Leviticus 14-16

New Life Version

Laws about Skin Diseases

14 The Lord said to Moses, ² “This is the law of the person with a bad skin disease when he is made clean. He will be brought to the religious leader. ³ The religious leader will go away from the tents and look at him. If the sick person has been healed of the bad skin disease, ⁴ the religious leader must have two live clean birds, cedar wood, a red string and hyssop brought for the one who is to be made clean. ⁵ The religious leader will have one of the birds killed in a clay pot over flowing water. ⁶ Then he will take the living bird with the cedar wood, the red string and the hyssop. He will put them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the flowing water. ⁷ He will put blood seven times on the one who is to be made clean from the bad skin disease. And he will say he is clean. Then he will let the live bird go free over the open field. ⁸ The one to be made clean will wash his clothes, cut off all his hair, wash himself in water, and be clean. After that he may go among the tents. But he must stay outside his tent for seven days. ⁹ On the seventh day he will cut off his hair. He will cut the hair from his head and face, all his hair. Then he will wash his clothes and wash himself in water, and be clean.

¹⁰ “On the eighth day he is to take two male lambs that are perfect, a year old female lamb that is perfect, three-tenths part of a basket of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain gift, and one jar of oil. ¹¹ The religious leader who makes him clean will set the man who is to be made clean and these things before the Lord at the door of the meeting tent. ¹² Then the religious leader will take the one male lamb and bring it for a guilt gift with the jar of oil. He will give them as a wave gift before the Lord. ¹³ He will kill the lamb in the holy place where they kill the sin gifts and the burnt gifts. For the guilt gift belongs to the religious leader like the sin gift. It is most holy. ¹⁴ Then the religious leader will take some of the blood of the guilt gift. He will put it on the bottom part of the right ear of the person to be made clean. And he will put it on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. ¹⁵ Then the religious leader will take some of the oil in the jar and pour it into his left hand. ¹⁶ The religious leader will put a finger of his right hand into the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord. ¹⁷ Then the religious leader will put some of the rest of the oil upon the blood of the guilt gift on the bottom part of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand and the big toe of the right foot of the person to be made clean. ¹⁸ The rest of the oil in the religious leader’s hand will be put on the head of the person to be made clean. So the religious leader will pay for the person’s sins before the Lord. ¹⁹ The religious leader will then give the sin gift to pay for the sins of the person to be made clean. After that he will kill the burnt gift. ²⁰ The religious leader will give the burnt gift and the grain gift on the altar. So the religious leader will pay for the person’s sins, and he will be clean.

²¹ “But if he is poor and does not have enough money for so much, he will take one male lamb for a guilt gift, a wave gift, to pay for his sins. And he will take one-tenth part of a basket of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain gift, a jar of oil, ²² and two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, whatever he is able to buy. One will be a sin gift and the other a burnt gift. ²³ On the eighth day he will bring them to the religious leader at the door of the meeting tent before the Lord so he can be made clean. ²⁴ The religious leader will take the lamb of the guilt gift and the jar of oil. And the religious leader will wave them as the wave gift before the Lord. ²⁵ Then he will kill the lamb of the guilt gift. The religious leader will take some of the blood of the guilt gift and put it on the bottom part of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand and the big toe of the right foot of the person to be made clean. ²⁶ The religious leader will pour some of the oil into his left hand. ²⁷ The religious leader will put a finger of his right hand into the oil that is in the left hand seven times before the Lord. ²⁸ Then the religious leader will put some of the oil in his hand on the bottom part of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand and the big toe of the right foot of the person to be made clean. It will be put on the place where he has put the blood of the guilt gift. ²⁹ The rest of the oil in the religious leader’s hand will be put on the head of the person to be made clean, to pay for his sins before the Lord. ³⁰ Then he will give one of the turtle-doves or young pigeons that he was able to buy. ³¹ He will give what he is able to give, one for a sin gift and the other for a burnt gift, together with the grain gift. So the religious leader will pay for the sins of the person to be made clean before the Lord. ³² This is the law for him who had a bad skin disease and is not able to buy what is needed for making him clean.”

Laws about the House Where the Person with a Bad Skin Disease Lived

³³ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ³⁴ “When you come into the land of Canaan, which I give you for your own, and I put a mark of a bad skin disease on a house in your land, ³⁵ then the one who owns the house will come and tell the religious leader, ‘I see something like a mark of a bad skin disease in my house.’ ³⁶ Then the religious leader will tell them to empty the house before he goes in to look at the mark, so he will not say that everything in the house is unclean. After this the religious leader will go in to look at the house. ³⁷ He will look at the mark of the disease. If the mark is in the walls of the house with green or red spots deep in the walls, ³⁸ the religious leader will go out the door and shut up the house for seven days. ³⁹ He will come again on the seventh day and look. If the disease has spread in the walls of the house, ⁴⁰ the religious leader will tell them to tear out the stones with the disease in them and throw them away outside the city at an unclean place. ⁴¹ He will have the walls and floors of the house cleaned inside. And they will take the pieces that are rubbed off to an unclean place outside the city. ⁴² Then they will take other stones to put in the place of those stones. And he will cover the walls with a new covering.

⁴³ “If the disease comes again in the house, after he has taken out the stones, cleaned the house inside and covered the walls again, ⁴⁴ then the religious leader will come and look. If the disease has spread in the house, it is a very bad disease in the house. It is unclean. ⁴⁵ He will tear down the house, its stones, wood, and all the covering of the house. And he will take the pieces outside the city to an unclean place. ⁴⁶ Anyone who goes into the house during the time it is shut up will be unclean until evening. ⁴⁷ Whoever lies down in the house will wash his clothes. And whoever eats in the house will wash his clothes.

⁴⁸ “But the religious leader may come in and find that the disease has not spread in the house after its walls have been covered again. Then the religious leader will say the house is clean, because the mark of the disease cannot be seen. ⁴⁹ He will take two birds, cedar wood, a red string and hyssop to make the house clean. ⁵⁰ He will kill one of the birds in a clay pot over flowing water. ⁵¹ Then he will take the cedar wood and the hyssop and the red string, with the live bird, and put them in the blood of the killed bird and in the flowing water. And he will put some of the blood and water on the house seven times. ⁵² He will make the house clean with the blood of the bird, the flowing water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the red string. ⁵³ He will let the live bird go free outside the city into the open field. So he will take away sin from the house, and it will be clean.”

⁵⁴ This is the law for any very bad skin disease, even a sore, ⁵⁵ and for a disease in clothing or in a house, ⁵⁶ and for a growing sore, and what is left of a sore, and for a bright spot. ⁵⁷ It is to teach when they are unclean, and when they are clean. This is the law of the very bad skin disease.

Laws about Flows from the Body

15 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² “Say to the people of Israel, ‘When a man has something flowing from his body, what is flowing is unclean. ³ If it flows, or if it fills up and stops flowing, he will be unclean. ⁴ Every bed on which the person with the flow lies will be unclean. ⁵ Whoever touches his bed must wash his clothes and wash himself in water. And he will be unclean until evening. ⁶ Whoever sits where the man with the flow has been sitting must wash his clothes and wash himself with water. He will be unclean until evening. ⁷ Whoever touches the person with the flow must wash his clothes and wash himself in water. And he will be unclean until evening. ⁸ If the man with the flow spits on one who is clean, then he must wash his clothes, wash himself in water, and be unclean until evening. ⁹ Any leather seat on which the man who is unclean has been sitting will be unclean. ¹⁰ Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening. ¹¹ Anyone the man with the flow touches must wash his clothes and wash himself in water. He will be unclean until evening. ¹² The clay pot that the man with the flow touches must be broken. And anything made of wood must be washed in water.

¹³ ‘When the flow of the man stops, he will take seven days to make himself clean. Then he will wash his clothes and wash his body in running water. And he will be clean. ¹⁴ On the eighth day he will take two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, come before the Lord at the door of the meeting tent, and give them to the religious leader. ¹⁵ The religious leader will give them, one for a sin gift, and the other for a burnt gift. So the religious leader will pay for his sins before the Lord because of his flow.

¹⁶ ‘If a man’s seed comes from his sex part, he must wash his whole body in water. And he will be unclean until evening. ¹⁷ Any clothing or leather on which the seed touches must be washed with water. It will be unclean until evening. ¹⁸ If a man lies with a woman so that seed goes out from him, they must both wash themselves in water and will be unclean until evening.

¹⁹ ‘When a woman has something flowing from her body, and if it is blood, she will be unclean for seven days. Whoever touches her will be unclean until evening. ²⁰ Everything she lies on while she is unclean will be unclean. And everything she sits on will be unclean. ²¹ Whoever touches her bed must wash his clothes and wash himself in water and be unclean until evening. ²² Whoever touches anything she sits on must wash his clothes and wash himself in water and be unclean until evening. ²³ If he touches anything on her bed or where she sat, he will be unclean until evening. ²⁴ If a man lies with her so that her blood is on him, he will be unclean for seven days. And every bed he lies on will be unclean.

²⁵ ‘If a woman has a flow of blood for many days, at a different time than when it happens each month, or if the blood flows longer at that time, all the days the blood flows she will be unclean. It will be as if it were the time when she is unclean each month. She will be unclean. ²⁶ Any bed she lies on while her blood is flowing will be like the bed during the time she is unclean and whatever she sits on will be unclean. ²⁷ Whoever touches them will be unclean. He must wash his clothes and wash himself in water and be unclean until evening. ²⁸ When she becomes clean from her flow, she will wait seven days. After that she will be clean. ²⁹ On the eighth day she will take two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, and bring them to the religious leader at the door of the meeting tent. ³⁰ The religious leader will give one for a sin gift and the other for a burnt gift. In this way the woman will be clean before the Lord from the flow of blood that made her unclean.’

³¹ “In this way you will keep the people of Israel away from whatever makes them unclean or they will die because of making My meeting tent unclean that is among them.” ³² This is the law for him who has something flowing from his body, and for the man whose seed flows from his sex part and makes him unclean. ³³ And this is the law for the woman who is sick because of her flow of blood, and for the man or woman who has something flowing from the body, and for the man who lies with a woman who is unclean.

Animals Pay the Price for Man’s Sin

16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons, when they had come near the Lord and died. ² The Lord said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he must not come just any time into the holy place inside the curtain, in front of the mercy-seat on the special box of the agreement or he will die. For I will show Myself in the cloud over the mercy-seat. ³ Only this way will Aaron go into the holy place, with a bull for a sin gift and a ram for a burnt gift. ⁴ He will put on the holy linen coat. And the linen under-clothing will be next to his body. He will be wearing the linen belt and the linen head-covering. These are holy clothing. He will wash his body in water and then dress himself. ⁵ He will take from the people of Israel two male goats for a sin gift and one ram for a burnt gift. ⁶ Then Aaron will give the bull as a sin gift for himself, to pay for the sins of himself and those in his house. ⁷ He will take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the door of the meeting tent. ⁸ Aaron will draw names for the two goats, choosing one for the Lord and the other to be sent away. ⁹ Then Aaron will bring the goat that was chosen for the Lord and give it as a sin gift. ¹⁰ But the goat that was chosen to be sent away will be brought alive before the Lord, for the taking away of sin. And it will be sent into the desert.

¹¹ “Then Aaron will give the bull as the sin gift for himself, to pay for the sins of himself and those in his house. He will kill the bull as the sin gift for himself. ¹² He will take a fire pan full of fire from the altar before the Lord, and enough fine, ground, sweet perfume to fill two hands. And he will bring it inside the curtain. ¹³ He will put the special perfume on the fire before the Lord so that the cloud of the special perfume covers the mercy-seat on the special box of the agreement or he will die. ¹⁴ He will take some of the bull’s blood and put it with his finger on the east side of the mercy-seat. And with his finger he will put some of the blood seven times in front of the mercy-seat.

¹⁵ “Then he will kill the goat as the sin gift for the people. He will bring its blood inside the curtain, and do the same with its blood as he did with the bull’s blood. He will put it on the seat and in front of the mercy-seat. ¹⁶ He will make the holy place, and also the meeting tent which is in the center of the camp, clean and pure because all the sins of the people make them unclean. ¹⁷ When he goes in to pay for sins in the holy place, no one will be in the meeting tent until he comes out. He will pay for the sins of himself, of those in his house, and of all the people of Israel. ¹⁸ Then he will go out to the altar before the Lord and make it clean and pure. He will take some of the bull’s blood and goat’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. ¹⁹ With his finger he will put some of the blood on the altar seven times so it will be clean. He will set it apart from what is unclean among the people of Israel.

²⁰ “When he finishes making the holy place, the meeting tent and the altar free from sin, he will give the live goat. ²¹ Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and tell of all the sins and wrong-doings of the people of Israel. He will lay them upon the head of the goat and send it away into the desert by the hand of a man ready to help. ²² The goat will carry upon itself all their sins to a land where no one lives. Then the man will let the goat go free there.

²³ “Aaron will come into the meeting tent. He will take off the linen clothing he put on when he went into the holy place. And he will leave them there. ²⁴ He will wash his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes. Then he will come out and give his burnt gift and the people’s burnt gift, to pay for the sins of himself and the people. ²⁵ He will burn the fat of the sin gift on the altar. ²⁶ The man who let the goat carry away the sins will wash his clothes and wash his body with water. Then he may come among the tents. ²⁷ The bull and the goat for the sin gift, whose blood was brought in to pay for sins in the holy place, will be taken away from the tents. Their skin, their flesh and their waste will be burned with fire. ²⁸ Whoever burns them will wash his clothes and wash his body with water. Then he may come among the tents.

²⁹ “This will be a Law forever for you. On the tenth day of the seventh month, you must get rid of your pride and not do any work, both those who live in the land and those who visit from another land. ³⁰ For on this day your sin will be taken away and you will be clean. You will be made free from all your sins before the Lord. ³¹ It is to be a special Day of Rest for you, that you may be free from pride. It is a Law forever. ³² The chosen religious leader who is set apart to work as religious leader in his father’s place will pay for the sin. He will put on the holy linen clothing ³³ and make the holy place, the meeting tent and the altar free from sin. He will make the religious leaders and all the people free from sin also. ³⁴ This will be a Law forever for you. The people of Israel must be made free from all their sins once a year.” And Moses did what the Lord told him to do.