Numbers 19:1–10

Ashes of the Red Heifer

19 And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “This is the decree of the law that Yahweh has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the ⌊Israelites⌋a and let them take to you a red heifer without a physical defect, on which a yoke ⌊has not been placed⌋.b 3 And you will give it to Eleazar the priest, and it will be broughtc out to a place outside the camp, and it will be slaughteredd in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar the priest will take some of its blood on his finger and spatter it toward the mouth of the tent of assembly seven times. 5 The heifer will be burnede in his sight; its skin, its meat, and its blood, in addition to its offal, will burn. 6 The priest will take cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson thread, and he will throw them in the midst of ⌊the burning heifer⌋.f 7 The priest will wash his garments and his body in the water, and afterward he will come to the camp; the priest will be unclean until the evening. 8 The one who burns it will wash his garments and his body in water; he will be unclean until the evening. 9 A clean man will gather the ashes of the heifer, and he will put them in a clean ⌊place outside the camp⌋;g it will be for the community of the ⌊Israelites⌋h as a requirement for waters of impurity; it is a purification offering. 10 The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer will wash his garments; he will be unclean until evening. It will be an eternal decree for the ⌊Israelites⌋i and for one who dwells as an alien in their midst.