Leviticus 11
Laws About Animals For Food
1The LORD spoke again to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 2“Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Among all the animals which are on the earth, these are the animals which you may eat. 3‘You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof [that is, a hoof split into two parts especially at its distal extremity] and chews the cud. 4‘Nevertheless, you are not to eat these, among those which chew the cud or divide the hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is [ceremonially] unclean to you. 5‘And the shaphan, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you. 6‘And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you. 7‘And the swine, because it divides the hoof and makes a split hoof, but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. 8‘You shall not eat their meat nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.
9‘These you may eat, whatever is in the water: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, these you may eat; 10but whatever does not have fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, of all the teeming life in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are [to be considered] detestable to you. 11‘They shall be hated things to you. You may not eat their meat; you shall detest their carcasses. 12‘Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.
Avoid the Unclean 13‘These you shall detest among the birds; they are not to be eaten, for they are hated things: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, 14the kite, every kind of falcon, 15every kind of raven, 16the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, every species of hawk, 17the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl, 18the white owl, the pelican, the carrion vulture, 19the stork, all kinds of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.
20‘All winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you; 21yet of all winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those which have legs above their feet with which to leap on the ground. 22‘Of these you may eat: the whole species of migratory locust, of bald locust, of cricket, and of grasshopper. 23‘But all other winged insects which are four footed are detestable to you.
24‘By [contact with] these you will become unclean; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until the evening (dusk), 25and whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 26‘Concerning all the animals which divide the hoof, but do not have a split hoof, or which do not chew the cud, they are unclean to you; whoever touches them becomes unclean. 27‘Also all animals that walk on their paws, among all kinds of animals that walk on four legs, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until the evening, 28and the one who picks up their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.
29‘These also are unclean to you among the swarming things that crawl around on the ground [and multiply profusely]: the mole, the mouse, and any kind of great lizard, 30the gecko, the crocodile, the lizard, the sand reptile, and the chameleon. 31‘These [creatures] are unclean to you among all that swarm; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening. 32‘Also anything on which one of them falls after dying becomes unclean, whether it is an article of wood or clothing, or a skin, or a sack—any article that is used—it must be put in water, and will be unclean until the evening; then it becomes clean. 33‘As for any earthenware container into which any of these [crawling things] falls, whatever is in it becomes unclean, and you shall break the container. 34‘Any of the food which may be eaten, but on which [unclean] water falls, shall become unclean, and any liquid that may be drunk in every container shall become unclean. 35‘Everything that part of their carcass falls on becomes unclean; an oven, or a small stove shall be smashed; they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. 36‘Nevertheless a spring or a cistern (reservoir) collecting water shall be clean; but whoever touches one of these carcasses shall be unclean. 37‘If a part of their carcass falls on any seed for sowing which is to be sown, it is clean; 38but if water is put on the seed and a part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.
39‘If one of the animals that you may eat dies [of natural causes], whoever touches its carcass becomes unclean until the evening. 40‘And whoever eats some of its meat shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening; also whoever picks up its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.
41‘Now everything that swarms on the ground is detestable; it is not to be eaten. 42‘Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all fours, and whatever has many feet among all things that swarm on the ground, you shall not eat; for they are detestable. 43‘Do not make yourselves loathsome (impure, repulsive) by [eating] any swarming thing; you shall not make yourselves unclean by them so as to defile yourselves. 44‘For I am the LORD your God; so consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm or crawls on the ground. 45‘For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; therefore you shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
46This is the law regarding the animal and the bird and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth, 47to make a distinction between the [ceremonially] unclean and the [ceremonially] clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.
Leviticus 12
Laws Of Motherhood
1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the children of Israel, saying,
‘If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male child, she shall be [ceremonially] unclean for seven days, unclean as during her monthly period. 3‘On the eighth day the flesh of the male child’s foreskin shall be circumcised. 4‘Then she shall remain [intimately separated] thirty-three days to be purified from the blood; she shall not touch any consecrated thing nor enter the [courtyard of the] sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. 5‘But if she gives birth to a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as during her monthly period, and she shall remain [intimately separated] sixty-six days to be purified from the blood.
6‘When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting a one year old lamb as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering; 7and he shall offer it before the LORD and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who gives birth to a child, whether a male or a female child. 8‘If she cannot afford a lamb then she shall take two turtledoves or young pigeons, one as a burnt offering, the other as a sin offering; the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”
Leviticus 13
The Test For Leprosy
1Then the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2“When a man has a swelling on the skin of his body, a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes the infection of leprosy on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests. 3The priest shall look at the diseased spot on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him [ceremonially] unclean. 4If the bright spot is white on the skin of his body and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has not turned white, the priest shall isolate the person who has the infection for seven days. 5The priest shall examine it on the seventh day, and if in his estimation the infection has not changed and has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days. 6The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the infection has a more normal color and the spot has not spread on the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab; and he shall wash his clothes and be clean.
7“But if the scab spreads farther on the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his [ceremonial] cleansing, he shall show himself to the priest again. 8The priest shall look, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then he shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy.
9“When a leprous infection is on a person, he shall be brought to the priest. 10The priest shall examine him, and if there is a white swelling on the skin and it has turned the hair white and there is new raw flesh in the swelling, 11it is a chronic leprosy on the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not isolate him because he is [clearly] unclean. 12But if the [suspected] leprosy breaks out farther on the skin, and it covers all of the skin of the one who has the outbreak—from his head to his foot—wherever the priest looks, 13the priest shall examine him. If the [suspected] leprosy has covered his entire body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; it has all turned white, and he is clean. 14But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. 15The priest shall examine the raw flesh, and he shall pronounce him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, it is leprosy. 16But if the raw flesh turns again and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest, 17and the priest shall examine him, and if the diseased part is changed to white, then the priest shall pronounce him who had the disease to be clean; he is clean.
18“And when there is on the skin of the body [the scar of] a boil that is healed, 19and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a bright spot, reddish white, then it shall be shown to the priest; 20and the priest shall look, and if it looks deeper than the skin and the hair on it has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the disease of leprosy; it has broken out in the boil. 21But if the priest examines it and finds no white hair in it and it is not deeper than the skin and is dull in color, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days. 22If it spreads farther on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a disease. 23But if the bright spot remains where it is and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
24“Or if the body has on its skin a burn from fire and the new flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish white or white, 25then the priest shall examine it, and if the hair in the bright spot has turned white, and it appears deeper than the skin, then leprosy has broken out in the burn. So the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the disease of leprosy. 26But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the bright spot and it is not deeper than [the rest of] the skin but is dull in color, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days. 27And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day; if it is spreading farther on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy. 28But if the bright spot remains in its place and has not spread in the skin, but is dull in color, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is the scar of the burn.
29“When a man or woman has a disease on the head or in the beard (face), 30the priest shall examine the diseased place; if it appears to be deeper than the skin, with yellow, thin hair in it, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a scale, it is leprosy of the head or beard. 31But if the priest examines the spot infected by the scale, and it does not appear deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall isolate the person with the scaly infection for seven days. 32On the seventh day the priest shall examine the diseased spot; if the scale has not spread and has no yellow hair in it, and the scale does not look deeper than the skin, 33then he shall shave himself, but he shall not shave the scale; and the priest shall isolate the person with the scale for seven more days. 34Then on the seventh day the priest shall look at the scale; if the scale has not spread on the skin and appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; he shall wash his clothes and be clean. 35But if the scale spreads farther on the skin after his cleansing, 36then the priest shall examine him, and if the scale has spread on the skin, the priest need not look for the yellowish hair; he is unclean. 37If, in the priest’s estimation, the scale has remained [without spreading], and black hair has grown in it, the scale is healed; he is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
38“When a man or a woman has bright spots on the skin of the body, even white bright spots, 39then the priest shall look, and if the bright spots on the skin of their bodies is a dull white, it is [only] a rash that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.
40“If a man loses the hair on his head, he is bald, but he is clean. 41And if he loses the hair on front of his head, he is bald on the forehead, but he is clean. 42But if there is a reddish-white infection on the bald head or forehead, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or forehead. 43Then the priest shall examine him, and if the diseased swelling is reddish-white on his bald head or forehead like the appearance of leprosy on the skin of the body, 44he is a leprous man; he is unclean; the priest shall most certainly pronounce him unclean; his disease is on his head.
45“As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered (disheveled), and he shall cover his mustache and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46He shall remain [ceremonially] unclean as long as the disease is on him; he is unclean. He shall live alone; he shall live outside the camp.
47“When a garment has a mark of leprosy in it, whether it is a wool garment or a linen garment, 48whether in woven or knitted material or in the warp (lengthwise strands) or woof (crosswise strands) of linen or of wool, or in a skin or on anything made of leather, 49if the mark is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather or in the warp or woof or in any article made of leather, it is an infestation of leprosy and shall be shown to the priest. 50The priest shall examine the mark and shall quarantine the article with the mark for seven days. 51He shall examine the mark on the seventh day; if it has spread in the garment, whether in the warp or the woof, or in the leather, whatever the leather’s purpose, the mark is a malignant leprosy; it is unclean. 52So he shall burn the garment, whether the warp or woof, in wool or linen, or on anything made of leather in which the mark occurs; for it is a malignant leprosy; it shall be burned in the fire.
53“But if the priest sees that the mark has not spread in the garment, either in the warp or the woof, or on anything made of leather, 54then the priest shall order that they wash the thing in which the mark occurs, and he shall quarantine it for seven more days. 55The priest shall examine the article with the mark after it has been washed, and if the mark has not changed color, even though the mark has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire; it is a corroding mildew, whether on the top or on the front of it.
56“If the priest looks and the mark has faded after it is washed, he shall tear it out of the garment, or the leather, or out of the warp or woof. 57If it still appears in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or on anything made of leather, it is an outbreak; you shall burn the marked part in the fire. 58“The garment, whether the warp or the woof, or anything made of leather from which the mildew has departed after washing, shall then be washed a second time and it will be [ceremonially] clean.”
59This is the law for a leprous disease in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp or woof, or on anything made of leather, to pronounce it clean or unclean.
Leviticus 14
Law Of Cleansing A Leper
1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“This shall be the law of the leper on the day of his [ceremonial] cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest [at a meeting place outside the camp]; 3the priest shall go out of the camp [to meet him]; and the priest shall examine him, and if the leper has been healed of the infection of leprosy, 4then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds and cedar wood and scarlet string and hyssop for the one to be cleansed. 5Next the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed [as a sacrifice] in an earthenware container over [fresh] running water. 6As for the live bird, he shall take it together with the cedar wood and the scarlet string and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird sacrificed over the running water. 7He shall sprinkle [the blood] seven times on the one to be cleansed from the leprosy and shall pronounce him [ceremonially] clean. Then he shall let the live bird go free over the open field. 8The one to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe in water; and he shall be clean. After that he may come into the camp, but he shall stay outside of his tent for seven days. 9On the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair: he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair [on his body]. Then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and be clean.
10“Now on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and a yearling ewe lamb without blemish, and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with [olive] oil as a grain offering, and one log (about a pint) of oil; 11and the priest who cleanses him shall present the man to be cleansed and his offerings before the LORD at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. 12Then the priest shall take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering, with the log of oil, and present them as a wave offering before the LORD. 13He shall kill the male lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the sacred place [the courtyard of the tabernacle]; for the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 14The priest shall 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, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 15The priest shall also take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand; 16and the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the LORD. 17Of the rest of the oil which is in his palm, the priest shall put some on the lobe of the right ear of the one 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. 18The remaining oil that is in the priest’s palm shall be put on the head of the one to be cleansed. The priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD. 19Next the priest shall offer the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness, and afterward kill the burnt offering. 20The priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar; and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
21“But if the cleansed leper is poor and his means are insufficient, then he is to take one lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for him, and one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and a log of oil, 22and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, such as he can afford, one shall be a sin offering, the other a burnt offering. 23He shall bring them on the eighth day for his [ceremonial] cleansing to the priest at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, before the LORD. 24The priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering, and the log of oil, and shall present them as a wave offering before the LORD. 25Next he shall kill the lamb of the guilt offering; and 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, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 26The priest shall pour some of the oil into his left palm, 27and with his right finger the priest shall sprinkle some of the oil that is in his left palm seven times before the LORD. 28The priest shall put some of the oil in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the places where he has put the blood of the guilt offering. 29The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s palm shall be put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD. 30Then he shall offer one of the turtledoves or young pigeons, which are within his means. 31He shall offer what he can afford, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. The priest shall make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the one to be cleansed. 32“This is the law for the one in whom there is an infection of leprosy, whose means are limited for his [ceremonial] cleansing.”
Cleansing an Infected House 33The LORD further spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
34“When you come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I put a mark of leprosy on a house in your land, 35then the one who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, ‘I have seen something that looks like a mark of leprosy in my house.’ 36The priest shall order that they empty the house before he goes in to examine the mark, so that everything in the house will not have to be declared unclean; afterward he shall go in to see the house. 37He shall examine the mark, and if the mark on the walls of the house has greenish or reddish depressions and appears deeper than the surface, 38the priest shall go out of the house, to the doorway, and quarantine the house for seven days. 39The priest shall return on the seventh day and look; and if the mark has spread on the walls of the house, 40he shall order them to tear out the contaminated stones and throw them into an unclean place outside the city. 41He shall have the entire inside area of the house scraped, and the plaster that is scraped off shall be dumped in an unclean place outside the city. 42Then they shall take new stones and replace the [contaminated] stones, and he shall take plaster and replaster the house.
43“If, however, the mark breaks out again in the house after he has removed the stones and has scraped and replastered the house, 44then the priest shall come and look again, and if the mark has spread in the house, it is a malignant leprosy in the house; it is [ceremonially] unclean. 45He shall tear down the house—its stones and its timber and all the plaster of the house—and shall take everything outside the city to an unclean place. 46Moreover, whoever goes into the house during the time that it is quarantined becomes unclean until evening. 47And whoever lies down in the house [to rest] shall wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes.
48“But if the priest comes in and inspects it and the mark has not spread in the house after the house has been replastered, he shall pronounce the house clean because the mark has not reappeared. 49To cleanse the house then, he shall take two birds and cedar wood and scarlet string and hyssop; 50and he shall kill one of the birds in an earthenware container over running water, 51and he shall take the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet string, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird as well as in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52So he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the running water, along with the live bird and the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet string. 53“But he shall let the live bird go free outside the city into the open field. So he shall make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.”
54This is the law for any mark of leprosy—even for a scale, 55and for the leprous garment or house, 56and for a swelling, and for a scab, and for a bright spot on the skin— 57to teach when they are unclean and when they are clean. This is the law of leprosy [in regard to both persons and property].