Leviticus 12–15

Purification after Childbirth

12The Lord spoke to Moses: ²“Tell the Israelites: When a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a male child, ^wshe will be unclean seven days, as she is during the days of her menstrual impurity. ^x3The flesh of his foreskin ^ymust be circumcised ^zon the eighth day. ^a4She will continue in purification ^bfrom her bleeding ^cfor 33 days. She must not touch any holy thing or go into the sanctuary until completing her days of purification. ⁵But if she gives birth to a female child, she will be unclean for two weeks as she is during her menstrual impurity. She will continue in purification from her bleeding for 66 days.

⁶“When her days of purification are complete, whether for a son or daughter, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old male lamb for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin ^doffering. ⁷He will present them before the Lord and make atonement on her behalf; she will be clean from her discharge of blood. This is the law for a woman giving birth, whether to a male or female. ⁸But if she doesn’t have sufficient means ^effor a sheep, she may take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, ^gone for a burnt offering and the other for a sin ^hoffering. Then the priest will make atonement on her behalf, and she will be clean.”

Skin Diseases

13The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ²“When a person has a swelling, ⁱscab, ^jor spot on the skin of his body, and it becomes a disease on the skin ^kof his body, he is to be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests. ³The priest will examine the infection ^lon the skin of his body. If the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean. ⁴But if the spot on the skin of his body is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest must quarantine the infected person for seven days. ^m5The priest will then reexamine him on the seventh day. If he sees that the infection remains unchanged and has not spread on the skin, the priest must quarantine him for another seven days. ⁶The priest will examine him again on the seventh day. If the infection has faded and has not spread on the skin, the priest is to pronounce him clean; ⁿit is a scab. The person is to wash his clothes and will become clean. ⁷But if the scab spreads further on his skin after he has presented himself to the priest for his cleansing, ^ohe must present himself again to the priest. ⁸The priest will examine him, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest must pronounce him unclean; he has a skin disease.

⁹“When a skin disease develops on a person, he is to be brought to the priest. ¹⁰The priest will examine him. If there is a white swelling on the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is a patch of raw flesh in the swelling, ¹¹it is a chronic disease on the skin of his body, and the priest must pronounce him unclean. ^pHe need not quarantine him, for he is unclean. ¹²But if the skin disease breaks out all over the skin so that it covers all the skin of the infected person from his head to his feet so far as the priest can see, ¹³the priest will look, and if the skin disease has covered his entire body, he is to pronounce the infected person clean. ^qSince he has turned totally white, he is clean. ¹⁴But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he will be unclean. ¹⁵When the priest examines the raw flesh, he must pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean; it is a skin disease. ¹⁶But if the raw flesh changes ^rand ^sturns white, he must go to the priest. ¹⁷The priest will examine him, and if the infection has turned white, the priest must pronounce the infected person clean; he is clean.

¹⁸“When a boil appears on the skin ^tof one’s body ^uand it heals, ¹⁹and a white swelling or a reddish-white spot develops where the boil was, the person must present himself to the priest. ²⁰The priest will make an examination, and if the spot seems to be beneath the skin and the hair in it has turned white, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a skin disease that has broken out in the boil. ²¹But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in it, and it is not beneath the skin but is faded, the priest must quarantine him seven days. ²²If it spreads further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is an infection. ²³But if the spot remains where it is and does not spread, it is only the scar from the boil. The priest is to pronounce him clean.

²⁴“When there is a burn on the skin of one’s body produced by fire, and the patch made raw by the burn becomes reddish-white or white, ²⁵the priest is to examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and the spot appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a skin disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a skin disease. ²⁶But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in the spot and it is not beneath the skin but is faded, the priest must quarantine him seven days. ²⁷The priest will reexamine him on the seventh day. If it has spread further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a skin disease. ²⁸But if the spot has remained where it was and has not spread on the skin but is faded, it is the swelling from the burn. The priest is to pronounce him clean, for it is only the scar from the burn.

²⁹“When a man or woman has an infection on the head or chin, ³⁰the priest must examine the infection. If it appears to be deeper than the skin, ^vand the hair in it is yellow and sparse, the priest must pronounce the person unclean. It is a scaly outbreak, ^wa skin disease of the head or chin. ³¹When the priest examines the scaly infection, if it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, the priest must quarantine the person with the scaly infection for seven days. ³²The priest will reexamine the infection on the seventh day. If the scaly outbreak has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, ³³the person must shave himself ^xbut not shave the scaly area. Then the priest must quarantine the person who has the scaly outbreak for another seven days. ³⁴The priest will examine the scaly outbreak on the seventh day, and if it has not spread on the skin and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, the priest is to pronounce the person clean. He is to wash his clothes, and he will be clean. ³⁵But if the scaly outbreak spreads further on the skin after his cleansing, ³⁶the priest is to examine the person. If the scaly outbreak has spread on the skin, the priest does not need to look for yellow hair; the person is unclean. ³⁷But if as far as he can see, the scaly outbreak remains unchanged and black hair has grown in it, then it has healed; he is clean. The priest is to pronounce the person clean.

³⁸“When a man or a woman has white spots on the skin of the body, ³⁹the priest is to make an examination. If the spots on the skin of the body are dull white, it is only a rash ^ythat has broken out on the skin; the person is clean.

⁴⁰“If a man loses the hair of his head, he is bald, ^zbut he is clean. ⁴¹Or if he loses the hair at his hairline, he is bald on his forehead, but he is clean. ⁴²But if there is a reddish-white infection on the bald head or forehead, it is a skin disease breaking out on his head or forehead. ^a43The priest is to examine him, and if the swelling of the infection on his bald head or forehead is reddish-white, like the appearance of a skin disease on his body, ⁴⁴the man is afflicted with a skin disease; ^bhe is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean; the infection is on his head.

⁴⁵“The person afflicted with an infectious skin disease is to have his clothes torn ^cand his hair hanging loose, and he must cover his mouth ^dand cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ ⁴⁶He will remain unclean as long as he has the infection; he is unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp. ^e

Contaminated Fabrics

⁴⁷“If a fabric is contaminated with mildew—in wool or linen fabric, ⁴⁸in the warp or woof of linen or wool, or in leather or anything made of leather— ⁴⁹and if the contamination is green or red in the fabric, the leather, the warp, the woof, or any leather article, it is a mildew contamination and is to be shown to the priest. ⁵⁰The priest is to examine the contamination and quarantine the contaminated fabric for seven days. ⁵¹The priest is to reexamine the contamination on the seventh day. If it has spread in the fabric, the warp, the woof, or the leather, regardless of how it is used, the contamination is harmful mildew; it is unclean. ^f52He is to burn the fabric, the warp or woof in wool or linen, or any leather article, which is contaminated. Since it is harmful mildew it must be burned up.

⁵³“When the priest examines it, if the contamination has not spread in the fabric, the warp or woof, or any leather article, ⁵⁴the priest is to order whatever is contaminated to be washed and quarantined for another seven days. ⁵⁵After it has been washed, the priest is to reexamine the contamination. If the appearance of the contaminated article has not changed, it is unclean. Even though the contamination has not spread, you must burn up the fabric. It is a fungus ^gon the front or back of the fabric.

⁵⁶“If the priest examines it, and the contamination has faded after it has been washed, he must cut the contaminated section out of the fabric, the leather, or the warp or woof. ⁵⁷But if it reappears in the fabric, the warp or woof, or any leather article, it has broken out again. You must burn up whatever is contaminated. ⁵⁸But if the contamination disappears from the fabric, the warp or woof, or any leather article, which have been washed, it is to be…