The Holy Bible

[13:1] The Lord gave Moses and Aaron these regulations.

[13:2] If any of you have a sore on your skin or a boil or an inflammation which could develop into a dreaded skin disease, you shall be brought to the Aaronite priest.

[13:3] The priest shall examine the sore, and if the hairs in it have turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the surrounding skin, it is a dreaded skin disease, and the priest shall pronounce you unclean.

[13:4] But if the sore is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin around it and the hairs have not turned white, the priest shall isolate you for seven days.

[13:5] The priest shall examine you again on the seventh day, and if in his opinion the sore looks the same and has not spread, he shall isolate you for another seven days.

[13:6] The priest shall examine you again on the seventh day, and if the sore has faded and has not spread, he shall pronounce you ritually clean; it is only a sore. You shall wash your clothes and be ritually clean.

[13:7] But if the sore spreads after the priest has examined you and pronounced you clean, you must appear before the priest again.

[13:8] The priest will examine you again, and if it has spread, he shall pronounce you unclean; it is a dreaded skin disease.

[13:9] If any of you have a dreaded skin disease, you shall be brought to the priest,

[13:10] who will examine you. If there is a white sore on your skin which turns the hairs white and is full of pus,

[13:11] it is a chronic skin disease. The priest shall pronounce you unclean; there is no need to isolate you, because you are obviously unclean.

[13:12] If the skin disease spreads and covers you from head to foot,

[13:13] the priest shall examine you again. If he finds that it actually has covered the whole body, he shall pronounce you ritually clean. If your whole skin has turned white, you are ritually clean.

[13:14] But from the moment an open sore appears, you are unclean.

[13:15] The priest shall examine you again, and if he sees an open sore, he shall pronounce you unclean. An open sore means a dreaded skin disease, and you are unclean.

[13:16] But when the sore heals and becomes white again, you shall go to the priest,

[13:17] who will examine you again. If the sore has turned white, you are ritually clean, and the priest shall pronounce you clean.

[13:18] If any of you have a boil that has healed

[13:19] and if afterward a white swelling or a reddish-white spot appears where the boil was, you shall go to the priest.

[13:20] The priest shall examine you, and if the spot seems to be deeper than the surrounding skin and the hairs in it have turned white, he shall pronounce you unclean. It is a dreaded skin disease that has started in the boil.

[13:21] But if the priest examines it and finds that the hairs in it have not turned white and that it is not deeper than the surrounding skin, but is light in color, the priest shall isolate you for seven days.

[13:22] If the spot spreads, the priest shall pronounce you unclean; you are diseased.

[13:23] But if it remains unchanged and does not spread, it is only the scar left from the boil, and the priest shall pronounce you ritually clean.

[13:24] In case any of you have been burned, if the raw flesh becomes white or reddish-white,

[13:25] the priest shall examine you. If the hairs in the spot have turned white and it appears deeper than the surrounding skin, it is a dreaded skin disease that has started in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce you unclean.

[13:26] But if the hairs in it have not turned white and it is not deeper than the surrounding skin, but is light in color, the priest shall isolate you for seven days.

[13:27] The priest shall examine you again on the seventh day, and if it is spreading, it is a dreaded skin disease, and the priest shall pronounce you unclean.

[13:28] But if the spot remains unchanged and does not spread and is light in color, it is not a dreaded skin disease. The priest shall pronounce you ritually clean, because it is only a scar from the burn.

[13:29] When any of you, male or female, have a sore on your head or chin,

[13:30] the priest shall examine it. If it seems to be deeper than the surrounding skin and the hairs in it are yellowish and thin, it is a dreaded skin disease, and he shall pronounce you unclean.

[13:31] If, when the priest examines you, the sore does not appear to be deeper than the surrounding skin, but there are still no healthy hairs in it, he shall isolate you for seven days.

[13:32] The priest shall examine the sore again on the seventh day, and if it has not spread and there are no yellowish hairs in it and it does not seem to be deeper than the surrounding skin,

[13:33] you shall shave the head except the area around the sore. The priest shall then isolate you for another seven days.

[13:34] On the seventh day the priest shall again examine the sore, and if it has not spread and does not seem to be deeper than the surrounding skin, he shall pronounce you ritually clean. You shall wash your clothes, and you will be clean.

[13:35] But if the sore spreads after you have been pronounced clean,

[13:36] the priest shall examine you again. If the sore has spread, he need not look for yellowish hairs; you are obviously unclean.

[13:37] But if in the priest's opinion the sore has not spread and healthy hairs are growing in it, the sore has healed, and the priest shall pronounce you ritually clean.

[13:38] When any of you, male or female, have white spots on the skin,

[13:39] the priest shall examine you. If the spots are dull white, it is only a blemish that has broken out on the skin; you are ritually clean.

[13:42] But if a reddish-white sore appears on the bald spot, it is a dreaded skin disease.

[13:43] The priest shall examine you, and if there is a reddish-white sore,

[13:44] the priest shall pronounce you unclean, because of the dreaded skin disease on your head.

[13:45] If you have a dreaded skin disease, you must wear torn clothes, leave your hair uncombed, cover the lower part of your face, and call out, “Unclean, unclean!”

[13:46] You remain unclean as long as you have the disease, and you must live outside the camp, away from others.

[13:47] When there is mildew on clothing, whether wool or linen,

[13:48] or on any piece of linen or wool cloth or on leather or anything made of leather,

[13:49] if it is greenish or reddish, it is a spreading mildew and must be shown to the priest.

[13:50] The priest shall examine it and put the object away for seven days.

[13:51] He shall examine it again on the seventh day, and if the mildew has spread, the object is unclean.

[13:52] The priest shall burn it, because it is a spreading mildew which must be destroyed by fire.

[13:53] But if, when he examines it, the priest finds that the mildew has not spread on the object,

[13:54] he shall order that it be washed and put away for another seven days.

[13:55] Then he shall examine it, and if the mildew has not changed color, even though it has not spread, it is still unclean; you must burn the object, whether the rot is on the front or the back.

[13:56] But if, when the priest examines it again, the mildew has faded, he shall tear it out of the clothing or leather.

[13:57] Then, if the mildew reappears, it is spreading again, and the owner shall burn the object.

[13:58] If he washes the object and the spot disappears, he shall wash it again, and it will be ritually clean.

[13:59] This, then, is the law about mildew on clothing, whether it is wool or linen, or on linen or wool cloth or on anything made of leather; this is how the decision is made as to whether it is ritually clean or unclean.

[14:1] The Lord gave Moses

[14:2] the following regulations about the ritual purification of those of you cured of a dreaded skin disease. On the day you are to be pronounced clean, you shall be brought to the priest,

[14:3] and the priest shall take you outside the camp and examine you. If the disease is healed,

[14:4] the priest shall order that two ritually clean birds be brought, along with a piece of cedar wood, a red cord, and a sprig of hyssop.

[14:5] Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over a clay bowl containing fresh spring water.

[14:6] He shall take the other bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the red cord, and the hyssop, in the blood of the bird that was killed.

[14:7] He shall sprinkle the blood seven times on the one of you who is to be purified from your skin disease, and then he shall pronounce you clean. He shall let the live bird fly away over the open fields.

[14:8] You shall wash your clothes, shave off all your hair, and take a bath; you will then be ritually clean. You may enter the camp, but you must live outside your tent for seven days.

[14:9] On the seventh day you shall again shave your head, your beard, your eyebrows, and all the rest of the hair on your body; you shall wash your clothes and take a bath, and then you will be ritually clean.

[14:10] On the eighth day you shall bring two male lambs and one female lamb a year old that are without any defects, five pounds of flour mixed with olive oil, and half a pint of olive oil.

[14:11] The priest shall take you and these offerings to the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence.

[14:12] Then the priest shall take one of the male lambs and together with the half pint of oil he shall offer it as a repayment offering. He shall present them as a special gift to the Lord for the priest.

[14:13] He shall kill the lamb in the holy place where the animals for the sin offerings and the burnt offerings are killed. He must do this because the repayment offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest and is very holy.

[14:14] The priest shall take some of the blood of the lamb and put it on the lobe of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one of you to be declared ritually clean.

[14:15] The priest shall take some of the olive oil and pour it in the palm of his own left hand,

[14:16] dip a finger of his right hand in it, and sprinkle some of it seven times there in the Lord's presence.

[14:17] He shall take some of the oil that is in the palm of his hand and some of the blood of the lamb and put them on the lobe of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one of you to be declared ritually clean.

[14:18] He shall put the rest of the oil that is in the palm of his hand on your head. In this way he shall perform the ritual of purification.

[14:19] Then the priest shall offer the sin offering and perform the ritual of purification. After that, he shall kill the animal for the burnt offering

[14:20] and offer it with the grain offering on the altar. In this way the priest shall perform the ritual of purification, and you will be ritually clean.

[14:21] If you are poor and cannot afford any more, you shall bring for your purification only one male lamb as your repayment offering, a special gift to the Lord for the priest. You shall bring only two pounds of flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering and half a pint of olive oil.

[14:22] You shall also bring two doves or two pigeons, one for the sin offering and one for the burnt offering.

[14:23] On the eighth day of your purification you shall bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Tent.

[14:24] The priest shall take the lamb and the olive oil and present them as a special gift to the Lord for the priest.

[14:25] He shall kill the lamb and take some of the blood and put it on the lobe of your right ear, on the thumb of your right hand, and on the big toe of your right foot.

[14:26] The priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand

[14:27] and with a finger of his right hand sprinkle some of it seven times there in the Lord's presence.

[14:28] He shall put some of the oil on the same places he put the blood: on the lobe of your right ear, on the thumb of your right hand, and on the big toe of your right foot.

[14:29] The rest of the oil that is in his palm he shall put on your head and in this way perform the ritual of purification.

[14:30] Then he shall offer one of the doves or pigeons

[14:31] as the sin offering and the other as the burnt offering with the grain offering. In this way the priest shall perform the ritual of purification.

[14:32] This is the law for those who have a dreaded skin disease but who cannot afford the normal offerings required for his purification.

[14:33] The Lord gave Moses and Aaron

[14:36] The priest shall order everything to be moved out of the house before he goes to examine the mildew; otherwise everything in the house will be declared unclean. Then he shall go to the house

[14:37] and examine the mildew. If there are greenish or reddish spots that appear to be eating into the wall,

[14:38] he shall leave the house and lock it up for seven days.

[14:39] On the seventh day he shall return and examine it again. If the mildew has spread,

[14:40] he shall order that the stones on which the mildew is found be removed and thrown into some unclean place outside the city.

[14:41] After that he must have all the interior walls scraped and the plaster dumped in an unclean place outside the city.

[14:42] Then other stones are to be used to replace the stones that were removed, and new plaster will be used to cover the walls.

[14:43] If the mildew breaks out again in the house after the stones have been removed and the house has been scraped and plastered,

[14:44] the priest shall go and look. If it has spread, the house is unclean.

[14:45] It must be torn down, and its stones, its wood, and all its plaster must be carried out of the city to an unclean place.

[14:46] Any who enter the house while it is locked up will be unclean until evening.

[14:47] Any who lie down or eat in the house must wash their clothes.

[14:48] If, when the priest comes to look, the mildew has not reappeared after the house has been replastered, he shall pronounce the house ritually clean, because the mildew has been completely removed.

[14:49] To purify the house, he shall take two birds, some cedar wood, a red cord, and a sprig of hyssop.

[14:50] He shall kill one of the birds over a clay bowl containing fresh spring water.

[14:51] Then he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the red cord, and the live bird and shall dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed and in the fresh water. And he shall sprinkle the house seven times.

[14:52] In this way he shall purify the house with the bird's blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the red cord.

[14:53] Then he shall let the live bird fly away outside the city over the open fields. In this way he shall perform the ritual of purification for the house, and it will be ritually clean.

[14:54] These are the laws about dreaded skin diseases;

[14:57] These laws determine when something is unclean and when it is clean.

[15:1] The Lord gave Moses and Aaron the following regulations

[15:2] for the people of Israel. When any man has a discharge from his penis, the discharge is unclean,

[15:3] whether the penis runs with it or is stopped up by it.

[15:4] Any bed on which he sits or lies is unclean.

[15:5] Anyone who touches his bed

[15:6] or sits on anything the man has sat on must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

[15:7] Anyone who touches the man with the discharge must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

[15:8] If the man with the discharge spits on anyone who is ritually clean, that person must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

[15:9] Any saddle or seat on which the man with the discharge sits is unclean.

[15:10] Anyone who touches anything on which the man sat is unclean until evening. Anyone who carries anything on which the man sat must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

[15:11] If a man who has a discharge touches one of you without first having washed his hands, you must wash your clothes and take a bath, and you remain unclean until evening.

[15:12] Any clay pot that the man touches must be broken, and any wooden bowl that he touches must be washed.

[15:13] After the man is cured of his discharge, he must wait seven days and then wash his clothes and take a bath in fresh spring water, and he will be ritually clean.

[15:14] On the eighth day he shall take two doves or two pigeons to the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence and give them to the priest.

[15:15] The priest shall offer one of them as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way he will perform the ritual of purification for the man.

[15:16] When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body, and he remains unclean until evening.

[15:17] Anything made of cloth or leather on which the semen falls must be washed, and it remains unclean until evening.

[15:18] After sexual intercourse both the man and the woman must take a bath, and they remain unclean until evening.

[15:19] When a woman has her monthly period, she remains unclean for seven days. Anyone who touches her is unclean until evening.

[15:20] Anything on which she sits or lies during her monthly period is unclean.

[15:24] If a man has sexual intercourse with her during her period, he is contaminated by her impurity and remains unclean for seven days, and any bed on which he lies is unclean.

[15:25] If a woman has a flow of blood for several days outside her monthly period or if her flow continues beyond her regular period, she remains unclean as long as the flow continues, just as she is during her monthly period.

[15:26] Any bed on which she lies and anything on which she sits during this time is unclean.

[15:27] Any who touch them are unclean and must wash their clothes and take a bath; they remain unclean until evening.

[15:28] After her flow stops, she must wait seven days, and then she will be ritually clean.

[15:29] On the eighth day she shall take two doves or two pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence.

[15:30] The priest shall offer one of them as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and in this way he will perform the ritual of purification for her.

[15:31] The Lord told Moses to warn the people of Israel about their uncleanness, so that they would not defile the Tent of his presence, which was in the middle of the camp. If they did, they would be killed.

[15:32] These are the regulations about a man who has a discharge or an emission of semen,

[15:33] a woman during her monthly period, or a man who has sexual intercourse with a woman who is ritually unclean.

[16:1] The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who were killed when they offered unholy fire to the Lord.

[16:2] He said, “Tell your brother Aaron that only at the proper time is he to go behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place, because that is where I appear in a cloud above the lid on the Covenant Box. If he disobeys, he will be killed.

[16:3] He may enter the Most Holy Place only after he has brought a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.”

[16:4] Then the Lord gave the following instructions. Before Aaron goes into the Most Holy Place, he must take a bath and put on the priestly garments: the linen robe and shorts, the belt, and the turban.

[16:5] The community of Israel shall give Aaron two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

[16:6] He shall offer a bull as a sacrifice to take away his own sins and those of his family.

[16:7] Then he shall take the two goats to the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence.

[16:8] There he shall draw lots, using two stones, one marked “for the Lord” and the other “for Azazel.”

[16:9] Aaron shall sacrifice the goat chosen by lot for the Lord and offer it as a sin offering.

[16:10] The goat chosen for Azazel shall be presented alive to the Lord and sent off into the desert to Azazel, in order to take away the sins of the people.

[16:11] When Aaron sacrifices the bull as the sin offering for himself and his family,

[16:12] he shall take a fire pan full of burning coals from the altar and two handfuls of fine incense and bring them into the Most Holy Place.

[16:13] There in the Lord's presence he shall put the incense on the fire, and the smoke of the incense will hide the lid of the Covenant Box so that he will not see it and die.

[16:14] He shall take some of the bull's blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the lid and then sprinkle some of it seven times in front of the Covenant Box.

[16:15] After that, he shall kill the goat for the sin offering for the people, bring its blood into the Most Holy Place, and sprinkle it on the lid and then in front of the Covenant Box, as he did with the bull's blood.

[16:16] In this way he will perform the ritual to purify the Most Holy Place from the uncleanness of the people of Israel and from all their sins. He must do this to the Tent, because it stands in the middle of the camp, which is ritually unclean.

[16:17] From the time Aaron enters the Most Holy Place to perform the ritual of purification until he comes out, there must be no one in the Tent. When he has performed the ritual for himself, his family, and the whole community,

[16:18] he must then go out to the altar for burnt offerings and purify it. He must take some of the bull's blood and some of the goat's blood and put it all over the projections at the corners of the altar.

[16:19] With his finger he must sprinkle some of the blood on the altar seven times. In this way he is to purify it from the sins of the people of Israel and make it holy.

[16:20] When Aaron has finished performing the ritual to purify the Most Holy Place, the rest of the Tent of the Lord's presence, and the altar, he shall present to the Lord the live goat chosen for Azazel.

[16:21] He shall put both of his hands on the goat's head and confess over it all the evils, sins, and rebellions of the people of Israel, and so transfer them to the goat's head. Then the goat is to be driven off into the desert by someone appointed to do it.

[16:22] The goat will carry all their sins away with him into some uninhabited land.

[16:23] Then Aaron shall go into the Tent, take off the priestly garments that he had put on before entering the Most Holy Place, and leave them there.

[16:24] He must take a bath in a holy place and put on his own clothes. After that, he shall go out and offer the burnt offering to remove his own sins and those of the people.

[16:25] He shall burn on the altar the fat of the animal for the sin offering.

[16:26] The man who drove the goat into the desert to Azazel must wash his clothes and take a bath before he comes back into camp.

[16:27] The bull and the goat used for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to take away sin, shall be carried outside the camp and burned. Skin, meat, and intestines shall all be burned.

[16:28] The one who burns them must wash his clothes and take a bath before he returns to camp.

[16:29] The following regulations are to be observed for all time to come. On the tenth day of the seventh month the Israelites and the foreigners living among them must fast and must not do any work.

[16:30] On that day the ritual is to be performed to purify them from all their sins, so that they will be ritually clean.

[16:31] That day is to be a very holy day, one on which they fast and do no work at all. These regulations are to be observed for all time to come.

[16:32] The High Priest, properly ordained and consecrated to succeed his father, is to perform the ritual of purification. He shall put on the priestly garments

[16:33] and perform the ritual to purify the Most Holy Place, the rest of the Tent of the Lord's presence, the altar, the priests, and all the people of the community.

[16:34] These regulations are to be observed for all time to come. This ritual must be performed once a year to purify the people of Israel from all their sins. So Moses did as the Lord had commanded.

[17:1] The Lord commanded Moses

[17:2] to give Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel the following regulations.

[17:5] The meaning of this command is that the people of Israel shall now bring to the Lord the animals which they used to kill in the open country. They shall now bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Tent and kill them as fellowship offerings.

[17:6] The priest shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar at the entrance of the Tent and burn the fat to produce an odor that is pleasing to the Lord.

[17:7] The people of Israel must no longer be unfaithful to the Lord by killing their animals in the fields as sacrifices to the goat demons. The people of Israel must keep this regulation for all time to come.

[17:8] Any Israelites or any foreigners living in the community who offer a burnt offering or any other sacrifice

[17:9] as an offering to the Lord anywhere except at the entrance of the Tent shall no longer be considered God's people.

[17:10] If any Israelites or any foreigners living in the community eat meat with blood still in it, the Lord will turn against them and no longer consider them his people.

[17:11] The life of every living thing is in the blood, and that is why the Lord has commanded that all blood be poured out on the altar to take away the people's sins. Blood, which is life, takes away sins.

[17:12] That is why the Lord has told the people of Israel that neither they nor any foreigner living among them shall eat any meat with blood still in it.

[17:13] If any Israelites or any foreigners living in the community catch an animal or a bird which is ritually clean, they must pour its blood out on the ground and cover it with dirt.

[17:14] The life of every living thing is in the blood, and that is why the Lord has told the people of Israel that they shall not eat any meat with blood still in it and that anyone who does so will no longer be considered one of his people.

[17:15] Any people, Israelites or foreigners, who eat meat from an animal that has died a natural death or has been killed by wild animals must wash their clothes, take a bath, and wait until evening before they are ritually clean.

[17:16] If they do not, they must suffer the consequences.

[18:1] The Lord told Moses

[18:2] to say to the people of Israel, “I am the Lord your God.

[18:3] Do not follow the practices of the people of Egypt, where you once lived, or of the people in the land of Canaan, where I am now taking you.

[18:4] Obey my laws and do what I command. I am the Lord your God.

[18:5] Follow the practices and the laws that I give you; you will save your life by doing so. I am the Lord.”

[18:6] The Lord gave the following regulations. Do not have sexual intercourse with any of your relatives.

[18:7] Do not disgrace your father by having intercourse with your mother. You must not disgrace your own mother.

[18:8] Do not disgrace your father by having intercourse with any of his other wives.

[18:9] Do not have intercourse with your sister or your stepsister, whether or not she was brought up in the same house with you.

[18:10] Do not have intercourse with your granddaughter; that would be a disgrace to you.

[18:11] Do not have intercourse with a half sister; she, too, is your sister.

[18:14] Do not have intercourse with your uncle's wife; she, too, is your aunt.

[18:15] Do not have intercourse with your daughter-in-law

[18:16] or with your brother's wife.

[18:17] Do not have intercourse with the daughter or granddaughter of a woman with whom you have had intercourse; they may be related to you, and that would be incest.

[18:18] Do not take your wife's sister as one of your wives, as long as your wife is living.

[18:19] Do not have intercourse with a woman during her monthly period, because she is ritually unclean.

[18:20] Do not have intercourse with another man's wife; that would make you ritually unclean.

[18:21] Do not hand over any of your children to be used in the worship of the god Molech, because that would bring disgrace on the name of God, the Lord.

[18:22] No man is to have sexual relations with another man; God hates that.

[18:23] No man or woman is to have sexual relations with an animal; that perversion makes you ritually unclean.

[18:24] Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these acts, for that is how the pagans made themselves unclean, those pagans who lived in the land before you and whom the Lord is driving out so that you can go in.

[18:25] Their actions made the land unclean, and so the Lord is punishing the land and making it reject the people who lived there.

[18:28] and then the land will not reject you, as it rejected the pagans who lived there before you.

[18:29] You know that whoever does any of these disgusting things will no longer be considered one of God's people.

[18:30] And the Lord said, “Obey the commands I give and do not follow the practices of the people who lived in the land before you, and do not make yourselves unclean by doing any of these things. I am the Lord your God.”