Leviticus 11-13

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Clean and Unclean Foods

11 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, ² “Speak to the Israelites:

“From among all the land animals, these are the creatures that you may eat.^{(A) 3} Any animal that has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed and chews the cud—such you may eat. ⁴ But among those that chew the cud or have divided hoofs, you shall not eat the following: the camel, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you. ⁵ The rock badger, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you. ⁶ The hare, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you. ⁷ The pig, for even though it has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed, it does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.^{(B) 8} Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean for you.^(C)

⁹ “These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams—such you may eat.^{(D) 10} But anything in the seas or the streams that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and among all the other living creatures that are in the waters—they are detestable to you,^{(E) 11} and detestable they shall remain. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall regard as detestable. ¹² Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

¹³ “These you shall regard as detestable among the birds. They shall not be eaten; they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, ¹⁴ the buzzard, the kite of any kind; ¹⁵ every raven of any kind; ¹⁶ the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind; ¹⁷ the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, ¹⁸ the water hen, the desert owl,^[a] the carrion vulture, ¹⁹ the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.^[b]

²⁰ “All winged insects that walk upon all fours are detestable to you. ²¹ But among the winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to leap on the ground. ²² Of them you may eat: locusts of every kind, bald locusts of every kind, crickets of every kind, and grasshoppers of every kind.^{(F) 23} But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.

Unclean Animals

²⁴ “By these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening, ²⁵ and whoever carries any part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.^{(G) 26} Every animal that has divided hoofs but is not cleft-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean for you; everyone who touches one of them shall be unclean. ²⁷ All that walk on their paws, among the animals that walk on all fours, are unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening, ²⁸ and the one who carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean for you.

²⁹ “These are unclean for you among the creatures that swarm upon the earth: the weasel, the mouse, lizards of every kind,^{(H) 30} the gecko, the land crocodile, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. ³¹ These are unclean for you among all that swarm; whoever touches one of them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. ³² And anything upon which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether an article of wood or cloth or leather or sackcloth, any article that is used for any purpose; it shall be dipped in water, and it shall be unclean until the evening, and then it shall be clean.^{(I) 33} And if any of them falls into any clay vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break the vessel.^{(J) 34} Any food that could be eaten shall be unclean if water from any such vessel comes upon it, and any liquid that could be drunk shall be unclean if it was in any such vessel. ³⁵ Everything on which any part of the carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean and shall remain unclean for you. ³⁶ But a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, while whatever touches the carcass in it shall be unclean. ³⁷ If any part of their carcass falls upon any seed set aside for sowing, it is clean, ³⁸ but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.

³⁹ “If an animal of which you may eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. ⁴⁰ Those who eat of its carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening, and those who carry the carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening.^(K)

⁴¹ “All creatures that swarm upon the earth are detestable; they shall not be eaten.^{(L) 42} Whatever moves on its belly and whatever moves on all fours or whatever has many feet, all the creatures that swarm upon the earth you shall not eat, for they are detestable. ⁴³ You shall not make yourselves detestable with any creature that swarms; you shall not defile yourselves with them and so become unclean.^{(M) 44} For I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming creature that moves on the earth.^{(N) 45} For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy.^(O)

⁴⁶ “This is the law pertaining to land animal and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms upon the earth, ⁴⁷ to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.”^(P)

Purification of Women after Childbirth

12 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the Israelites, saying:

“If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean.^{(Q) 3} On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.^{(R) 4} Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing or come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed. ⁵ If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days.

⁶ “When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering and a pigeon or a turtledove for a purification offering.^{(S) 7} He shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement on her behalf; then she shall be clean from her flow of blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, male or female. ⁸ If she cannot afford a sheep, she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a purification offering, and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf, and she shall be clean.”^(T)

Skin Disease, Varieties and Symptoms

13 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

² “When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling^[c] or an eruption or a spot and it turns into a defiling disease on the skin of his body, he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests.^{(U) 3} The priest shall examine the disease on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a defiling disease; after the priest has examined him he shall pronounce him unclean. ⁴ But if the spot is white in the skin of his body and appears no deeper than the skin and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall confine the diseased person for seven days.^{(V) 5} The priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if he sees that the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall confine him seven days more. ⁶ The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the disease has abated and the disease has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only an eruption, and he shall wash his clothes and be clean.^{(W) 7} But if the eruption spreads in the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest.^{(X) 8} The priest shall make an examination, and if the eruption has spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is defiling.

⁹ “When a person contracts a defiling skin disease, he shall be brought to the priest. ¹⁰ The priest shall make an examination, and if there is a white swelling^[d] in the skin that has turned the hair white and there is a patch of raw flesh in the swelling,^{[e](Y) 11} it is a chronic defiling disease in the skin of his body. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not confine him, for he is unclean. ¹² But if the defiling disease breaks out in the skin so that it covers all the skin of the diseased person from head to foot, so far as the priest can see, ¹³ then the priest shall make an examination, and if the defiling disease has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; since it has all turned white, he is clean. ¹⁴ But if raw flesh ever appears on him, he shall be unclean; ¹⁵ the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean; it is defiling.^{(Z) 16} But if the raw flesh again turns white, he shall come to the priest;^{(AA) 17} the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has turned white, the priest shall pronounce the diseased person clean. He is clean.

¹⁸ “When there is on the skin of one’s body a boil that has healed,^{(AB) 19} and in the place of the boil there appears a white swelling^[f] or a reddish-white spot, it shall be shown to the priest.^{(AC) 20} The priest shall make an examination, and if it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; this is a defiling disease, broken out in the boil. ²¹ But if the priest examines it and the hair on it is not white nor is it deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him seven days.^{(AD) 22} If it spreads in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is diseased. ²³ But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil; the priest shall pronounce him clean.

²⁴ “Or when the body has a burn on the skin and the patch of the burn becomes a spot, reddish-white or white, ²⁵ the priest shall examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and appears deeper than the skin, it is defiling; it has broken out in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a defiling disease.^{(AE) 26} But if the priest examines it and the hair in the spot is not white and it is no deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him seven days. ²⁷ The priest shall examine him the seventh day; if it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a defiling disease.^{(AF) 28} But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread in the skin but has abated, it is a swelling^[g] from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is the scar of the burn.

²⁹ “When a man or a woman has a disease on the head or in the beard,^{(AG) 30} the priest shall examine the disease. If it appears deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an itch, a defiling disease of the head or the beard. ³¹ If the priest examines the itching disease, and it appears no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall confine the person with the itching disease for seven days. ³² On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and the itch appears to be no deeper than the skin,^{(AH) 33} he shall shave, but the itch he shall not shave. The priest shall confine the person with the itch for seven days more. ³⁴ On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be clean.^{(AI) 35} But if the itch spreads in the skin after he was pronounced clean, ³⁶ the priest shall examine him. If the itch has spread in the skin, the priest need not seek for the yellow hair; he is unclean.^{(AJ) 37} But if in his eyes the itch is checked and black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed; he is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

³⁸ “When a man or a woman has spots on the skin of the body, white spots, ³⁹ the priest shall make an examination, and if the spots on the skin of the body are of a dull white, it is a rash that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.

⁴⁰ “If anyone loses the hair from his head, he is bald, but he is clean.^{(AK) 41} If he loses the hair from his forehead and temples, he has baldness of the forehead, but he is clean. ⁴² But if there is on the bald head or the bald forehead a reddish-white diseased spot, it is a defiling disease breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead. ⁴³ The priest shall examine him; if the diseased swelling^[h] is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, which resembles a defiling disease in the skin of the body, ⁴⁴ he is defiled; he is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; the disease is on his head.^(AL)

⁴⁵ “The person who has the defiling disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ ⁴⁶ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.^(AM)

⁴⁷ “Concerning clothing: when a defiling disease appears in it, in woolen or linen cloth, ⁴⁸ in warp or woof of linen or wool or in a skin or in anything made of skin, ⁴⁹ if the disease shows greenish or reddish in the garment, whether in warp or woof or in skin or in anything made of skin, it is a defiling disease and shall be shown to the priest. ⁵⁰ The priest shall examine the disease and put the diseased article aside for seven days. ⁵¹ He shall examine the disease on the seventh day. If the disease has spread in the cloth, in warp or woof, or in the skin, whatever be the use of the skin, this is a spreading defiling disease; it is unclean.^{(AN) 52} He shall burn the clothing, whether diseased in warp or woof, woolen or linen, or anything of skin, for it is a spreading defiling disease; it shall be burned in fire.^(AO)

⁵³ “If the priest makes an examination and the disease has not spread in the clothing, in warp or woof, or in anything of skin, ⁵⁴ the priest shall command that the diseased article be washed, and he shall put it aside seven days more.^{(AP) 55} The priest shall examine the diseased article after it has been washed. If the diseased spot has not changed color, though the disease has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in fire, whether the worn^[i] spot is on the inside or on the outside.

⁵⁶ “If the priest makes an examination, and the disease has abated after it is washed, he shall tear the spot out of the cloth, in warp or woof, or out of skin.^{(AQ) 57} If it appears again in the garment, in warp or woof, or in anything of skin, it is spreading; you shall burn with fire that in which the disease appears. ⁵⁸ But the cloth, warp or woof, or anything of skin from which the disease disappears when you have washed it shall then be washed a second time, and it shall be clean.

⁵⁹ “This is the rule for a defiling disease in a cloth of wool or linen, either in warp or woof, or in anything of skin, to decide whether it is clean or unclean.”