Leviticus 14

Law of Cleansing a Leper

1Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2“This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing. 1Now he shall be brought to the priest, 3and the priest shall go 2out to the outside of the camp. Thus the priest shall look, and if the 3infection of leprosy has been healed in the leper, 4then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds and 4cedar wood and a 5scarlet string and hyssop for the one who is to be cleansed. 5The priest shall also give orders to slay the one bird in an earthenware vessel over 6running water. 6As for the live bird, he shall take it together with 7the cedar wood and the 8scarlet string and the 9hyssop, and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was slain over the 10running water. 711He 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. 812The one to be cleansed shall then wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe in water and 13be clean. Now afterward, he may enter the camp, but he 14shall stay outside his tent for seven days. 9It will 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 15body in water and 16be 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 17ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and one 1819log of oil; 11and the priest who pronounces him clean shall present the man to be cleansed and the 20aforesaid before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 12Then the priest shall take the one male lamb and bring it for a 21guilt offering, with the 2223log of oil, and present them as a 24wave offering before the Lord. 13Next he shall slaughter the male lamb in 25the place where they slaughter the sin offering and the burnt offering, at the place of the sanctuary--for the guilt offering, 26like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 14The priest shall then take some of the blood of the 27guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on 28the 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. 15The priest shall also take some of the 2930log of oil, and pour it into his left palm; 16the 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. 17Of the remaining oil which is in his palm, the priest shall 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; 18while the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s palm, he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed. So the priest shall make 31atonement on his behalf before the Lord. 19The priest shall next offer the 32sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Then afterward, he shall slaughter the burnt offering. 20The priest shall offer up the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and 33he will be clean.

21“34But if he is poor and his 35means are insufficient, then he is to take one male lamb for a 36guilt offering as a wave offering to make atonement for him, and one-tenth of an 37ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and a 3839log of oil, 22and two turtledoves or two young pigeons which 40are within his means, 41the one shall be a 42sin offering and the other a burnt offering. 2343Then the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, at the doorway of the tent of meeting, before the Lord. 24The priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and 44the 45log of oil, and the priest shall offer them for a wave offering before the Lord. 25Next 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 46the 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. 26The priest shall also pour some of the oil into his left palm; 27and with his right-hand finger the priest shall sprinkle some of the oil that is in his left palm seven times before the Lord. 28The 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. 29Moreover, 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. 30He shall then offer one of the turtledoves or young pigeons, 47which are within his means. 31He shall offer what 48he can afford, 49the one for a sin offering and the other for 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. 32This is the law for him in whom there is an infection of leprosy, whose 50means are limited for his cleansing.”

Cleansing a Leprous House

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

34“51When you enter the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a mark of leprosy on a house in the land of your possession, 35then the one who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘Something like 52a mark of leprosy has become visible to me in the house.’ 36The priest shall then command that they empty the house before the priest goes in to look at the mark, so that everything in the house need not become unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to look at the house. 37So he shall look at the mark, and if the mark on the walls of the house has greenish or reddish depressions and appears deeper than the 53surface, 38then the priest shall come out of the house, to the 54doorway, and 55quarantine the house for seven days. 39The priest shall return on the seventh day and 56make an inspection. If the mark has indeed spread in the walls of the house, 40then the priest shall order them to tear out the stones with the mark in them and throw them away 57at an unclean place outside the city. 41He shall have the house scraped all around 58inside, and they shall dump the plaster that they scrape off at an unclean place outside the city. 42Then they shall take other stones and replace those stones, and he shall take other plaster and replaster the house.

43“If, however, the mark breaks out again in the house after he has torn out the stones and scraped the house, and after it has been replastered, 44then the priest shall come in and 59make an inspection. If he sees that the mark has indeed spread in the house, it is 60a malignant mark in the house; it is unclean. 45He shall therefore tear down the house, its stones, and its timbers, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall take them outside the city to an 61unclean place. 46Moreover, whoever goes into the house during the time that he has 62quarantined it, becomes 63unclean until evening. 47Likewise, 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 64makes an inspection and the mark has not indeed spread in the house after the house has been replastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean because the mark has 65not reappeared. 49To cleanse the house then, he shall take 66two birds and cedar wood and a 67scarlet string and hyssop, 50and he shall slaughter the one bird in an earthenware vessel over 68running water. 51Then he shall take the cedar wood and the 69hyssop and the 70scarlet string, with the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird as well as in the 71running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52He shall thus cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the 72running water, along with the live bird and with the cedar wood and with the hyssop and with the 73scarlet string. 53However, 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.”

54This is the law for any mark of leprosy--even for a 74scale, 55and for the 75leprous garment or house, 56and 76for a swelling, and for a scab, and for a bright spot-- 57to teach 77when they are unclean and 78when they are clean. This is the law of leprosy.