Chapter 15

Cleansing Unhealthiness

1 The Lord also spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘aWhen any man has a discharge from his 1body, 2his discharge is unclean.

3 ‘This, moreover, shall be his uncleanness in his discharge: it is his uncleanness whether his body allows its discharge to flow or whether his body obstructs its discharge.

4 ‘Every bed on which the person with the discharge lies becomes unclean, and everything on which he sits becomes unclean.

5 ‘Anyone, moreover, who touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening;

6 and whoever sits on the thing on which the man with the discharge has been sitting, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

7 ‘Also whoever touches the 1person with the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

8 ‘Or if the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, he too shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

9 ‘Every saddle on which the person with the discharge rides becomes unclean.

10 ‘Whoever then touches any of the things which were under him shall be unclean until evening, and he who carries them shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

11 ‘Likewise, whomever the one with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

12 ‘However, an aearthenware vessel which the person with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every wooden vessel shall be rinsed in water.

13 ‘Now when the man with the discharge becomes cleansed from his discharge, then he ashall count off for himself seven days for his cleansing; he shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in 1running water and will become clean.

14 ‘Then on the eighth day he shall take for himself atwo turtledoves or two young pigeons, and come before the Lord to the doorway of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest;

15 and the priest shall offer them, aone for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So bthe priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the Lord because of his discharge.

16 ‘aNow if a 1man has a seminal emission, he shall bathe all his body in water and be unclean until evening.

17 ‘As for any garment or any leather on which there is seminal emission, it shall be washed with water and be unclean until evening.

18 ‘If a man lies with a woman so that there is a seminal emission, they shall both bathe in water and be aunclean until evening.

19 ‘aWhen a woman has a discharge, if her discharge in her body is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening.

20 ‘Everything also on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean.

21 ‘Anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

22 ‘Whoever touches any thing on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

23 ‘Whether it be on the bed or on the thing on which she is sitting, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening.

24 ‘aIf a man actually lies with her so that her menstrual impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

25 ‘aNow if a woman has a discharge of her blood many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond 1that period, all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though 2in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean.

26 ‘Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like 1her bed at menstruation; and every thing on which she sits shall be unclean, like 2her uncleanness at that time.

27 ‘Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

28 ‘When she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off for herself seven days; and afterward she will be clean.

29 ‘Then on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them in to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting.

30 ‘The priest shall offer the aone for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the Lord because of her impure discharge.’

31 “Thus you shall keep the sons of Israel separated from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in their uncleanness by their adefiling My 1tabernacle that is among them.”

32 This is the law for the one with a discharge, and for the man 1who has a seminal emission so that he is unclean by it,

33 and for the woman who is ill because of menstrual impurity, and for the one who has a discharge, whether a male or a female, or a man who lies with an unclean woman.

Chapter 16

Law of Atonement

1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after athe death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died.

2 The Lord said to Moses:

“Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter aat any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the 1mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for bI will appear in the cloud over the 1mercy seat.

3 “Aaron shall enter the holy place with this: with a 1bull for a asin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

4 “He shall put on the aholy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his 1body, and he shall be girded with the linen sash and attired with the linen turban (these are holy garments). Then he shall bbathe his 1body in water and put them on.

5 “He shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel atwo male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.

6 “Then aAaron shall offer the bull for the sin offering which is for himself, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household.

7 “He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

8 “Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the 1scapegoat.

9 “Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a sin offering.

10 “But the goat on which the lot for the 1scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make aatonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the 1scapegoat.

11 “Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering awhich is for himself and make atonement for himself and bfor his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.

12 “He shall take a afirepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the Lord and 1two handfuls of finely ground bsweet incense, and bring it inside the veil.

13 “He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the 1amercy seat that is on the ark of the testimony, botherwise he will die.

14 “Moreover, ahe shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it bwith his finger on the 1mercy seat on the east side; also in front of the 1mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

15 “Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering awhich is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the 1mercy seat and in front of the 1mercy seat.

16 “aHe shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities.

17 “When he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel.

18 “Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat and aput it on the horns of the altar on all sides.

19 “aWith his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and from the impurities of the sons of Israel consecrate it.

20 “When he finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat.

21 “Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and aconfess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions 1in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness.

22 “The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off athe linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there.

24 “aHe shall bathe his 1body with water in a holy place and put on bhis clothes, and come forth and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people.

25 “Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

26 “The one who released the goat as the 1scapegoat ashall wash his clothes and bathe his 2body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp.

27 “But the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, awhose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire.

28 “Then the aone who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water, then afterward he shall come into the camp.

An Annual Atonement

29 “This shall be a permanent statute for you: ain the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not bdo any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you;

30 for it is on this day that 1atonement shall be made for you to acleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord.

31 “It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may ahumble your souls; it is a permanent statute.

32 “So the priest who is anointed and 1ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall thus put on athe linen garments, the holy garments,

33 and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for athe priests and for all the people of the assembly.

34 “Now you shall have this as a apermanent statute, to bmake atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did.

Chapter 17

Blood for Atonement

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded, saying,

3 “Any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp,

4 and ahas not brought it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord before the 1tabernacle of the Lord, bloodguiltiness is to be reckoned to that man. He has shed blood and that man shall be cut off from among his people.

5 “1The reason is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing in the open field, that they may bring them in to the Lord, at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord.

6 “The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and aoffer up the fat in smoke as a soothing aroma to the Lord.

7 “aThey shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the 1goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations.” ’

8 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice,

9 and adoes not bring it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to 1offer it to the Lord, that man also shall be cut off from his people.

10 ‘aAnd any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, bI will set My face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people.

11 ‘For athe 1life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for bit is the blood by reason of the 1life that makes atonement.’

12 “Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, nor may any alien who sojourns among you eat blood.’

13 “So when any man from the sons of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, 1in hunting catches a beast or a bird which may be eaten, ahe shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.

14 “aFor as for the 1life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its 1life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the 1life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’

15 “aWhen any person eats an animal which dies or is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or an alien, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean.

16 “But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then ahe shall bear his 1guilt.”