1The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He told them to say to the people,2‘Suppose someone’s skin has a swelling or a rash or a shiny spot. And suppose it could become a skin disease. Then they must be brought to the priest Aaron. Or they must be brought to a priest in Aaron’s family line.3The priest must look carefully at the sore on the person’s skin. He must see whether the hair in the sore has turned white. He must also see whether the sore seems to be under the skin. If the sore is white and is under the skin, it is a skin disease. When the priest looks that person over carefully, he must announce that the person is “unclean”.4Suppose the shiny spot on the skin is white but does not seem to be under the skin. And suppose the hair in the spot has not turned white. Then the priest must make the person stay away from everyone else for seven days.5On the seventh day the priest must look carefully at the sore again. Suppose it has not changed and has not spread in the skin. Then the priest must make the person stay away from everyone else for another seven days.6On the seventh day the priest must look carefully at the sore again. If it has faded and has not spread, he must announce that the person is “clean”. It is only a rash. That person must wash their clothes. They will be “clean”.7But suppose the rash spreads in the skin after they have shown themselves to the priest a second time. Then they must appear in front of the priest again.8The priest must look carefully at the sore. If the rash has spread, he must announce that the person is “unclean”. They have a skin disease.9‘When anyone has a skin disease, they must be brought to the priest.10The priest must look them over carefully. Suppose there is a white swelling in the skin. Suppose it has turned the hair white. And suppose there are open sores in the swelling.11Then the person has a skin disease that will never go away. The priest must announce that they are “unclean”. The priest must not make them stay away from everyone else. They are already “unclean”.12‘Suppose the disease breaks out all over their skin. And suppose it covers them from head to foot, as far as the priest can tell.13Then the priest must look them over carefully. If the disease has covered their whole body, the priest must announce that they are “clean”. All their skin has turned white. So they are “clean”.14But when open sores appear on their skin, they will not be “clean”.15When the priest sees the open sores, he must announce that they are “unclean”. The open sores are not “clean”. They have a skin disease.16But if the open sores change and turn white, they must go to the priest.17The priest must look them over carefully. If the sores have turned white, the priest must announce that the person is “clean”. Then they will be “clean”.18‘Suppose someone has a boil on their skin and it heals.19And suppose a white swelling or shiny pink spot appears where the boil was. Then they must show themselves to the priest.20The priest must look at the boil carefully. Suppose it seems to be under the skin. And suppose the hair in it has turned white. Then the priest must announce that the person is “unclean”. A skin disease has broken out where the boil was.21But suppose that when the priest looks at the boil carefully, there is no white hair in it. The boil is not under the skin. And it has faded. Then the priest must make the person stay away from everyone else for seven days.22If the boil is spreading in the skin, the priest must announce that the person is “unclean”. They have a skin disease.23But suppose the spot has not changed. And suppose it has not spread. Then it is only a scar from the boil. And the priest must announce that the person is “clean”.24‘Suppose someone has a burn on their skin. And suppose a white or shiny pink spot shows up in the open sores of the burn.25Then the priest must look at the spot carefully. Suppose the hair in it has turned white. And suppose the spot seems to be under the skin. Then the person has a skin disease. It has broken out where they were burned. The priest must announce that the person is “unclean”. They have a skin disease.26But suppose the priest looks at the spot carefully. Suppose there is no white hair in it. Suppose the spot is not under the skin. And suppose it has faded. Then the priest must make the person stay away from everyone else for seven days.27On the seventh day the priest must look them over carefully. If the spot is spreading in the skin, the priest must announce that the person is “unclean”. They have a skin disease.28But suppose the spot has not changed. It has not spread in the skin. And it has faded. Then the burn has caused it to swell. The priest must announce that the person is “clean”. It is only a scar from the burn.29‘Suppose a man or woman has a sore on their head or chin.30Then the priest must look at the sore carefully. Suppose it seems to be under the skin. And suppose the hair in the sore is yellow and thin. Then the priest must announce that the person is “unclean”. The sore is a skin disease on the head or chin.31But suppose the priest looks carefully at the sore. It does not seem to be under the skin. And there is no black hair in it. Then the priest must make the person stay away from everyone else for seven days.32On the seventh day the priest must look at the sore carefully. Suppose it has not spread in the skin. It does not have any yellow hair in it. And it does not seem to be under the skin.33Then the man or woman must shave their head. But they must not shave the area where the disease is. And the priest must make them stay away from everyone else for another seven days.34On the seventh day the priest must look at the sore carefully. Suppose it has not spread in the skin. And suppose it does not seem to be under the skin. Then the priest must announce that the person is “clean”. They must wash their clothes. They will be “clean”.35But suppose the sore spreads in the skin after the priest announces that the person is “clean”.36Then the priest must look them over carefully. Suppose the sore has spread. Then the priest does not have to look for yellow hair. The person is “unclean”.37But suppose the sore has stopped and black hair has grown there, as far as the priest can tell. Then the person is healed and is “clean”. The priest must announce that they are “clean”.38‘Suppose a man or woman has white spots on the skin.39Then the priest must look at them carefully. Suppose he sees that the spots are dull white. Then a harmless rash has broken out on the skin. That person is “clean”.40‘Suppose a man loses all the hair on his head. Then he is “clean”.41Suppose he loses only the hair on the front of his head. Then he is “clean”.42But suppose he has a shiny pink sore on his head where his hair was. Then he has a skin disease. It is breaking out on his whole head or on the front of his head.43The priest must look him over carefully. Suppose the swollen sore on his head or on the front of it is pink and shiny. And suppose it looks like a skin disease.44Then he has a skin disease. He is “unclean”. The priest must announce that the man is “unclean”. That’s because he has a sore on his head.45‘Suppose someone has a skin disease that makes them “unclean”. Then they must wear torn clothes. They must let their hair hang loose. They must cover the lower part of their face. They must cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!”46As long as they have the disease, they remain “unclean”. They must live alone. They must live outside the camp.
Rules about mould
47‘Suppose some clothes have mould on them. The clothes could be made out of wool or linen.48Or there could be cloth woven or knitted out of linen or wool. There could be pieces of leather. Or there could be things that are made out of leather.49And suppose the mould on the clothes or on the woven or knitted cloth looks green or red. Or suppose the green or red mould is on the pieces of leather or the leather goods. Then it is mould that spreads. It must be shown to the priest.50The priest must look at it carefully. He must keep the thing with the mould on it away from everything else for seven days.51On the seventh day he must look at it carefully. Suppose the mould has spread in the clothes or in the woven or knitted cloth. Or suppose it has spread on the pieces of leather or on the leather goods. Then it is mould that destroys. The thing is “unclean”.52The priest must burn everything with the mould in it. He must burn the clothes or the woven or knitted cloth made out of wool or linen. He must burn the leather goods. The mould destroys. So everything must be burned.53‘But suppose the priest looks at the thing carefully. The mould has not spread in the clothes. And it has not spread in the woven or knitted cloth or in the leather goods.54Then he will order someone to wash the thing with the mould on it. After that, the priest must keep that thing away from everything else for another seven days.55After the thing with the mould on it has been washed, the priest must look at it again carefully. Suppose the way the mould looks has not changed. Then even though the mould has not spread, it is “unclean”. Burn it. It does not matter which side of the thing the mould is on.56But suppose the priest looks at it carefully. And suppose the mould has faded after the thing has been washed. Then the priest must tear out the part with mould on it. He must tear it out of the clothes or leather. He must tear it out of the woven or knitted cloth.57But suppose it shows up again in the clothes. Or suppose it shows up again in the woven or knitted cloth or in the leather goods. Then it is spreading. Everything with the mould on it must be burned.58The clothes that have been washed and do not have any more mould on them must be washed again. So must the woven or knitted cloth or the leather goods. Then they will be “clean”. ’59These are the rules about what to do with anything with mould on it. They apply to clothes that are made out of wool or linen. They apply to woven and knitted cloth and to leather goods. They give a priest directions about when to announce whether something is ‘clean’ or ‘unclean’.
Leviticus 13
English Standard Version
Laws About Leprosy
1The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,2“When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous[1] disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests, (Le 14:56; De 24:8)3and the priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean.4But if the spot is white in the skin of his body and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall shut up the diseased person for seven days. (Le 13:11)5And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up for another seven days. (Le 13:4)6And the priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the diseased area has faded and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only an eruption. And he shall wash his clothes and be clean. (Le 11:25)7But if the eruption spreads in the skin, after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest.8And the priest shall look, and if the eruption has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a leprous disease.9“When a man is afflicted with a leprous disease, he shall be brought to the priest,10and the priest shall look. And if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling, (Nu 12:10; Nu 12:12; 2Ki 5:27; 2Ki 15:5; 2Ch 26:20)11it is a chronic leprous disease in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He shall not shut him up, for he is unclean. (Le 13:4)12And if the leprous disease breaks out in the skin, so that the leprous disease covers all the skin of the diseased person from head to foot, so far as the priest can see,13then the priest shall look, and if the leprous disease has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; it has all turned white, and he is clean.14But when raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean.15And the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean, for it is a leprous disease.16But if the raw flesh recovers and turns white again, then he shall come to the priest,17and the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce the diseased person clean; he is clean.18“If there is in the skin of one’s body a boil and it heals, (Ex 9:9)19and in the place of the boil there comes a white swelling or a reddish-white spot, then it shall be shown to the priest. (Le 13:24)20And the priest shall look, and if it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a case of leprous disease that has broken out in the boil.21But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in it and it is not deeper than the skin, but has faded, then the priest shall shut him up seven days.22And if it spreads in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a disease.23But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean. (Le 13:28)24“Or, when the body has a burn on its skin and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a spot, reddish-white or white, (Le 13:19)25the priest shall examine it, and if the hair in the spot has turned white and it appears deeper than the skin, then it is a leprous disease. It has broken out in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a case of leprous disease.26But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the spot and it is no deeper than the skin, but has faded, the priest shall shut him up seven days,27and the priest shall examine him the seventh day. If it is spreading in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a case of leprous disease.28But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread in the skin, but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is the scar of the burn. (Le 13:23)29“When a man or woman has a disease on the head or the beard,30the priest shall examine the disease. And if it appears deeper than the skin, and the hair in it is yellow and thin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is an itch, a leprous disease of the head or the beard.31And if the priest examines the itching disease and it appears no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall shut up the person with the itching disease for seven days,32and on the seventh day the priest shall examine the disease. If the itch has not spread, and there is in it no yellow hair, and the itch appears to be no deeper than the skin,33then he shall shave himself, but the itch he shall not shave; and the priest shall shut up the person with the itching disease for another seven days.34And on the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch, and if the itch has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. And he shall wash his clothes and be clean. (Le 13:6)35But if the itch spreads in the skin after his cleansing,36then the priest shall examine him, and if the itch has spread in the skin, the priest need not seek for the yellow hair; he is unclean.37But if in his eyes the itch is unchanged and black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed and he is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.38“When a man or a woman has spots on the skin of the body, white spots,39the priest shall look, and if the spots on the skin of the body are of a dull white, it is leukoderma that has broken out in the skin; he is clean.40“If a man’s hair falls out from his head, he is bald; he is clean.41And if a man’s hair falls out from his forehead, he has baldness of the forehead; he is clean.42But if there is on the bald head or the bald forehead a reddish-white diseased area, it is a leprous disease breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead.43Then the priest shall examine him, and if the diseased swelling is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprous disease in the skin of the body,44he is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean; his disease is on his head.45“The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip[2] and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ (Le 10:6; La 4:15; Eze 24:17; Eze 24:22; Mic 3:7)46He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp. (Nu 5:2; Nu 12:14; 2Ki 7:3; 2Ki 15:5; 2Ch 26:21; Lu 17:12)47“When there is a case of leprous disease in a garment, whether a woolen or a linen garment, (Jud 1:23; Re 3:4)48in warp or woof of linen or wool, or in a skin or in anything made of skin,49if the disease is greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin or in the warp or the woof or in any article made of skin, it is a case of leprous disease, and it shall be shown to the priest.50And the priest shall examine the disease and shut up that which has the disease for seven days.51Then he shall examine the disease on the seventh day. If the disease has spread in the garment, in the warp or the woof, or in the skin, whatever be the use of the skin, the disease is a persistent leprous disease; it is unclean. (Le 14:44)52And he shall burn the garment, or the warp or the woof, the wool or the linen, or any article made of skin that is diseased, for it is a persistent leprous disease. It shall be burned in the fire.53“And if the priest examines, and if the disease has not spread in the garment, in the warp or the woof or in any article made of skin,54then the priest shall command that they wash the thing in which is the disease, and he shall shut it up for another seven days.55And the priest shall examine the diseased thing after it has been washed. And if the appearance of the diseased area has not changed, though the disease has not spread, it is unclean. You shall burn it in the fire, whether the rot is on the back or on the front.56“But if the priest examines, and if the diseased area has faded after it has been washed, he shall tear it out of the garment or the skin or the warp or the woof.57Then if it appears again in the garment, in the warp or the woof, or in any article made of skin, it is spreading. You shall burn with fire whatever has the disease.58But the garment, or the warp or the woof, or any article made of skin from which the disease departs when you have washed it, shall then be washed a second time, and be clean.”59This is the law for a case of leprous disease in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp or the woof, or in any article made of skin, to determine whether it is clean or unclean.