CLEANSING OF SKIN DISEASES

14 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “This is the lawj concerning the person afflicted with a skin disease on the day of his cleansing.k He is to be brought to the priest,l 3 who will go outside the campm and examine him.n If the skin disease has disappeared from the afflicted person,B 4 the priest will order that two live clean birds,o cedar wood,p scarletq yarn, and hyssopr be brought for the one who is to be cleansed. 5 Then the priest will order that one of the birds be slaughtered over fresh water in a clay pot. 6 He is to take the live bird together with the cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop, and dip them all into the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water. 7 He will then sprinkle the blood seven times on the one who is to be cleansed from the skin disease. He is to pronounce him clean and release the live bird over the open countryside.a 8 The one who is to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; he is clean. Afterward he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days. 9 He is to shave off all his hair again on the seventh day: his head, his beard, his eyebrows, and the rest of his hair. He is to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; he is clean.

10 “On the eighth day he must take two unblemishedb male lambs, an unblemished year-old ewe lamb, a grain offering of six quartsA of fine flour mixed with olive oil, and one-third of a quart* of olive oil. 11 The priest who performs the cleansing will place the person who is to be cleansed, together with these offerings, before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 12 The priest is to take one male lamb and present it as a guilt offering,c along with the one-third quart of olive oil, and he will present them as a presentation offeringd before the Lord. 13 He is to slaughter the male lamb at the place in the sanctuary area where the sin offeringe and burnt offeringf are slaughtered,g for like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest;h it is especially holy.i 14 The priest is to take some of the blood from the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.j 15 Then the priest will take some of the one-third quart of olive oil and pour it into his left palm. 16 The priest will dip his right finger into the oil in his left palm and sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. 17 From the oil remaining in his palm the priest will put some on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering.k 18 What is left of the oil in the priest’s palm he is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed. In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the Lord. 19 The priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness.l Afterward he will slaughter the burnt offering. 20 The priest is to offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. The priest will make atonement for him, and he will be clean.m

21 “But if he is poorn and cannot afford these,o he is to take one male lamb for a guilt offering to be presented in order to make atonement for him, along with two quartsC of fine flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, one-third of a quart of olive oil, 22 and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whatever he can afford, one to be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. 23 On the eighth day he is to bring these things for his cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the Lord. 24 The priest will take the male lamb for the guilt offering and the one-third quart of olive oil, and present them as a presentation offering before the Lord. 25 After he slaughters the male lamb for the guilt offering, the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 26 Then the priest will pour some of the oil into his left palm. 27 With his right finger the priest will sprinkle some of the oil in his left palm seven times before the Lord. 28 The priest will also put some of the oil in his palm on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the same place as the blood of the guilt offering. 29 What is left of the oil in the priest’s palm he is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed to make atonement for him before the Lord.p 30 He is to then sacrifice one type of what he can afford, either the turtledoves or young pigeons, 31 one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, sacrificing what he can afford together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the Lord for the one to be cleansed. 32 This is the law for someone who hasD a skin disease and cannot afford the cost of his cleansing.”

CLEANSING OF CONTAMINATED OBJECTS

33 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 34 “When you enter the land of Canaana that I am giving you as a possession,b and I place a mildew contamination in a house in the land you possess,A 35 the owner of the house is to come and tell the priest: Something like mildew contamination has appearedB in my house. 36 The priest must order them to clear the house before he enters to examine the contamination, so that nothing in the house becomes unclean. Afterward the priest will come to examine the house. 37 He will examine it, and if the contamination in the walls of the house consists of green or red indentationsC that appear to be beneath the surface of the wall, 38 the priest is to go outside the house to its doorway and quarantine the house for seven days. 39 The priest is to return on the seventh day and examine it. If the contamination has spread on the walls of the house, 40 the priest must order that the stones with the contamination be pulled out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city. 41 He is to have the inside of the house completely scraped, and have the plaster* that is scraped off dumped in an unclean place outside the city. 42 Then they are to take different stones to replace the former ones and take additional plaster to replaster the house.

43 “If the contamination reappears in the house after the stones have been pulled out, and after the house has been scraped and replastered, 44 the priest is to come and examine it. If the contamination has spread in the house, it is harmful mildew; the house is unclean. 45 It must be torn down with its stones, its beams, and all its plaster, and taken outside the city to an unclean place. 46 Whoever enters the house during any of the days the priest quarantines it will be unclean until evening. 47 Whoever lies down in the house is to wash his clothes, and whoever eats in it is to wash his clothes.

48 “But when the priest comes and examines it, if the contamination has not spread in the house after it was replastered, he is to pronounce the house clean because the contamination has disappeared.E 49 He is to take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop to purify the house, 50 and he is to slaughter one of the birds over a clay pot containing fresh water. 51 He will take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn, and the live bird, dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 He will purify the house with the blood of the bird, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet yarn. 53 Then he is to release the live bird into the open countrysidec outside the city. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.

54 “This is the law for any skin disease or mildew, for a scaly outbreak, 55 for mildew in clothing or on a house, 56 and for a swelling, scab, or spot, 57 to determine when something is unclean or clean. This is the law regarding skin disease and mildew.”

BODILY DISCHARGES

15 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any man has a discharged from his member, he is unclean. 3 This is uncleanness of his discharge: Whether his member secretes the discharge or retains it, he is unclean. All the days that his member secretes or retains anything because of his discharge,F he is unclean. 4 Any bed the man with the discharge lies on will be unclean, and any furniture he sits on will be unclean. 5 Anyone who touches his bed is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 6 Whoever sits on furniture that the man with the discharge was sitting on is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 7 Whoever touches the body* of the man with a discharge is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 8 If the man with the discharge spits on anyone who is clean, he is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 9 Any saddle the man with the discharge rides on will be unclean.e 10 Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening, and whoever carries such things is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 11 If the man with the discharge touches anyone without first rinsing his hands in water,f the person who was touched is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 12 Any clay pot that the man with the discharge touches must be broken, while any wooden utensil is to be rinsed with water.a

13 “When the man with the discharge has been cured of it, he is to count seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe his body in fresh water; he will be clean. 14 He must take two turtledoves or two young pigeons on the eighth day, come before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and give them to the priest. 15 The priest is to sacrifice them, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.b In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the Lord because of his discharge.

16 “When a man has an emission of semen,c he is to bathe himself completely with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 17 Any clothing or leather on which there is an emission of semen is to be washed with water, and it will remain unclean until evening. 18 If a man sleeps with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them are to bathe with water, and they will remain unclean until evening.d

19 “When a woman has a discharge, and it consists of blood from her body, she will be unclean because of her menstruatione for seven days. Everyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. 20 Anything she lies on during her menstruation will become unclean, and anything she sits on will become unclean. 21 Everyone who touches her bed is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 22 Everyone who touches any furniture she was sitting on is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 23 If discharge is on the bed or the furniture she was sitting on, when he touches it he will be unclean until evening. 24 If a man sleeps with her, and blood from her menstruation gets on him, he will be unclean for seven days, and every bed he lies on will become unclean.f

25 “When a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days, though it is not the time of her menstruation, or if she has a discharge beyond her period, she will be unclean all the days of her unclean discharge, as she is during the days of her menstruation. 26 Any bed she lies on during the days of her discharge will be like her bed during menstrual impurity; any furniture she sits on will be unclean as in her menstrual period. 27 Everyone who touches them will be unclean; he must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. 28 When she is cured of her discharge, she is to count seven days, and after that she will be clean.g 29 On the eighth day she must take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 30 The priest is to sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her before the Lord because of her unclean discharge.

31 “You must keep the Israelites from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling my tabernacleh that is among them. 32 This is the law for someone with a discharge: a man who has an emission of semen, becoming unclean by it; 33 a woman who is in her menstrual period; anyone who has a discharge, whether male or female; and a man who sleeps with a woman who is unclean.”

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT

16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presencei of* the Lord and died.j 2 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he may not come whenever he wants into the holy placek behind the curtainl in front of the mercy seatm on the ark or else he will die, because I appear in the cloudn above the mercy seat.o

3 “Aaron is to enter the most holy placep in this way: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.q 4 He is to wear a holy linen tunic, and linen undergarments are to be on his body. He is to tie a linen sash around him and wrap his head with a linen turban.r These are holy garments; he must bathe his body with water before he wears them. 5 He is to take from the Israelite community two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.s

6 “Aaron will present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household. 7 Next he will take the two goats and place them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 After Aaron casts lotst for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other for an uninhabitable place,* * a 9 he is to present the goat chosen by lot for the Lord and sacrifice it as a sin offering.b 10 But the goat chosen by lot for an uninhabitable place is to be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement with it by sending it into the wildernessc for an uninhabitable place.

11 “When Aaron presents the bull for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household, he will slaughter the bull for his sin offering. 12 Then he is to take a firepan full of blazing coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense,d and bring them inside the curtain.e 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloudf of incense covers the mercy seat that is over the testimony,g or else he will die.h 14 He is to take some of the bull’s bloodi and sprinkle it with his finger against the east side of the mercy seat; then he will sprinkle some of the blood with his finger before the mercy seat seven times.j

15 “When he slaughters the male goat for the people’s sin offering and brings its blood inside the curtain, he will do the same with its blood as he did with the bull’s blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it. 16 He will make atonement for the most holy place in this way for all their sins because of the Israelites’ impurities and rebellious acts.k He will do the same for the tent of meeting that remains among them, because it is surrounded by their impurities. 17 No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the most holy place until he leaves after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel.l 18 Then he will go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the horns on all sides of the altar. 19 He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse and set it apartm from the Israelites’ impurities.n

20 “When he has finished making atonement for the most holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar, he is to present the live male goat. 21 Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confesso over it all the Israelites’ iniquitiesp and rebellious acts—all their sins.q He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wildernessr by the man appointed for the task.C 22 The goat will carry all their iniquities into a desolate land,s and the man will release it there.

23 “Then Aaron is to enter the tent of meeting, take off the linen garmentst he wore when he entered the most holy place, and leave them there. 24 He will bathe his body with water in a holy placeu and put on his clothes.v Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering; he will make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 He is to burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar. 26 The man who released the goat for an uninhabitable place is to wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; afterward he may reenter the camp. 27 The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the most holy place to make atonement, must be brought outside the campw and their hide,x flesh, and waste burned.y 28 The one who burns them is to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.

29 “This is to be a permanent statutez for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month you are to practice self-denialaa and do no work,ab both the native and the alienac who resides among you. 30 Atonement will be made for you on this day to cleanse you,ad and you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 31 It is a Sabbathae of complete rest for you,af and you must practice self-denial; it is a permanent statute. 32 The priest who is anointed and ordainedD,ag to serve as high priestah in place of his father will make atonement. He will put on the linen garments, the holy garments, 33 and make atonement for the most holy place. He will make atonement for the tent of meeting and the altar and will make atonement for the priests and all the people of the assembly. 34 This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement for the Israelites once a yearai because of all their sins.” And all this was done as the Lord commanded Moses.

FORBIDDEN SACRIFICES

17 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: This is what the Lord has commanded: 3 Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughtersa an ox, sheep, or goat in the camp, or slaughters it outside the camp, 4 instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord before his tabernacle—that person will be considered guilty.A,b He has shed bloodc and is to be cut off from his people.d 5 This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrificese they have been offering in the open country. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting and offer them as fellowship sacrificesf to the Lord. 6 The priest will then splatter the blood on the Lord’s altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 7 They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat-demonsg that they have prostitutedh themselves with. This will be a permanent statutei for them throughout their generations.

8 “Say to them: Anyone from the house of Israel or from the aliensj who reside among them who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice 9 but does not bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to sacrifice it to the Lord, that person is to be cut off from his people.

EATING BLOOD AND CARCASSES PROHIBITED

10 “Anyone from the house of Israel or from the aliens who reside among them who eats any blood,k I will turnB against that person who eats blood and cut him off from his people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar forC your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement.l 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites: None of you and no alien who resides among you may eat blood.

13 “Any Israelite or alien residing among them, who huntsm down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten must drain its bloodn and cover it with dirt. 14 Since the life of every creature is its blood, I have told the Israelites: You are not to eat the blood of any creature,o because the life of every creature is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.

15 “Every person, whether the native or the resident alien,p who eats an animal that died a natural death or was mauled by wild beastsq is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening; then he will be clean. 16 But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, he will bear his iniquity.”

PROHIBITED PAGAN PRACTICES

18 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the Lord your God.r 3 Do not follow the practices of the land of Egypt,s where you used to live, or follow the practices of the land of Canaan,t where I am bringing you. You must not follow their customs.u 4 You are to practice my ordinancesv and you are to keep my statutesw by following them; I am the Lord your God. 5 Keep my statutes and ordinances; a person will livex if he does them.y I am the Lord.

6 “You are not to come nearz any close relativeD for sexual intercourse;aa I am the Lord. 7 You are not to violate the intimacy that belongs to your fatherab and mother.E She is your mother; you must not have sexual intercourse with her. 8 You are not to have sex with your father’s wife;ac she is your father’s family.ad 9 You are not to have sexual intercourse with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s,ae whether born at home or born elsewhere. You are not to have sex with her. 10 You are not to have sexual intercourse with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for they are your family.F 11 You are not to have sexual intercourse with your father’s wife’s daughter, who is adopted byG your father; she is your sister. 12 You are not to have sexual intercourse with your father’s sister;af she is your father’s close relative. 13 You are not to have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister,ag for she is your mother’s close relative. 14 You are not to violate the intimacy that belongs toH your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual intercourse; she is your aunt.ah 15 You are not to have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law.ai She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sex with her. 16 You are not to have sexual intercourse with your brother’s wife; she is your brother’s family.aj 17 You are not to have sexual intercourse with a woman and her daughter.ak You are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sex with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved.al 18 You are not to marry a woman as a rival to her sister and have sexual intercourse with her during her sister’s lifetime.a

19 “You are not to approachb a woman during her menstrual impurity to have sexual intercourse with her.c 20 You are not to have sexual intercourse withA your neighbor’s wife, defiling yourself with her.d

21 “You are not to sacrifice any of your children in the fireB to Molech.e Do not profane the namef of your God; I am the Lord. 22 You are not to sleep with a man as with a woman;g it is detestable.h 23 You are not to have sexual intercourse withC any animal, defiling yourself with it; a woman is not to present herself to an animal to mate with it;i it is a perversion.

24 “Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves by all these things. 25 The land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its iniquity, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.j 26 But you are to keep my statutes and ordinances. You must not commit any of these detestable acts—not the native or the alien who resides among you. 27 For the people who were in the land prior to you have committed all these detestable acts, and the land has become defiled. 28 If you defile the land, it will vomitk you out as it has vomited out the nations that were before you. 29 Any person who does any of these detestable practices is to be cut off from his people. 30 You must keep my instruction to not do any of the detestable customsl that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them; I am the Lord your God.”