is unclean.

Note"Fretting" is an old word. It means the mold keeps spreading and eating away at the walls.

45And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.

45The house must be torn down. The stones, the wood, and all the plaster must go. They are carried outside the town to an unclean place.

46Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even.

46Anyone who goes into that house while it is shut up becomes unclean. He stays unclean until evening.

47And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.

47Anyone who sleeps in the house must wash his clothes. Anyone who eats in the house must wash his clothes too.

48And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.

48Sometimes the priest comes and sees the mold has not spread after the new plaster. Then he says the house is clean. The trouble is gone.

49And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:

49To make the house clean, he takes two birds. He also takes cedar wood, red yarn, and hyssop.

50And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water:

50He kills one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot.

51And 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:

51He takes the cedar wood, the hyssop, the red yarn, and the live bird. He dips them in the blood and in the fresh water. He sprinkles the house seven times.

52And 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:

52So he makes the house clean. He uses the bird's blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the red yarn.

53But 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.

53Then he lets the live bird go free in the open fields outside the town. In this way things are made right for the house, and it is clean.

54This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall,

54These are the rules for every kind of bad skin disease and scaly patch.

55And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house,

55They also cover mold that grows in clothing or in a house.

56And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot:

56They cover a swelling, a rash, and a bright spot on the skin.

57To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.

57They teach when something is unclean and when it is clean. This is the rule about these diseases.