Leviticus 12-19

New American Standard Bible

Laws of Motherhood

12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying:

‘When a woman gives birth and delivers a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days; ^(A)as she is in the days of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. ³ Then on ^(B)the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. ⁴ And she shall stay at home in her condition of ^[a]blood purification for thirty-three days; she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed. ⁵ But if she gives birth to a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her menstruation; and she shall stay at home in her condition of ^[b]blood purification for sixty-six days.

⁶ ‘^(C)When the days of her purification are completed, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the tent of meeting a one-year-old lamb as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove ^(D)as a ^[c]sin offering. ⁷ Then he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the ^[d]flow of her blood. This is the law for her who gives birth to a child, whether a male or a female. ⁸ But if ^[e]she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take ^(E)two turtledoves or two young doves, ^(F)the one as a burnt offering and the other as a ^[f]sin offering; and the ^(G)priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”

The Test for Leprosy

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ² “When someone has on the skin of his ^[g]body a swelling, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes an infection of ^[h]leprosy on the skin of his ^[i]body, ^(H)then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. ³ The priest shall look at the infected area on the skin of the ^[j]body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his ^[k]body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean. ⁴ But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his ^[l]body, and ^[m]it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has not turned white, then the priest shall ^[n]isolate the person who has the infection for seven days. ⁵ Then the priest shall look at him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the infection has ^[o]not changed and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall ^[p]isolate him for seven more days. ⁶ The priest shall then look at him again on the seventh day, and if the infected area has faded and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a rash. And he shall ^(I)wash his clothes and be clean.

⁷ “But if the rash spreads farther on the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again to the priest. ⁸ And the priest shall look, and if the rash has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy.

⁹ “When the infection of leprosy is on someone, then he shall be brought to the priest. ¹⁰ The priest shall then look, and if there is a ^(J)white swelling on the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is new raw flesh in the swelling, ¹¹ it is ^[q]a chronic leprosy on the skin of his ^[r]body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not ^[s]isolate him, for he is unclean. ¹² If the leprosy breaks out farther on the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the person who has the infection from his head even to his feet, ^[t]as far as the priest can see, ¹³ then the priest shall look, and behold, if the leprosy has covered his entire ^[u]body, he shall pronounce the one who has the infection clean; it has all turned white and he is clean. ¹⁴ But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. ¹⁵ The priest shall look at the raw flesh, and he shall pronounce him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, it is leprosy. ¹⁶ Or if the raw flesh turns back and is changed to white, then he shall ^(K)come to the priest, ¹⁷ and the priest shall look at him, and behold, if the infected area has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce the one who has the infection clean; he is clean.

¹⁸ “Now when the ^[v]body has a boil on its skin and it is healed, ¹⁹ and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a reddish-white, bright spot, then it shall be shown to the priest; ²⁰ and the priest shall look, and behold, if ^[w]it appears to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the infection of leprosy, it has broken out in the boil. ²¹ But if the priest looks at it, and behold, there are no white hairs in it and it is not deeper than the skin and is faded, then the priest shall ^[x]isolate him for seven days; ²² and if it spreads farther on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection. ²³ But if the bright spot remains in its place and does not spread, it is only the scar of the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

²⁴ “Or if the ^[y]body sustains in its skin a burn by fire, and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white, or white, ²⁵ then the priest shall look at it. And if the hair in the bright spot has ^(L)turned white and it appears to be deeper than the skin, it is leprosy; it has broken out in the burn. Therefore, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection of leprosy. ²⁶ But if the priest looks at it, and indeed, there is no white hair in the bright spot and it is no deeper than the skin, but is dim, then the priest shall ^[z]isolate him for seven days; ²⁷ and the priest shall look at him on the seventh day. If it spreads farther in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection of leprosy. ²⁸ But if the bright spot remains in its place and has not spread in the skin, but is dim, it is the swelling from the burn; and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is only the scar of the burn.

²⁹ “Now if a man or woman has an infection on the head or on the beard, ³⁰ then the priest shall look at the infection, and if it appears to be deeper than the skin and there is thin yellowish hair in it, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a scale, it is leprosy of the head or of the beard. ³¹ But if the priest looks at the infection of the scale, and indeed, it appears to be no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall ^[aa]isolate the person with the scaly infection for seven days. ³² And on the seventh day the priest shall look at the infection, and if the scale has not spread and no yellowish hair has ^[ab]grown in it, and the appearance of the scale is no deeper than the skin, ³³ then he shall shave himself, but he shall not shave the scale; and the priest shall ^[ac]isolate the person with the scale for seven more days. ³⁴ Then on the seventh day the priest shall look at the scale, and if the scale has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; and he shall wash his clothes and be clean. ³⁵ But if the scale spreads farther in the skin after his cleansing, ³⁶ then the priest shall look at him, and if the scale has spread on the skin, the priest need not look for the yellowish hair; he is unclean. ³⁷ If in his sight the scale has remained, however, and black hair has grown in it, the scale has healed, and he is clean; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

³⁸ “When a man or a woman has bright spots on the skin of the ^[ad]body, white bright spots, ³⁹ then the priest shall look, and if the bright spots on the skin of their ^[ae]bodies are a faint white, it is ^[af]eczema that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.

⁴⁰ “Now if a man ^[ag]loses the hair of his head, he is only ^(M)bald; he is clean. ⁴¹ And if his head becomes bald at the ^[ah]front and sides, he is bald on the forehead; he is clean. ⁴² But if on the bald head or the bald forehead there occurs a reddish-white infection, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or on his bald forehead. ⁴³ Then ^(N)the priest shall look at him; and if the swelling of the infection is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprosy in the skin of the ^[ai]body, ⁴⁴ he is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean; his infection is on his head.

⁴⁵ “As for the person who has the leprous infection, his clothes shall be torn and ^(O)the hair of his head shall be ^[aj]uncovered, and he shall ^(P)cover his ^[ak]mustache and call out, ‘^(Q)Unclean! Unclean!’ ⁴⁶ He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; he shall live ^(R)outside the camp.

⁴⁷ “When a garment has ^[al]a mark of leprosy in it, whether it is a wool garment or a linen garment, ⁴⁸ whether in ^[am]warp or ^[an]woof, of linen or of wool, whether in leather or in any article made of leather, ⁴⁹ if the ^[ao]mark is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather, whether in the ^[ap]warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, it is a leprous ^[aq]mark and it shall be shown to the priest. ⁵⁰ Then ^(S)the priest shall look at the mark and shall ^[ar]quarantine the article with the mark for seven days. ⁵¹ He shall then look at the mark on the seventh day; if the mark has spread in the garment, whether in the ^[as]warp or in the woof, or in the leather, whatever the purpose for which the leather is used, the mark is a ^[at]leprous malignancy, it is unclean. ⁵² So he shall burn the garment, whether it is the ^[au]warp or the woof, in wool or in linen, or any article of leather, in which the mark occurs; for it is a ^[av]leprous malignancy. It shall be burned in the fire.

⁵³ “But if the priest looks, and indeed the mark has not spread in the garment, either in the ^[aw]warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, ⁵⁴ then the priest shall order them to wash the thing in which the mark occurs, and he shall ^[ax]quarantine it for seven more days. ⁵⁵ After the article with the mark has been washed, the priest shall again look, and if the mark has not changed its appearance, even if the mark has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire, whether an eating away has produced bareness on the back or on the front of it.

⁵⁶ “But if the priest looks, and indeed the mark has faded after it has been washed, then he shall tear it out of the garment or out of the leather, whether from the ^[ay]warp or from the woof; ⁵⁷ yet if it appears again in the garment, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, it is an outbreak; the article with the mark shall be burned in the fire. ⁵⁸ But the garment, whether the warp or the woof, or any article of leather from which the mark has disappeared when you washed it, shall then be washed a second time and will be clean.”

⁵⁹ This is the law for the mark of leprosy in a garment of wool or linen, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, for pronouncing it clean or unclean.

Law of Cleansing a Person with Leprosy

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “This shall be the law of the person with leprosy on the day of his cleansing. ^(T)Now he shall be brought to the priest; ³ and the priest shall go ^(U)out to a place outside of the camp. Then the priest shall look, and if the ^[az]leprous infection has been healed in the person with leprosy, ⁴ then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds, ^(V)cedar wood, a ^[ba]scarlet string, and hyssop for the one who is to be cleansed. ⁵ The priest shall also give orders to slaughter the one bird in an earthenware vessel over ^[bb]running water. ⁶ As for the live bird, he shall take it together with ^(W)the cedar wood, the ^[bc]scarlet string, and the ^(X)hyssop, and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the ^[bd]running water. ^7 (Y)He shall then sprinkle seven times the one who is to be cleansed from the leprosy and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the live bird go free over the open field. ^8 (Z)The one to be cleansed shall then wash his clothes and shave off all his hair, and bathe in water and ^(AA)be clean. And afterward he may enter the camp, but he ^(AB)shall stay outside his tent for seven days. ⁹ Then it shall be on the seventh day that he shall shave off all his hair: he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair. He shall then wash his clothes and bathe his ^[be]body in water and ^(AC)be clean.

¹⁰ “Now on the eighth day he is to take two male lambs without defect, and a yearling ewe lamb without defect, and three-tenths of an ^[bf]ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and one ^[bg](AD)log of oil; ¹¹ and the priest who is going to pronounce him clean shall present the person to be cleansed and ^[bh]the offerings before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ¹² Then the priest shall take the one male lamb and bring it as a ^(AE)guilt offering, with the ^[bi](AF)log of oil, and present them as a ^(AG)wave offering before the Lord. ¹³ Next he shall slaughter the male lamb in ^(AH)the place where they slaughter the ^[bj]sin offering and the burnt offering, at the place of the sanctuary—for the guilt offering, ^(AI)like the ^[bk]sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. ¹⁴ The priest shall then take some of the blood of the ^(AJ)guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on ^(AK)the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ¹⁵ The priest shall also take some of the ^[bl](AL)log of oil, and pour it into his left palm; ¹⁶ the priest shall then dip his right-hand finger into the oil that is in his left palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the Lord. ¹⁷ Of the remaining oil which is in his palm, the priest shall ^(AM)put some on the right ear lobe of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the guilt offering; ¹⁸ as for the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s palm, he shall put it on the head of the one to be cleansed. So the priest shall make ^(AN)atonement on his behalf before the Lord. ¹⁹ The priest shall next offer the ^[bm](AO)sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Then afterward, he shall slaughter the burnt offering. ²⁰ The priest shall offer up the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and ^(AP)he will be clean.

²¹ “^(AQ)But if he is poor and his ^[bn]means are insufficient, then he is to take one male lamb for a ^(AR)guilt offering as a wave offering to make atonement for him, and a tenth of an ^[bo]ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and a ^[bp](AS)log of oil, ²² and two turtledoves or two young doves, which ^[bq]are within his means. ^(AT)The one shall be a ^[br](AU)sin offering, and the other a burnt offering. ^23 (AV)Then on the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, at the doorway of the tent of meeting, before the Lord. ²⁴ The priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and ^(AW)the ^[bs]log of oil, and the priest shall offer them as a wave offering before the Lord. ²⁵ Next he shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering; and the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on ^(AX)the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁶ The priest shall also pour some of the oil into his left palm; ²⁷ and with his right-hand finger the priest shall sprinkle some of the oil that is in his left palm seven times before the Lord. ²⁸ The priest shall then put some of the oil that is in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the guilt offering. ²⁹ Moreover, the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s palm, he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement on his behalf before the Lord. ³⁰ He shall then offer one of the turtledoves or young doves, ^[bt]which are within his means. ³¹ He shall offer what ^[bu]he can afford, ^(AY)the one as a ^[bv]sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed. ³² This is the law for him in whom there is an infection of leprosy, whose ^[bw]means are limited for his cleansing.”

Cleansing a Leprous House

³³ The Lord further spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying:

³⁴ “^(AZ)When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I put a spot of leprosy on a house in the land of your possession, ³⁵ then the one who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘Something like ^(BA)a spot of leprosy has become visible to me in the house.’ ³⁶ The priest shall then command that they empty the house before the priest goes in to look at the spot, so that everything in the house need not become unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to look at the house. ³⁷ So he shall look at the spot, and if the spot on the walls of the house has greenish or reddish depressions and appears deeper than the ^[bx]surface, ³⁸ the priest shall come out of the house, to the ^[by]doorway, and ^[bz]quarantine the house for seven days. ³⁹ Then the priest shall return on the seventh day and ^[ca]make an inspection. If the spot has indeed spread on the walls of the house, ⁴⁰ the priest shall order them to pull out the stones with the spot on them and throw them away ^[cb]at an unclean place outside the city. ⁴¹ And he shall have the house scraped all around ^[cc]inside, and they shall dump the plaster that they scrape off at an unclean place outside the city. ⁴² Then they shall take other stones and replace the discarded stones, and he shall take other plaster and replaster the house.

⁴³ “If, however, the spot breaks out again in the house after he has pulled out the stones and scraped the house, and after it has been replastered, ⁴⁴ then the priest shall come in and ^[cd]make an inspection. If he sees that the spot has indeed spread in the house, it is ^(BB)a malignant spot in the house; it is unclean. ⁴⁵ The owner shall therefore tear down the house, its stones, its timbers, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall take them outside the city to an ^(BC)unclean place. ⁴⁶ Moreover, whoever goes into the house during the time that he has ^[ce]quarantined it, becomes ^(BD)unclean until evening. ⁴⁷ Likewise, whoever lies down in the house shall wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes.

⁴⁸ “If, on the other hand, the priest comes in and ^[cf]makes an inspection and the spot has not indeed spread in the house after the house has been replastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean because the spot has ^[cg]not reappeared. ⁴⁹ To cleanse the house then, he shall take ^(BE)two birds, cedar wood, a ^[ch]scarlet string, and hyssop, ⁵⁰ and he shall slaughter the one bird in an earthenware vessel over ^[ci]running water. ⁵¹ Then he shall take the cedar wood, the ^(BF)hyssop, and the ^[cj]scarlet string, with the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird as well as in the ^[ck]running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. ⁵² So he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the ^[cl]running water, along with the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the ^[cm]scarlet string. ⁵³ However, he shall let the live bird go free outside the city into the open field. So he shall make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.”

⁵⁴ This is the law for any spot of leprosy—even for a ^(BG)scale, ⁵⁵ and for the ^(BH)leprous garment or house, ⁵⁶ and ^(BI)for a swelling, for a scab, and for a bright spot— ⁵⁷ to teach ^[cn]when they are unclean and ^[co]when they are clean. This is the law of leprosy.

Cleansing Unhealthiness

15 The Lord also spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘^(BJ)When any man has a discharge from his ^[cp]body, ^[cq]his discharge is unclean. ³ This, moreover, shall be his uncleanness in his discharge: it is his uncleanness whether his body allows its discharge to flow or whether his body obstructs its discharge. ⁴ Every bed on which the man with the discharge lies becomes unclean, and everything on which he sits becomes unclean. ⁵ Anyone, moreover, who touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening; ⁶ and whoever sits on the thing on which the man with the discharge has been sitting, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ⁷ Also whoever touches the ^[cr]man with the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ⁸ Or if the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, he too shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ⁹ Every saddle on which the man with the discharge rides becomes unclean. ¹⁰ Whoever then touches any of the things which were under him shall be unclean until evening, and the one who carries them shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ¹¹ Likewise, whomever the man with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ¹² However, an ^(BK)earthenware vessel which the man with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every wooden vessel shall be rinsed in water.

¹³ ‘Now when the man with the discharge becomes cleansed from his discharge, then he ^(BL)shall count off for himself seven days for his cleansing; he shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in ^[cs]running water and will become clean. ¹⁴ Then on the eighth day he shall take for himself ^(BM)two turtledoves or two young doves, and come before the Lord to the doorway of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest; ¹⁵ and the priest shall offer them, ^(BN)one as a ^[ct]sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. So ^(BO)the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the Lord because of his discharge.

¹⁶ ‘^(BP)Now if a ^[cu]man has a seminal emission, he shall bathe all his body in water and be unclean until evening. ¹⁷ As for any garment or any leather on which there is a seminal emission, it shall be washed with water and be unclean until evening. ¹⁸ If a man sleeps with a woman so that there is a seminal emission, they shall both bathe in water and be ^(BQ)unclean until evening.

¹⁹ ‘^(BR)When a woman has a discharge, if her discharge in her body is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. ²⁰ Everything also on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean. ²¹ Anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ²² Whoever touches any object on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ²³ Whether it be on the bed or on the thing on which she is sitting, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. ^24 (BS)If a man actually sleeps with her so that her menstrual impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

²⁵ ‘^(BT)Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond ^[cv]that period, for all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though ^[cw]in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean. ²⁶ Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like ^[cx]her bed at menstruation; and every object on which she sits shall be unclean, like ^[cy]her uncleanness at that time. ²⁷ Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ²⁸ When she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off for herself seven days; and afterward she will be clean. ²⁹ Then on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young doves, and bring them to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting. ³⁰ And the priest shall offer the ^(BU)one as a ^[cz]sin offering, and the other as a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the Lord because of her impure discharge.’

³¹ “And so you shall keep the sons of Israel separated from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in their uncleanness by their ^(BV)defiling My ^[da]tabernacle that is among them.” ³² This is the law for the one with a discharge, and for the man ^[db]who has a seminal emission so that he is unclean by it, ³³ and for the woman who is ill because of menstrual impurity, and for the one who has a discharge, whether a male or a female, or a man who sleeps with an unclean woman.

Law of Atonement

16 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after ^(BW)the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died. ² The Lord said to Moses:

“Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter ^(BX)at ^[dc]any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the ^[dd]atoning cover which is on the ark, or he will die; for ^(BY)I will appear in the cloud over the ^[de]atoning cover. ³ Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with this: with a ^[df]bull as a ^[dg](BZ)sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. ⁴ He shall put on the ^(CA)holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his ^[dh]body, and he shall be wrapped about the waist with the linen sash and the linen turban wound around his forehead (these are holy garments). He shall ^(CB)bathe his ^[di]body in water and put them on. ⁵ And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel ^(CC)two male goats as a ^[dj]sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. ⁶ Then ^(CD)Aaron shall offer the bull as the ^[dk]sin offering, which is for himself, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household. ⁷ He shall then take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ⁸ Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for ^[dl]the ^[dm]scapegoat. ⁹ Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a ^[dn]sin offering. ¹⁰ But the goat on which the lot for ^[do]the ^[dp]scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make ^(CE)atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness ^[dq]as the ^[dr]scapegoat.

¹¹ “Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the ^[ds]sin offering ^(CF)which is for himself and make atonement for himself and ^(CG)for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the ^[dt]sin offering which is for himself. ¹² He shall take a ^(CH)firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the Lord and ^[du]two handfuls of finely ground ^(CI)sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. ¹³ He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud of incense may cover the ^(CJ)atoning cover that is on the ark of the testimony, ^(CK)otherwise he will die. ¹⁴ Moreover, ^(CL)he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it ^(CM)with his finger on the atoning cover on the east side; also in front of the atoning cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

¹⁵ “Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, ^(CN)which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the atoning cover and in front of the atoning cover. ^16 (CO)He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall do so for the tent of meeting which remains with them in the midst of their impurities. ¹⁷ When he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. ¹⁸ Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it; he shall take some of the blood from the bull and some of the blood from the goat, and ^(CP)put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. ^19 (CQ)With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and consecrate it from the impurities of the sons of Israel.

²⁰ “When he finishes atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. ²¹ Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and ^(CR)confess over it all the wrongdoings of the sons of Israel and all their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall place them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands ready. ²² Then the goat shall carry on itself all their wrongdoings to an ^[dv]isolated territory; he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

²³ “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off ^(CS)the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. ²⁴ And ^(CT)he shall bathe his ^[dw]body with water in a holy place and put on ^(CU)his clothes, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. ²⁵ Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar. ²⁶ The one who released the goat ^[dx]as the ^[dy]scapegoat ^(CV)shall wash his clothes and bathe his ^[dz]body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp. ²⁷ But the bull of the ^[ea]sin offering and the goat of the ^[eb]sin offering, ^(CW)whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire. ²⁸ Then the ^(CX)one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; and afterward he shall come into the camp.

An Annual Atonement

²⁹ “This shall be a permanent statute for you: ^(CY)in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble ^[ec]yourselves and not ^(CZ)do any work, whether the native, or the stranger who resides among you; ³⁰ for it is on this day that ^[ed]atonement shall be made for you to ^(DA)cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. ³¹ It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, so that you may ^(DB)humble ^[ee]yourselves; it is a permanent statute. ³² So the priest who is anointed and ^[ef]ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall put on ^(DC)the linen garments, the holy garments, ³³ and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for ^(DD)the priests and for all the people of the assembly. ³⁴ Now you shall have this as a ^(DE)permanent statute, to ^(DF)make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did.

Blood for Atonement

17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded, saying, ³ “Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp, or slaughters it outside the camp, ⁴ and ^(DG)has not brought it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the ^[eg]tabernacle of the Lord, bloodshed is to be counted against that person. He has shed blood, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. ⁵ This shall be done so that the sons of Israel will bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing ^[eh]in the open field—so that they will bring them to the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord. ⁶ The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and ^(DH)offer up the fat in smoke as a soothing aroma to the Lord. ⁷ And ^(DI)they shall no longer offer their sacrifices to the ^[ei]goat demons with which they play the prostitute. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations.”’

⁸ “Then you shall say to them, ‘Anyone from the house of Israel, or from the strangers who reside among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, ⁹ and ^(DJ)does not bring it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to ^[ej]offer it to the Lord, that person also shall be cut off from his people.

¹⁰ ‘^(DK)And anyone from the house of Israel, or from the strangers who reside among them, who eats any blood, ^(DL)I will set My face against that person who eats the blood, and will cut him off from among his people. ¹¹ For ^(DM)the ^[ek]life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for ^(DN)it is the blood by reason of the ^[el]life that makes atonement.’ ¹² Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, nor may any stranger who resides among you eat blood.’ ¹³ So when anyone from the sons of Israel, or from the strangers who reside among them, ^[em]while hunting catches an animal or a bird which may be eaten, ^(DO)he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dirt.

¹⁴ “^(DP)For as for the ^[en]life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its ^[eo]life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the ^[ep]life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’ ¹⁵ And ^(DQ)any person who eats an animal which dies or is torn by animals, whether he is a native or a stranger, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean. ¹⁶ But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe his body, then ^(DR)he shall bear the responsibility for his ^[eq]guilt.”

Laws on Immoral Relations

18 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘^(DS)I am the Lord your God. ³ You shall not do ^[er]what is ^(DT)done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do ^[es]what is ^(DU)done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. ⁴ You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, ^[et]to live in accord with them; ^(DV)I am the Lord your God. ⁵ So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, ^(DW)which, if ^[eu]a person ^[ev]follows them, then he will live by them; I am the Lord.

⁶ ‘None of you shall approach any blood relative ^[ew]of his to uncover nakedness; I am the Lord. ^7 (DX)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you are not to uncover her nakedness. ^8 (DY)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness. ⁹ As for ^(DZ)the nakedness of your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born in the household or born outside the household, you shall not uncover their nakedness. ¹⁰ The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for ^[ex]their nakedness is yours. ¹¹ The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, born to your father, she is your sister; you shall not uncover her nakedness. ^12 (EA)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s blood relative. ¹³ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s blood relative. ^14 (EB)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. ^15 (EC)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you shall not uncover her nakedness. ^16 (ED)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. ^17 (EE)You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are blood relatives. It is an outrageous sin. ¹⁸ And you shall not ^[ey]marry a woman in addition to her sister ^[ez]as a second wife while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.

¹⁹ ‘^(EF)Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her ^(EG)menstrual impurity. ²⁰ And ^(EH)you shall not have sexual intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her. ²¹ You shall not give any of your children ^(EI)to ^[fa]offer them to Molech, nor shall you ^(EJ)profane the name of your God; I am the Lord. ^22 (EK)You shall not sleep with a male as ^[fb]one sleeps with a female; it is an abomination. ^23 (EL)Also you shall not have sexual intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to ^[fc]mate with it; it is a perversion.

²⁴ ‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these things ^(EM)the nations which I am driving out from you have become defiled. ²⁵ For the land has become defiled, ^(EN)therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land ^(EO)has vomited out its inhabitants. ²⁶ But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments, and you shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the stranger who resides among you ²⁷ (for the people of the land who were there before you did all these abominations, and the land has become defiled), ²⁸ so that the land will not vomit you out should you defile it, as it has vomited out the nation which was there before you. ²⁹ For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people. ³⁰ So you are to keep ^(EP)your ^[fd]commitment to Me not to practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves with them; ^(EQ)I am the Lord your God.’”

Idolatry Forbidden

19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

² “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘^(ER)You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. ³ Every one of you ^(ES)shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep ^(ET)My Sabbaths; ^(EU)I am the Lord your God. ⁴ Do not turn to ^(EV)idols or make for yourselves cast metal ^(EW)gods; I am the Lord your God.

⁵ ‘Now when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. ⁶ It shall be eaten on the same day you offer it, and on the next day; but what remains until the third day shall be burned with fire. ⁷ So if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is unclean; it will not be accepted. ⁸ And everyone who eats it will bear the consequences for his guilt, because he has profaned the holy thing of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people.

Various Laws

⁹ ‘^(EX)Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰ And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.

¹¹ ‘^(EY)You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, ^(EZ)nor lie to one another. ¹² And ^(FA)you shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to ^(FB)profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.

¹³ ‘^(FC)You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. ^(FD)The wages of a hired worker are not to remain with you all night until morning. ¹⁴ You shall not curse a person who is deaf, nor ^(FE)put a stumbling block before a person who is blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the Lord.

¹⁵ ‘^(FF)You shall not do injustice in judgment; you shall not show partiality to the poor nor give preference to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. ¹⁶ You shall not go about as ^(FG)a slanderer among your people; and you are not to ^[fe]jeopardize the ^[ff](FH)life of your neighbor. I am the Lord.

¹⁷ ‘You ^(FI)shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you ^(FJ)may certainly rebuke your neighbor, but you are not to incur sin because of him. ^18 (FK)You shall not take vengeance, ^(FL)nor hold any grudge against the sons of your people, but ^(FM)you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.

¹⁹ ‘You are to keep My statutes. You shall not cross-breed two kinds of your cattle; ^(FN)you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment of two kinds of material mixed together.

²⁰ ‘^(FO)Now if a man has sexual relations with a woman who is a slave acquired for another man, but who has in no way been redeemed nor given her freedom, there shall be punishment; they shall not, however, be put to death, because she was not free. ²¹ He shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord to the doorway of the tent of meeting, ^(FP)a ram as a guilt offering. ²² The priest shall also make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed, and the sin which he has committed will be forgiven him.

²³ ‘Now when you enter the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as ^[fg]forbidden. For three years it shall be ^[fh]forbidden to you; it shall not be eaten. ²⁴ And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. ²⁵ But in the fifth year you shall eat its fruit, so that its yield may increase for you; I am the Lord your God.

²⁶ ‘You shall not eat any meat ^(FQ)with the blood. You shall not practice ^(FR)divination nor soothsaying. ^27 (FS)You shall not round off the ^[fi]hairline of your heads, nor trim the edges of your beard. ²⁸ You shall not make any cuts in your ^[fj]body for the ^[fk]dead, nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.

²⁹ ‘^(FT)Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land does not fall into prostitution, and the land does not become full of outrageous sin. ³⁰ You shall ^(FU)keep My Sabbaths and ^(FV)revere My sanctuary; I am the Lord.

³¹ ‘Do not turn to ^[fl](FW)mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

³² ‘^(FX)You shall stand up in the presence of the grayheaded and honor ^[fm]elders, and you shall ^[fn]fear your God; I am the Lord.

³³ ‘^(FY)When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not ^[fo]do him wrong. ³⁴ The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and ^(FZ)you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.

³⁵ ‘^(GA)You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight, or volume. ³⁶ You shall have ^(GB)accurate balances, accurate weights, an accurate ^[fp]ephah, and an accurate ^[fq]hin; I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt. ³⁷ So you shall keep all My statutes and all My ordinances, and do them; I am the Lord.’”