Leviticus 14

The LORD spoke to Moses. He said,

1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2"This is the law about a person with the skin disease, for the day he is made clean. He shall be brought to the priest,

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

NoteThe Hebrew word behind "leper" (tsara'at) is not modern leprosy (Hansen's disease). It covers a range of visible, scaly or discolouring conditions of the skin, and the same word is used later in this chapter of fabric and of walls. "Clean" and "unclean" are not about dirt or morality either: they are a ritual status that decides whether a person may enter the camp, touch others, and take part in worship.

3and the priest shall go outside the camp and look him over. If the skin disease is healed in the person who had it,

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;

NoteThe priest here acts as inspector rather than healer. Nothing in the ritual treats the disease; the ceremony begins only once the condition has already cleared. The man is outside the camp because that is where an unclean person had to live (Leviticus 13:46), so the priest must go out to him.

4then the priest shall order that two live clean birds be brought for the one who is to be made clean, along with cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop.

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:

Note"Clean" birds are species permitted for food and sacrifice under Israel's dietary rules; the text does not say which. Cedar wood was prized as rot-resistant and aromatic. "Scarlet" is wool dyed crimson with a dye taken from an insect. Hyssop is a small bushy herb whose sprigs made a natural brush for sprinkling; the same three items appear in the red-heifer rite in Numbers 19.

5The priest shall order that one of the birds be killed in a clay pot over fresh running water.

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

Note"Running water" translates a phrase meaning literally "living water", fresh water from a spring or stream, as opposed to still water from a cistern. An earthen (unglazed clay) pot was cheap and porous; such vessels absorbed what they held and, once used in this way, could not be reused.

6As for the live bird, the priest shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet yarn, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh running water.

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:

7He shall sprinkle this seven times on the one who is to be made clean from the skin disease. Then he shall declare him clean, and he shall let the live bird go free into the open field.

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.

8The one who is to be made clean shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, so that he will be clean. After that he may come into the camp, but he must stay outside his tent for seven days.

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.

NoteWashing the clothes and bathing the body were the standard steps for moving from unclean to clean status. Shaving the whole body removes any trace of the old growth of hair. Staying outside his own tent for seven days means he is back among the people but not yet resuming household life, including relations with his wife.

9On the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair, his head, his beard, and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all his hair. He shall also wash his clothes and wash his body in water, and he will be clean.

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.

NoteA second complete shaving, a week after the first, with the eyebrows named specifically: the point is that no hair from the period of the disease remains.

10On the eighth day he shall take two male lambs with no flaw, one female lamb a year old with no flaw, three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and one log of oil.

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.

NoteAn ephah was a dry measure of roughly twenty liters (about half a bushel), so three-tenths is around six liters of flour (enough for a substantial batch of bread. A log was the smallest liquid measure, about a third of a liter (roughly half a pint). A grain offering (the KJV's "meat offering", using "meat" in its old sense of food generally) was flour with oil, part burned and the rest eaten by the priests. "Without blemish" means physically unflawed) no injury, sore or defect.

11The priest who makes him clean shall present the man who is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting, the tent where God met with the people.

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:

12The priest shall take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering, together with the log of oil, and he shall wave them before the LORD as a wave offering.

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:

NoteThe guilt offering (KJV "trespass offering") was the sacrifice brought when someone had encroached on what belonged to God or to another person and owed compensation. A wave offering was a formal gesture of presentation, the item was held out or moved before the LORD to mark it as handed over, after which it passed to the priests.

13He shall kill the lamb in the place where the sin offering and the burnt offering are killed, in the holy place. The guilt offering belongs to the priest, just as the sin offering does. It is most holy.

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:

Note"The holy place" here means the sacred precinct beside the altar in the courtyard, not the inner room of the tent. "Most holy" is the higher of two grades of offering: what is most holy may be eaten only by male priests and only within the sanctuary area.

14The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of the one who is to be made clean, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

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:

NoteBlood on the right earlobe, right thumb and right big toe marks the extremities of the body, in effect the whole person. The identical gesture is used at the ordination of Aaron and his sons in Leviticus 8:23–24.

15The priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand.

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

16He shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD.

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:

17Some of the oil that is left in his hand the priest shall put on the tip of the right ear of the one who is to be made clean, 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.

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:

18The rest of the oil in the priest's hand he shall pour on the head of the one who is to be made clean. In this way the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD.

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.

Note"Atonement" translates a Hebrew verb whose root sense is to wipe clean, or to cover over, or to pay a ransom; the exact shade is debated. In these ritual laws it describes the priest's act of removing impurity so that a person or object is restored to clean status.

19The priest shall offer the sin offering and make atonement for the one who is to be made clean from his uncleanness. After that he shall kill the burnt offering.

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:

NoteThe sin offering (Hebrew chattat, often rendered "purification offering") deals with impurity rather than deliberate wrongdoing; its blood cleanses the sanctuary and its worshipers. A burnt offering was the sacrifice consumed entirely on the altar, with no portion eaten by anyone.

20The priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be clean.

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.

21But if he is poor and cannot afford that much, then he shall take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and a log of oil,

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;

NoteThe law sets a cheaper alternative rather than excluding the poor: one lamb instead of three, and a third as much flour. Birds were the least costly animals that could be offered.

22and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whichever he is able to afford. One shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.

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.

NoteTurtledoves are small wild doves; along with young pigeons they were the cheapest creatures acceptable for sacrifice, catchable or raised without much cost.

23On the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, before the LORD.

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.

24The priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and he shall wave them before the LORD as a wave offering.

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:

25He shall kill the lamb of the guilt offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of the one who is to be made clean, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

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:

26The priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand.

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

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

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

28The priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of the one who is to be made clean, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place where the blood of the guilt offering was put.

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:

29The rest of the oil in the priest's hand he shall put on the head of the one who is to be made clean, to make atonement for him before the LORD.

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.

30He shall offer one of the turtledoves or young pigeons, whichever he is able to get

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

31whichever he is able to get: the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the one who is to be made clean."

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.

32This is the law for the person who has the skin disease and cannot afford what is required for his cleansing.

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.

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

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

34"When you come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving you to own, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in the land you own,

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;

NoteThe Hebrew uses the same word for what appears on the walls as for the skin disease, which is why the KJV calls both "leprosy"; a growth in stone and plaster is usually taken to be mold, fungus, or crystallising mineral salts. Note also that the law is given in advance: it concerns permanent stone houses in Canaan, not the tents Israel is living in as it is spoken.

35then the owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, 'It looks to me as if there is something like a disease in my house.'

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:

NoteThe owner is made to speak tentatively, "something like" a disease, rather than declare it himself. Only the priest may make the ruling.

36Then the priest shall order that they empty the house before he goes into it to look at the spot, so that everything in the house will not become unclean. After that the priest shall go in to look at the 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:

NoteOnce the priest pronounces the house unclean, everything inside it becomes unclean too. Emptying it first is a practical protection for the owner's possessions.

37He shall look at the spot. If the mildew on the walls of the house is in greenish or reddish streaks that look lower than the surface of the wall,

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;

NoteThe KJV's "hollow strakes" means sunken streaks or pitted patches. The test is whether the discoloured area lies below the surface of the wall rather than merely on it, the same test applied to skin in Leviticus 13.

38then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house and shut the house up for seven days.

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

39The priest shall come back on the seventh day and look. If the mildew has spread on the walls of the house,

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;

40then the priest shall order that they take out the stones that have the mildew on them and throw them into an unclean place outside the city.

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:

NoteAn "unclean place" is a designated dumping ground outside the town where unclean material could be discarded without contaminating anything in use.

41He shall have the whole inside of the house scraped, and what they scrape off shall be dumped in an unclean place outside the city.

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:

NoteThe plaster or lime coating on the inside face of the walls is scraped back to the stone; the scrapings, being contaminated, are carried out with the stones.

42They shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other mortar and plaster the house.

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.

43If the mildew comes back and breaks out in the house after he has taken out the stones, and after he has had the house scraped, and after it has been plastered,

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;

44then the priest shall come and look. If the mildew has spread in the house, it is an eating mildew in the house. The house is unclean.

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.

NoteThe KJV's "fretting" means eating away or corroding. The Hebrew describes a growth that has proved persistent and malignant rather than a passing stain.

45He shall tear down the house (its stones, its wood, and all its mortar) and carry it all out of the city to an unclean place.

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.

46Also, anyone who goes into the house during any of the days it is shut up will be unclean until evening.

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

Note"Unclean until evening" is the mildest grade of impurity: it lapses at sunset on its own, without any sacrifice.

47Anyone who sleeps in the house must wash his clothes, and anyone who eats in the house must wash his clothes.

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

48But if the priest comes in and looks, and the mildew has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, then the priest shall declare the house clean, because the mildew is healed.

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.

49To cleanse the house he shall take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop.

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

50He shall kill one of the birds in a clay pot over fresh running water.

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

51He shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn, and the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed and in the fresh running water, and sprinkle the house seven times.

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:

52So he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, with the fresh running water, with the live bird, with the cedar wood, with the hyssop, and with the scarlet yarn.

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:

53But he shall let the live bird go free out of the city into the open fields. In this way he shall make atonement for the house, and it will be clean."

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.

54This is the law for every kind of this disease, for a scaly outbreak,

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

Note"Scall" is the KJV's word for a scaly eruption on the head or in the beard, the condition set out in Leviticus 13:29–37.

55for the mildew in a piece of clothing and in a house,

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

56and for a swelling, a scab, and a bright spot

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

Note"Rising", "scab" and "bright spot" are the technical terms for three appearances of the skin catalogued in Leviticus 13: a raised swelling, a scaly patch, and a shiny discoloured mark.

57to teach when a thing is unclean and when it is clean. This is the law about this disease.

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

NoteThe Hebrew word rendered "law" (torah) means instruction or ruling. These chapters are a decision procedure for the priest, how to tell clean from unclean, rather than a set of commands laid on the ordinary person.