Leviticus 14 | English Standard Version

English Standard Version

Laws for Cleansing Lepers

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “This shall be the law of the leprous person for the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest, (Mt 8:2; Mt 8:4; Mr 1:40; Mr 1:44; Lu 5:12; Lu 5:14; Lu 17:14)

Mt 8:2Mt 8:4Mr 1:40Mr 1:44Lu 5:12Lu 5:14Lu 17:14

3 and the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall look. Then, if the case of leprous disease is healed in the leprous person, (2Ki 7:10; Lu 17:12) 4 the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two live^[1] clean birds and cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop. (Ex 12:22; Nu 19:6; Heb 9:19) 5 And the priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh^[2] water. 6 He shall take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird go into the open field. (Le 14:53; Le 16:22; Le 17:5; 2Ki 5:10; 2Ki 5:14; Heb 9:13)

Le 14:53Le 16:22Le 17:52Ki 5:102Ki 5:14Heb 9:13

8 And he who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. And after that he may come into the camp, but live outside his tent seven days. (Le 11:25; Le 14:47; Nu 12:15) 9 And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair from his head, his beard, and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all his hair, and then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean. (Le 14:8; Nu 31:19) 10 “And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish, and a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah^[3] of fine flour mixed with oil, and one log^[4] of oil. (Nu 15:4; Mt 8:4; Mr 1:44; Lu 5:14)

Nu 15:4Mt 8:4Mr 1:44Lu 5:14

11 And the priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed and these things before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 12 And the priest shall take one of the male lambs and offer it for a guilt offering, along with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. (Ex 29:24; Le 5:18; Le 6:6) 13 And he shall kill the lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary. For the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. (Le 1:5; Le 1:11; Le 2:3; Le 4:4; Le 4:24; Le 7:6; Le 7:7)

Le 1:5Le 1:11Le 2:3Le 4:4Le 4:24Le 7:6Le 7:7

14 The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. (Ex 29:20; Le 8:23) 15 Then the priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand 16 and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. 17 And some of the oil that remains in his hand the priest shall put on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and 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. 18 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord. (Le 4:26) 19 The priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. And afterward he shall kill the burnt offering. 20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean. (Le 14:10; Le 14:18) 21 “But if he is poor and cannot afford so much, then he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and a log of oil; (Le 5:7; Le 5:11; Le 12:8; Le 14:12)

Le 5:7Le 5:11Le 12:8Le 14:12

22 also two turtledoves or two pigeons, whichever he can afford. The one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. (Le 12:8) 23 And on the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, before the Lord. (Le 14:10) 24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. (Le 14:12) 25 And he shall kill the lamb of the guilt offering. And the priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. (Le 14:14) 26 And the priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, 27 and shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord. 28 And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, in the place where the blood of the guilt offering was put. 29 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the Lord. 30 And he shall offer, of the turtledoves or pigeons, whichever he can afford, (Le 14:22; Le 15:15) 31 one^[5] for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, along with a grain offering. And the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for him who is being cleansed. (Le 14:18) 32 This is the law for him in whom is a case of leprous disease, who cannot afford the offerings for his cleansing.” (Le 14:10)

Laws for Cleansing Houses

33 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 34 “When you come into the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a case of leprous disease in a house in the land of your possession, (Ge 17:8; Nu 32:22; De 32:49) 35 then he who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, ‘There seems to me to be some case of disease in my house.’ (Ps 91:10; Zec 5:4) 36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house before the priest goes to examine the disease, lest all that is in the house be declared unclean. And afterward the priest shall go in to see the house. 37 And he shall examine the disease. And if the disease is in the walls of the house with greenish or reddish spots, and if it appears to be deeper than the surface, 38 then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house and shut up the house seven days. 39 And the priest shall come again on the seventh day, and look. If the disease has spread in the walls of the house, 40 then the priest shall command that they take out the stones in which is the disease and throw them into an unclean place outside the city. 41 And he shall have the inside of the house scraped all around, and the plaster that they scrape off they shall pour out in an unclean place outside the city. 42 Then they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other plaster and plaster the house. 43 “If the disease breaks out again in the house, after he has taken out the stones and scraped the house and plastered it, 44 then the priest shall go and look. And if the disease has spread in the house, it is a persistent leprous disease in the house; it is unclean. (Le 13:51) 45 And he shall break down the house, its stones and timber and all the plaster of the house, and he shall carry them out of the city to an unclean place. 46 Moreover, whoever enters the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening, 47 and whoever sleeps in the house shall wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes. (Le 11:25) 48 “But if the priest comes and looks, and if the disease has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, for the disease is healed. 49 And for the cleansing of the house he shall take two small birds, with cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop, (Le 14:4; Le 14:52) 50 and shall kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water 51 and shall take the cedarwood and the hyssop and the scarlet yarn, along with the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed and in the fresh water and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 Thus he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the fresh water and with the live bird and with the cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn. 53 And he shall let the live bird go out of the city into the open country. So he shall make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.” (Le 14:7; Le 14:19) 54 This is the law for any case of leprous disease: for an itch, (Le 13:30) 55 for leprous disease in a garment or in a house, (Le 13:47; Le 14:34) 56 and for a swelling or an eruption or a spot, (Le 13:2) 57 to show when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the law for leprous disease. (Le 10:10)

New International Version

Cleansing from defiling skin diseases

1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘These are the regulations for any diseased person at the time of their ceremonial cleansing, when they are brought to the priest: 3 the priest is to go outside the camp and examine them. If they have been healed of their defiling skin disease,^[1] 4 the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to be cleansed. 5 Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. 6 He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the defiling disease, and then pronounce them clean. After that, he is to release the live bird in the open fields. 8 ‘The person to be cleansed must wash their clothes, shave off all their hair and bathe with water; then they will be ceremonially clean. After this they may come into the camp, but they must stay outside their tent for seven days. 9 On the seventh day they must shave off all their hair; they must shave their head, their beard, their eyebrows and the rest of their hair. They must wash their clothes and bathe themselves with water, and they will be clean. 10 ‘On the eighth day they must bring two male lambs and one ewe lamb a year old, each without defect, along with three-tenths of an ephah^[2] of the finest flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, and one log^[3] of oil. 11 The priest who pronounces them clean shall present both the one to be cleansed and their offerings before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 12 ‘Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering, along with the log of oil; he shall wave them before the Lord as a wave offering. 13 He is to slaughter the lamb in the sanctuary area where the sin offering^[4] and the burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 14 The priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. 15 The priest shall then take some of the log of oil, pour it in the palm of his own left hand, 16 dip his right forefinger into the oil in his palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of it before the Lord seven times. 17 The priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. 18 The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed and make atonement for them before the Lord. 19 ‘Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from their uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering 20 and offer it on the altar, together with the grain offering, and make atonement for them, and they will be clean. 21 ‘If, however, they are poor and cannot afford these, they must take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for them, together with a tenth of an ephah^[5] of the finest flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, a log of oil, 22 and two doves or two young pigeons, such as they can afford, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 23 ‘On the eighth day they must bring them for their cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting, before the Lord. 24 The priest is to take the lamb for the guilt offering, together with the log of oil, and wave them before the Lord as a wave offering. 25 He shall slaughter the lamb for the guilt offering and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. 26 The priest is to pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, 27 and with his right forefinger sprinkle some of the oil from his palm seven times before the Lord. 28 Some of the oil in his palm he is to put on the same places he put the blood of the guilt offering – on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. 29 The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for them before the Lord. 30 Then he shall sacrifice the doves or the young pigeons, such as the person can afford, 31 one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed.’ 32 These are the regulations for anyone who has a defiling skin disease and who cannot afford the usual offerings for their cleansing.

Cleansing from defiling moulds

33 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 34 ‘When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a spreading mould in a house in that land, 35 the owner of the house must go and tell the priest, “I have seen something that looks like a defiling mould in my house.” 36 The priest is to order the house to be emptied before he goes in to examine the mould, so that nothing in the house will be pronounced unclean. After this the priest is to go in and inspect the house. 37 He is to examine the mould on the walls, and if it has greenish or reddish depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall, 38 the priest shall go out of the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days. 39 On the seventh day the priest shall return to inspect the house. If the mould has spread on the walls, 40 he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town. 41 He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town. 42 Then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house. 43 ‘If the defiling mould reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered, 44 the priest is to go and examine it and, if the mould has spread in the house, it is a persistent defiling mould; the house is unclean. 45 It must be torn down – its stones, timbers and all the plaster – and taken out of the town to an unclean place. 46 ‘Anyone who goes into the house while it is closed up will be unclean till evening. 47 Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash their clothes. 48 ‘But if the priest comes to examine it and the mould has not spread after the house has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the defiling mould is gone. 49 To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop. 50 He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. 51 Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 He shall purify the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn. 53 Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.’ 54 These are the regulations for any defiling skin disease, for a sore, 55 for defiling moulds in fabric or in a house, 56 and for a swelling, a rash or a shiny spot, 57 to determine when something is clean or unclean. These are the regulations for defiling skin diseases and defiling moulds.

King James Version

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: 3 And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; 4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: 5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: 6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: 7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. 8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days. 9 But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean. 10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. 11 And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: 12 And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: 13 And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest', so is the trespass offering: it is most holy: 14 And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot: 15 And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand: 16 And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD: 17 And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering: 18 And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest' hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD. 19 And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering: 20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean. 21 And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil; 22 And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering. 23 And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD. 24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: 25 And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot: 26 And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand: 27 And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD: 28 And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering: 29 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest' hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the LORD. 30 And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get; 31 Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the LORD. 32 This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing. 33 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 34 When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession; 35 And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house: 36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house: 37 And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall; 38 Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days: 39 And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house; 40 Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is , and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city: 41 And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place: 42 And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other morter, and shall plaister the house. 43 And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered; 44 Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean. 45 And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place. 46 Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even. 47 And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes. 48 And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it , and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed. 49 And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: 50 And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water: 51 And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times: 52 And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet: 53 But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean. 54 This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall, 55 And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house, 56 And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot: 57 To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.

New International Reader’s Version

Making people ‘clean’ from skin diseases

1 The LORD spoke to Moses. He told him to say to the people, 2 ‘Here are the rules for making anyone “clean” who has had a skin disease. They apply when the person is brought to the priest. 3 The priest must go outside the camp. He must look the person over carefully. Suppose they have been healed of their skin disease. 4 Then the priest will order someone to bring him two live “clean” birds. He will also order someone to bring him some cedar wood, bright red yarn and branches of a hyssop plant. All these things will be used to make the person “clean”. 5 The priest will order someone to kill one of the birds. It must be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. 6 Then the priest must take the live bird. He must dip it into the blood of the bird killed over the fresh water. He must dip it into the blood together with the cedar wood, the bright red yarn and the hyssop plant. 7 The priest will sprinkle the blood on the person who had the skin disease. That will make them “clean”. The priest must sprinkle them seven times. Then the priest must announce that they are “clean”. After that, the priest must let the live bird go free in the open fields. 8 ‘The person must also wash their clothes to be made “clean”. They must shave off all their hair. They must take a bath. Then they will be “clean”. After that, they may come into the camp. But they must stay outside their tent for seven days. 9 On the seventh day they must shave off all their hair. They must shave their head. They must shave off their beard. They must also shave off their eyebrows and the rest of their hair. They must wash their clothes. They must take a bath. Then they will be “clean”. 10 ‘On the eighth day they must bring two male lambs and one female lamb as an offering. The female must be a year old. The lambs must not have any flaws. They must also bring 4.5 kilograms of the finest flour as a grain offering. They must mix it with olive oil. They must also bring a third of a litre of oil. 11 The priest who announces that the person is “clean” must bring them and their offerings to me. He must do it at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 12 ‘Then the priest must take one of the male lambs. He must offer it as a guilt offering. He must offer it along with a third of a litre of oil. He must lift all of it up and wave it in front of me as a wave offering. 13 He must kill the lamb in the holy area where sin offerings and burnt offerings are killed. The guilt offering belongs to the priest, just as the sin offering does. The guilt offering is very holy. 14 The priest must take some of the blood from the guilt offering and put it on the person’s right earlobe. He must put some on the thumb of their right hand. He must also put some on the big toe of their right foot. 15 Then the priest must take some of the oil and pour it into his own left hand. 16 He must dip his right forefinger into the oil in his hand. He must use his finger to sprinkle some of the oil in front of me seven times. 17 The priest must put some of the oil in his hand on the same places he put the blood of the guilt offering. He must put some on the person’s right earlobe. He must put some on the thumb of their right hand. He must put some on the big toe of their right foot. 18 He must put on their head the rest of the oil in his hand. It will pay for the person’s sin in my sight. 19 ‘Then the priest must sacrifice the sin offering. It will pay for the person’s sin. They will be made “clean” after being “unclean”. After that, the priest will kill the burnt offering. 20 He will offer it on the altar. He will offer it together with the grain offering. It will pay for the person’s sin. Then they will be “clean”. 21 ‘But suppose they are poor. Suppose they can’t afford all these offerings. Then they must bring one male lamb as a guilt offering. It must be lifted up and waved in front of me to pay for their sin. They must also bring 1.5 kilograms of the finest flour along with the lamb. They must mix the flour with olive oil. It is a grain offering. They must offer it along with a third of a litre of oil. 22 They must also bring two doves or two young pigeons that they can afford. One is for a sin offering. The other is for a burnt offering. 23 ‘On the eighth day they must bring them to the priest so they can be made “clean”. They must bring them to the entrance to the tent of meeting. They must do it in my sight. 24 The priest must take the lamb for the guilt offering. He must take it together with the a third of a litre of oil. He must lift all of it up and wave it in front of me as a wave offering. 25 He must kill the lamb for the guilt offering. He must take some of its blood and put it on the person’s right earlobe. He must put some on the thumb of their right hand. He must also put some on the big toe of their right foot. 26 The priest must pour some of the oil into his own left hand. 27 He must dip his right forefinger into the oil in his hand. He must use his finger to sprinkle some of it seven times in front of me. 28 Here is what he must do with some of the oil in his hand. He must put it on the same places where he put the blood of the guilt offering. He must put some on the person’s right earlobe. He must put some on the thumb of their right hand. He must also put some on the big toe of their right foot. 29 He must put on their head the rest of the oil in his hand. It will pay for the person’s sin in my sight. 30 The priest will sacrifice the doves or the young pigeons that the person can afford. 31 One is for a sin offering. The other is for a burnt offering. The priest must offer them together with the grain offering. In that way he will pay for the person’s sin in my sight. He will do it to make them “clean”. ’ 32 These are the rules for anyone who has a skin disease. They are for people who can’t afford the regular offerings that are required to make them ‘clean’.

Making things ‘clean’ from mould

33 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He told them to say to the people, 34 ‘You will enter the land of Canaan. I am giving it to you as your own. When you enter it, suppose I put mould in one of your houses. And suppose the mould spreads. 35 Then the owner of that house must go and speak to the priest. He must say, “I’ve seen something that looks like mould in my house.” 36 The priest must order everything to be taken out of the house. It must be done before he goes in to look carefully at the mould. If it is not done, the priest must announce that everything in the house is “unclean”. After the house is empty the priest must go in and check it. 37 He must look carefully at the mould on the walls. Suppose it looks as if it has green or red dents in it. And suppose the dents look as if they are behind the surface of the wall. 38 Then the priest must go out the door. He must close the house up for seven days. 39 On the seventh day the priest will return to check the house. Suppose the mould on the walls has spread. 40 Then he must order someone to tear out the stones that have mould on them. He must let them be thrown into an “unclean” place outside the town. 41 He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped. Everything scraped off must be dumped into an “unclean” place outside the town. 42 Then other stones must be put in the place of the stones that had mould on them. The inside walls of the house must be coated with new clay. 43 ‘Suppose the stones have been torn out. The house has been scraped. And the walls have been coated with new clay. But the mould appears again. 44 Then the priest must go and look things over carefully. Suppose the mould has spread in the house. Then it is the kind of mould that destroys things. The house is not “clean”. 45 It must be torn down. The stones, the wood and all the clay coating must be torn out. All of it must be taken out of the town to an “unclean” place. 46 ‘Suppose someone goes into the house while it is closed up. Then they will be “unclean” until evening. 47 If they sleep or eat in the house, they must wash their clothes. 48 ‘But suppose the priest comes to look things over carefully. And suppose the mould has not spread after the walls had been coated with new clay. Then he will announce that the house is “clean”. The mould is gone. 49 To make the house pure, the priest must get two birds. He must also get some cedar wood, bright red yarn and branches of a hyssop plant. 50 He must kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. 51 Then he must take the cedar wood, the hyssop plant, the bright red yarn and the live bird. He must dip all of them into the blood of the dead bird. He must also dip them into the fresh water. He must sprinkle the house seven times. 52 The priest will use the blood and the water to make the house pure. He will use the live bird to make it pure. He will also use the cedar wood, the hyssop plant and the bright red yarn to make it pure. 53 Then he must let the live bird go free in the open fields outside the town. In that way he will make the house pure. It will be “clean”. ’ 54 These are the rules for skin diseases. They apply to sores. 55 They apply to mould in clothes or in houses. 56 They also apply to swellings, rashes or shiny red spots on the skin. 57 Use these rules to decide whether something is ‘clean’ or not. These are the rules for skin diseases and for mould.