Leviticus 14-16

The Message

14 ^1-9God spoke to Moses: “These are the instructions for the infected person at the time of his cleansing. First, bring him to the priest. The priest will take him outside the camp and make an examination; if the infected person has been healed of the serious skin disease, the priest will order two live, clean birds, some cedar wood, scarlet thread, and hyssop to be brought for the one to be cleansed. The priest will order him to kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. The priest will then take the live bird with the cedar wood, the scarlet thread, and the hyssop and dip them in the blood of the dead bird over fresh water and then sprinkle the person being cleansed from the serious skin disease seven times and pronounce him clean. Finally, he will release the live bird in the open field. The cleansed person, after washing his clothes, shaving off all his hair, and bathing with water, is clean. Afterwards he may again enter the camp, but he has to live outside his tent for seven days. On the seventh day, he must shave off all his hair—from his head, beard, eyebrows, all of it. He then must wash his clothes and bathe all over with water. He will be clean.

^10-18“The next day, the eighth day, he will bring two lambs without defect and a yearling ewe without defect, along with roughly six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil. The priest who pronounces him clean will place him and the materials for his offerings in the presence of God at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The priest will take one of the lambs and present it and the pint of oil as a Compensation-Offering and lift them up as a Wave-Offering before God. He will slaughter the lamb in the place where the Absolution-Offering and the Whole-Burnt-Offering are slaughtered, in the Holy Place, because like the Absolution-Offering, the Compensation-Offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy. The priest will now take some of the blood of the Compensation-Offering and put it on the right earlobe of the man being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. Following that he will take some oil and pour it into the palm of his left hand and then with the finger of his right hand sprinkle oil seven times before God. The priest will put some of the remaining oil on the right earlobe of the one being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, placing it on top of the blood of the Compensation-Offering. He will put the rest of the oil on the head of the man being cleansed and make atonement for him before God.

^19-20“Finally the priest will sacrifice the Absolution-Offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness, slaughter the Whole-Burnt-Offering and offer it with the Grain-Offering on the Altar. He has made atonement for him. He is clean.

^21-22“If he is poor and cannot afford these offerings, he will bring one male lamb as a Compensation-Offering to be offered as a Wave-Offering to make atonement for him, and with it a couple of quarts of fine flour mixed with oil for a Grain-Offering, a pint of oil, and two doves or pigeons which he can afford, one for an Absolution-Offering and the other for a Whole-Burnt-Offering.

^23-29“On the eighth day he will bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the presence of God. The priest will take the lamb for the Compensation-Offering together with the pint of oil and wave them before God as a Wave-Offering. He will slaughter the lamb for the Compensation-Offering, take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. The priest will pour some of the oil into the palm of his left hand, and with his right finger sprinkle some of the oil from his palm seven times before God. He will put some of the oil that is in his palm on the same places he put the blood of the Compensation-Offering, on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. The priest will take what is left of the oil in his palm and put it on the head of the one to be cleansed, making atonement for him before God.

^30-31“At the last, he will sacrifice the doves or pigeons which are within his means, one as an Absolution-Offering and the other as a Whole-Burnt-Offering along with the Grain-Offering. Following this procedure the priest will make atonement for the one to be cleansed before God.”

³²These are the instructions to be followed for anyone who has a serious skin disease and cannot afford the regular offerings for his cleansing.

* * *

^33-42God spoke to Moses and Aaron: “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I’m giving to you as a possession, and I put a serious fungus in a house in the land of your possession, the householder is to go and tell the priest, ‘I have some kind of fungus in my house.’ The priest is to order the house vacated until he can come to examine the fungus, so that nothing in the house is declared unclean. When the priest comes and examines the house, if the fungus on the walls of the house has greenish or rusty swelling that appears to go deeper than the surface of the wall, the priest is to walk out the door and shut the house up for seven days. On the seventh day he is to come back and conduct another examination; if the fungus has spread in the walls of the house, he is to order that the stones affected by the fungus be torn out and thrown in a garbage dump outside the city. He is to make sure the entire inside of the house is scraped and the plaster that is removed be taken away to the garbage dump outside the city. Then he is to replace the stones and replaster the house.

^43-47“If the fungus breaks out again in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house has been scraped and plastered, the priest is to come and conduct an examination; if the fungus has spread, it is a malignant fungus. The house is unclean. The house has to be demolished—its stones, wood, and plaster are to be removed to the garbage dump outside the city. Anyone who enters the house while it is closed up is unclean until evening. Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash his clothes.

^48-53“But if when the priest comes and conducts his examination, he finds that the fungus has not spread after the house has been replastered, the priest is to declare that the house is clean; the fungus is cured. He then is to purify the house by taking two birds, some cedar wood, scarlet thread, and hyssop. He will slaughter one bird over fresh water in a clay pot. Then he will take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet thread, and the living bird, dip them in the blood of the killed bird and the fresh water and sprinkle the house seven times, cleansing the house with the blood of the bird, the fresh water, the living bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet thread. Last of all, he will let the living bird loose outside the city in the open field. He has made atonement for the house; the house is clean.

^54-57“These are the procedures to be followed for every kind of serious skin disease or itch, for mildew or fungus on clothing or in a house, and for a swelling or blister or shiny spot in order to determine when it is unclean and when it is clean. These are the procedures regarding infectious skin diseases and mildew and fungus.”

Bodily Discharges

15 ^1-3God spoke to Moses and Aaron: “Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, When a man has a discharge from his genitals, the discharge is unclean. Whether it comes from a seepage or an obstruction he is unclean. He is unclean all the days his body has a seepage or an obstruction.

^4-7“Every bed on which he lies is ritually unclean, everything on which he sits is unclean. If someone touches his bed or sits on anything he’s sat on, or touches the man with the discharge, he has to wash his clothes and bathe in water; he remains unclean until evening.

^8-11“If the man with the discharge spits on someone who is clean, that person has to wash his clothes and bathe in water; he remains unclean until evening. Every saddle on which the man with the discharge rides is unclean. Whoever touches anything that has been under him becomes unclean until evening. Anyone who carries such an object must wash his clothes and bathe with water; he remains unclean until evening. If the one with the discharge touches someone without first rinsing his hands with water, the one touched must wash his clothes and bathe with water; he remains unclean until evening.

¹²“If a pottery container is touched by someone with a discharge, you must break it; a wooden article is to be rinsed in water.

^13-15“When a person with a discharge is cleansed from it, he is to count off seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe in running water. Then he is clean. On the eighth day he is to take two doves or two pigeons and come before God at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and give them to the priest. The priest then offers one as an Absolution-Offering and one as a Whole-Burnt-Offering and makes atonement for him in the presence of God because of his discharge.

^16-18“When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his entire body in water; he remains unclean until evening. Every piece of clothing and everything made of leather which gets semen on it must be washed with water; it remains unclean until evening. When a man sleeps with a woman and has an emission of semen, both are to wash in water; they remain unclean until evening.

^19-23“When a woman has a discharge of blood, the impurity of her menstrual period lasts seven days. Anyone who touches her is unclean until evening. Everything on which she lies or sits during her period is unclean. Anyone who touches her bed or anything on which she sits must wash his clothes and bathe in water; he remains unclean until evening.

²⁴“If a man sleeps with her and her menstrual blood gets on him, he is unclean for seven days and every bed on which he lies becomes unclean.

^25-27“If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, but not at the time of her monthly period, or has a discharge that continues beyond the time of her period, she is unclean the same as during the time of her period. Every bed on which she lies during the time of the discharge and everything on which she sits becomes unclean the same as in her monthly period. Anyone who touches these things becomes unclean and must wash his clothes and bathe in water; he remains unclean until evening.

^28-30“When she is cleansed from her discharge, she is to count off seven days; then she is clean. On the eighth day she is to take two doves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The priest will offer one for an Absolution-Offering and the other for a Whole-Burnt-Offering. The priest will make atonement for her in the presence of God because of the discharge that made her unclean.

³¹“You are responsible for keeping the People of Israel separate from that which makes them ritually unclean, lest they die in their unclean condition by defiling my Dwelling which is among them.

^32-33“These are the procedures to follow for a man with a discharge or an emission of semen that makes him unclean, and for a woman in her menstrual period—any man or woman with a discharge and also for a man who sleeps with a woman who is unclean.”

The Day of Atonement

16 ^1-2After the death of Aaron’s two sons—they died when they came before God with strange fire—God spoke to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter into the Holy of Holies, barging inside the curtain that’s before the Atonement-Cover on the Chest whenever he feels like it, lest he die, because I am present in the Cloud over the Atonement-Cover.

^3-5“This is the procedure for Aaron when he enters the Holy Place: He will bring a young bull for an Absolution-Offering and a ram for a Whole-Burnt-Offering; he will put on the holy linen tunic and the linen underwear, tie the linen sash around him, and put on the linen turban. These are the sacred vestments so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on. Then from the Israelite community he will bring two male goats for an Absolution-Offering and a Whole-Burnt-Offering.

^6-10“Aaron will offer the bull for his own Absolution-Offering in order to make atonement for himself and his household. Then he will set the two goats before God at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and cast lots over the two goats, one lot for God and the other lot for Azazel. He will offer the goat on which the lot to God falls as an Absolution-Offering. The goat on which the lot for Azazel falls will be sent out into the wilderness to Azazel to make atonement.

^11-14“Aaron will present his bull for an Absolution-Offering to make atonement for himself and his household. He will slaughter his bull for the Absolution-Offering. He will take a censer full of burning coals from the Altar before God and two handfuls of finely ground aromatic incense and bring them inside the curtain and put the incense on the fire before God; the smoke of the incense will cover the Atonement-Cover which is over The Testimony so that he doesn’t die. He will take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the Atonement-Cover, then sprinkle the blood before the Atonement-Cover seven times.

^15-17“Next he will slaughter the goat designated as the Absolution-Offering for the people and bring the blood inside the curtain. He will repeat what he does with the bull’s blood, sprinkling it on and before the Atonement-Cover. In this way he will make atonement for the Holy of Holies because of the uncleannesses of the Israelites, their acts of rebellion, and all their other sins. He will do the same thing for the Tent of Meeting which dwells among the people in the midst of their uncleanness. There is to be no one in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Holy of Holies until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole community of Israel.

^18-19“Then he will come out to the Altar that is before God and make atonement for it. He will take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and smear it all around the four horns of the Altar. With his finger he will sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times to purify and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the Israelites.

^20-22“When Aaron finishes making atonement for the Holy of Holies, the Tent of Meeting, and the Altar, he will bring up the live goat, lay both hands on the live goat’s head, and confess all the iniquities of the People of Israel, all their acts of rebellion, all their sins. He will put all the sins on the goat’s head and send it off into the wilderness, led out by a man standing by and ready. The goat will carry all their iniquities to an empty wasteland; the man will let him loose out there in the wilderness.

^23-25“Finally, Aaron will come into the Tent of Meeting and take off the linen clothes in which he dressed to enter the Holy of Holies and leave them there. He will bathe in water in a Holy Place, put on his priestly vestments, offer the Whole-Burnt-Offering for himself and the Whole-Burnt-Offering for the people, making atonement for himself and the people, and burn the fat of the Absolution-Offering on the Altar.

^26-28“The man who takes the goat out to Azazel in the wilderness then will wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. After that he will be permitted to come back into the camp. The bull for the Absolution-Offering and the goat for the Absolution-Offering, whose blood has been taken into the Holy of Holies to make atonement, are to be taken outside the camp and burned—their hides, their meat, and their entrails. The man assigned to burn them up will then wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Then he is free to come back into the camp.

^29-31“This is standard practice for you, a perpetual ordinance. On the tenth day of the seventh month, both the citizen and the foreigner living with you are to enter into a solemn fast and refrain from all work, because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. In the presence of God you will be made clean of all your sins. It is a Sabbath of all Sabbaths. You must fast. It is a perpetual ordinance.

³²“The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father is to make the atonement:

He puts on the sacred linen garments;

³³He purges the Holy of Holies by making atonement;

He purges the Tent of Meeting and the Altar by making atonement;

He makes atonement for the priests and all the congregation.

³⁴“This is a perpetual ordinance for you: Once a year atonement is to be made for all the sins of the People of Israel.”

And Aaron did it, just as God commanded Moses.

Leviticus 14-16

New International Version

Cleansing From Defiling Skin Diseases

14 The Lord said to Moses, ²“These are the regulations for any diseased person at the time of their ceremonial cleansing, when they are brought to the priest:^(A) ³The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them.^(B) If they have been healed of their defiling skin disease,^[a]^(C) ⁴the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop^(D) be brought for the person to be cleansed.^(E) ⁵Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot.^(F) ⁶He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.^(G) ⁷Seven times^(H) he shall sprinkle^(I) the one to be cleansed of the defiling disease, and then pronounce them clean. After that, he is to release the live bird in the open fields.^(J)

⁸“The person to be cleansed must wash their clothes,^(K) shave off all their hair and bathe with water;^(L) then they will be ceremonially clean.^(M) After this they may come into the camp,^(N) but they must stay outside their tent for seven days. ⁹On the seventh day^(O) they must shave off all their hair;^(P) they must shave their head, their beard, their eyebrows and the rest of their hair. They must wash their clothes and bathe themselves with water, and they will be clean.^(Q)

¹⁰“On the eighth day^(R) they must bring two male lambs and one ewe lamb^(S) a year old, each without defect, along with three-tenths of an ephah^[b]^(T) of the finest flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering,^(U) and one log^[c] of oil.^(V) ¹¹The priest who pronounces them clean shall present^(W) both the one to be cleansed and their offerings before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.^(X)

¹²“Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering,^(Y) along with the log of oil; he shall wave them before the Lord as a wave offering.^(Z) ¹³He is to slaughter the lamb in the sanctuary area^(AA) where the sin offering^[d] and the burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest;^(AB) it is most holy. ¹⁴The priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot.^(AC) ¹⁵The priest shall then take some of the log of oil, pour it in the palm of his own left hand,^(AD) ¹⁶dip his right forefinger into the oil in his palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of it before the Lord seven times.^(AE) ¹⁷The priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering.^(AF) ¹⁸The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed^(AG) and make atonement for them before the Lord.

¹⁹“Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from their uncleanness.^(AH) After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering ²⁰and offer it on the altar, together with the grain offering, and make atonement for them,^(AI) and they will be clean.^(AJ)

²¹“If, however, they are poor^(AK) and cannot afford these,^(AL) they must take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for them, together with a tenth of an ephah^[e] of the finest flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, a log of oil, ²²and two doves or two young pigeons,^(AM) such as they can afford, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.^(AN)

²³“On the eighth day they must bring them for their cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting,^(AO) before the Lord.^(AP) ²⁴The priest is to take the lamb for the guilt offering,^(AQ) together with the log of oil,^(AR) and wave them before the Lord as a wave offering.^(AS) ²⁵He shall slaughter the lamb for the guilt offering and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot.^(AT) ²⁶The priest is to pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand,^(AU) ²⁷and with his right forefinger sprinkle some of the oil from his palm seven times before the Lord. ²⁸Some of the oil in his palm he is to put on the same places he put the blood of the guilt offering—on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. ²⁹The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for them before the Lord.^(AV) ³⁰Then he shall sacrifice the doves or the young pigeons, such as the person can afford,^(AW) ³¹one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering,^(AX) together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed.^(AY)”

³²These are the regulations for anyone who has a defiling skin disease^(AZ) and who cannot afford the regular offerings^(BA) for their cleansing.

Cleansing From Defiling Molds

³³The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ³⁴“When you enter the land of Canaan,^(BB) which I am giving you as your possession,^(BC) and I put a spreading mold in a house in that land, ³⁵the owner of the house must go and tell the priest, ‘I have seen something that looks like a defiling mold in my house.’ ³⁶The priest is to order the house to be emptied before he goes in to examine the mold, so that nothing in the house will be pronounced unclean. After this the priest is to go in and inspect the house. ³⁷He is to examine the mold on the walls, and if it has greenish or reddish^(BD) depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall, ³⁸the priest shall go out the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days.^(BE) ³⁹On the seventh day^(BF) the priest shall return to inspect the house. If the mold has spread on the walls, ⁴⁰he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town.^(BG) ⁴¹He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town. ⁴²Then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house.

⁴³“If the defiling mold reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered, ⁴⁴the priest is to go and examine it and, if the mold has spread in the house, it is a persistent defiling mold; the house is unclean.^(BH) ⁴⁵It must be torn down—its stones, timbers and all the plaster—and taken out of the town to an unclean place.

⁴⁶“Anyone who goes into the house while it is closed up will be unclean till evening.^(BI) ⁴⁷Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash their clothes.^(BJ)

⁴⁸“But if the priest comes to examine it and the mold has not spread after the house has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean,^(BK) because the defiling mold is gone. ⁴⁹To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop.^(BL) ⁵⁰He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot.^(BM) ⁵¹Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop,^(BN) the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times.^(BO) ⁵²He shall purify the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn. ⁵³Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields^(BP) outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.^(BQ)”

⁵⁴These are the regulations for any defiling skin disease,^(BR) for a sore, ⁵⁵for defiling molds^(BS) in fabric or in a house, ⁵⁶and for a swelling, a rash or a shiny spot,^(BT) ⁵⁷to determine when something is clean or unclean.

These are the regulations for defiling skin diseases and defiling molds.^(BU)

Discharges Causing Uncleanness

15 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any man has an unusual bodily discharge,^(BV) such a discharge is unclean. ³Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. This is how his discharge will bring about uncleanness:

⁴“‘Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean. ⁵Anyone who touches his bed must wash their clothes^(BW) and bathe with water,^(BX) and they will be unclean till evening.^(BY) ⁶Whoever sits on anything that the man with a discharge sat on must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

⁷“‘Whoever touches the man^(BZ) who has a discharge^(CA) must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

⁸“‘If the man with the discharge spits^(CB) on anyone who is clean, they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

⁹“‘Everything the man sits on when riding will be unclean, ¹⁰and whoever touches any of the things that were under him will be unclean till evening; whoever picks up those things^(CC) must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

¹¹“‘Anyone the man with a discharge touches without rinsing his hands with water must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

¹²“‘A clay pot^(CD) that the man touches must be broken, and any wooden article^(CE) is to be rinsed with water.

¹³“‘When a man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count off seven days^(CF) for his ceremonial cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself with fresh water, and he will be clean.^(CG) ¹⁴On the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons^(CH) and come before the Lord to the entrance to the tent of meeting and give them to the priest. ¹⁵The priest is to sacrifice them, the one for a sin offering^[f]^(CI) and the other for a burnt offering.^(CJ) In this way he will make atonement before the Lord for the man because of his discharge.^(CK)

¹⁶“‘When a man has an emission of semen,^(CL) he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening.^(CM) ¹⁷Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening. ¹⁸When a man has sexual relations with a woman and there is an emission of semen,^(CN) both of them must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

¹⁹“‘When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period^(CO) will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.

²⁰“‘Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. ²¹Anyone who touches her bed will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.^(CP) ²²Anyone who touches anything she sits on will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening. ²³Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, they will be unclean till evening.

²⁴“‘If a man has sexual relations with her and her monthly flow^(CQ) touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; any bed he lies on will be unclean.

²⁵“‘When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period^(CR) or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period. ²⁶Any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean, as is her bed during her monthly period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, as during her period. ²⁷Anyone who touches them will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

²⁸“‘When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. ²⁹On the eighth day she must take two doves or two young pigeons^(CS) and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ³⁰The priest is to sacrifice one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement for her before the Lord for the uncleanness of her discharge.^(CT)

³¹“‘You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place,^[g]^(CU) which is among them.’”

³²These are the regulations for a man with a discharge, for anyone made unclean by an emission of semen,^(CV) ³³for a woman in her monthly period, for a man or a woman with a discharge, and for a man who has sexual relations with a woman who is ceremonially unclean.^(CW)

The Day of Atonement^(CX)

16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord.^(CY) ²The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses^(CZ) into the Most Holy Place^(DA) behind the curtain^(DB) in front of the atonement cover^(DC) on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear^(DD) in the cloud^(DE) over the atonement cover.

³“This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place:^(DF) He must first bring a young bull^(DG) for a sin offering^[h] and a ram for a burnt offering.^(DH) ⁴He is to put on the sacred linen tunic,^(DI) with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban.^(DJ) These are sacred garments;^(DK) so he must bathe himself with water^(DL) before he puts them on.^(DM) ⁵From the Israelite community^(DN) he is to take two male goats^(DO) for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

⁶“Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household.^(DP) ⁷Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁸He is to cast lots^(DQ) for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.^[i]^(DR) ⁹Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. ¹⁰But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement^(DS) by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.

¹¹“Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household,^(DT) and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. ¹²He is to take a censer full of burning coals^(DU) from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense^(DV) and take them behind the curtain. ¹³He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover^(DW) above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die.^(DX) ¹⁴He is to take some of the bull’s blood^(DY) and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.^(DZ)

¹⁵“He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people^(EA) and take its blood behind the curtain^(EB) and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He shall sprinkle^(EC) it on the atonement cover and in front of it. ¹⁶In this way he will make atonement^(ED) for the Most Holy Place^(EE) because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the tent of meeting,^(EF) which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. ¹⁷No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.

¹⁸“Then he shall come out to the altar^(EG) that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar.^(EH) ¹⁹He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.^(EI)

²⁰“When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat.^(EJ) ²¹He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat^(EK) and confess^(EL) over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. ²²The goat will carry on itself all their sins^(EM) to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

²³“Then Aaron is to go into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments^(EN) he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there.^(EO) ²⁴He shall bathe himself with water in the sanctuary area^(EP) and put on his regular garments.^(EQ) Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people,^(ER) to make atonement for himself and for the people.^(ES) ²⁵He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

²⁶“The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat^(ET) must wash his clothes^(EU) and bathe himself with water;^(EV) afterward he may come into the camp. ²⁷The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp;^(EW) their hides, flesh and intestines are to be burned up. ²⁸The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.^(EX)

²⁹“This is to be a lasting ordinance^(EY) for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month^(EZ) you must deny yourselves^[j]^(FA) and not do any work^(FB)—whether native-born^(FC) or a foreigner residing among you— ³⁰because on this day atonement will be made^(FD) for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins.^(FE) ³¹It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves;^(FF) it is a lasting ordinance.^(FG) ³²The priest who is anointed and ordained^(FH) to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments^(FI) ³³and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the tent of meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the members of the community.^(FJ)

³⁴“This is to be a lasting ordinance^(FK) for you: Atonement is to be made once a year^(FL) for all the sins of the Israelites.”

And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Footnotes

Leviticus 14:3 The Hebrew word for defiling skin disease, traditionally translated “leprosy,” was used for various diseases affecting the skin; also in verses 7, 32, 54 and 57.
Leviticus 14:10 That is, probably about 11 pounds or about 5 kilograms
Leviticus 14:10 That is, about 1/3 quart or about 0.3 liter; also in verses 12, 15, 21 and 24
Leviticus 14:13 Or purification offering; also in verses 19, 22 and 31
Leviticus 14:21 That is, probably about 3 1/2 pounds or about 1.6 kilograms
Leviticus 15:15 Or purification offering; also in verse 30
Leviticus 15:31 Or my tabernacle
Leviticus 16:3 Or purification offering; here and throughout this chapter
Leviticus 16:8 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verses 10 and 26.
Leviticus 16:29 Or must fast; also in verse 31

The Message (MSG)

New International Version (NIV)

Leviticus 14-16

The Message

Bodily Discharges

The Day of Atonement

Leviticus 14-16

New International Version

Cleansing From Defiling Skin Diseases

Cleansing From Defiling Molds

Discharges Causing Uncleanness

The Day of Atonement^(CX)

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Leviticus 14-16 The Message

Bodily Discharges

The Day of Atonement

Leviticus 14-16 New International Version

Cleansing From Defiling Skin Diseases

Cleansing From Defiling Molds

Discharges Causing Uncleanness

The Day of Atonement(CX)

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Leviticus 14-16

The Message

Leviticus 14-16

New International Version

The Day of Atonement^(CX)