The Word Am I

The Third Book of Moses: Leviticus

⭑ Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

⮜ Back | Contents | Next ⮞

- Chapter 14 -

(Matthew 8:1–4; Mark 1:40–45; Luke 5:12–16)
1
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2
This is the rite for a leper, when he is to be cleansed. He shall be brought to the priest,
3
who, departing from the camp, when he has found the leprosy to be cleansed,
4
shall instruct him who is to be purified to offer for himself two living sparrows, which it is lawful to eat, and cedar wood, and vermillion, and hyssop.
5
And he shall order that one of the sparrows be immolated in an earthen vessel over living waters.(a)
6
But the other living one, with the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, he shall dip in the blood of the immolated sparrow.(b)
7
And he shall sprinkle him who is to be cleansed seven times, so that he may be purified justly. And he shall release the living sparrow, so that it may fly away into the field.
8
And when the man will have washed his clothes, he shall shave all the hair from his body, and he shall be washed with water. And having been purified, he shall enter into the camp, only to this extent: that he may remain outside his own tent for seven days.
9
And on the seventh day he shall shave the hair of his head, and his beard, and his eyebrows, as well as the hair of his entire body. And having washed his clothes again, and his body,
10
on the eighth day, he shall take two immaculate lambs, and a one-year-old female sheep without blemish, and three tenths of fine wheat flour, which has been sprinkled with oil, as a sacrifice, and separately, one twelfth hin of oil.(c) (d)
11
And when the priest purifying the man has presented him and all these things in the sight of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony,
12
he shall take a lamb and offer it for transgression, with the twelfth hin of oil. And having offered all these before the Lord,
13
he shall immolate the lamb, where the victim for sin is usually immolated with the holocaust, that is, in the holy place. For just as with the one for sin, so also the victim for transgression belongs to the priest. It is the Holy of holies.
14
And taking some of the blood of the victim, which was immolated for transgression, the priest shall place it upon the tip of the right ear of him who is being cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and likewise the foot.(e)
15
And he shall send some of the twelfth hin of oil into his own left hand,
16
and he shall dip his right finger in it, and he shall sprinkle it in the sight of the Lord seven times.
17
But the oil which remains in his left hand, he shall pour over the tip of the right ear of him who is being cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand as well as the foot, and upon the blood which was shed for transgression,
18
and upon his head.
19
And he shall pray for him in the sight of the Lord, and he shall accomplish the sacrifice on behalf of sin. Then he shall immolate the holocaust,
20
and place it upon the altar with its libations, and the man will be duly cleansed.
21
But if he is poor, and his hand is not able to find what has been said, he shall take a lamb as an offering for transgression, so that the priest may pray for him, and a tenth part of fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil, as a sacrifice, and a twelfth hin of oil,
22
and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, of which one may be for sin, and the other as a holocaust.
23
And he shall offer them on the eighth day of his purification to the priest at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony in the sight of the Lord.
24
And he, receiving the lamb for transgression, and the twelfth hin of oil, shall lift them up together.
25
And when the lamb has been immolated, he shall place some of its blood upon the tip of the right ear of him who is being cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, as well as the foot.
26
Yet truly, he shall send part of the oil into his own left hand,
27
and dipping the finger of his right hand in it, he shall sprinkle it seven times before the Lord.
28
And he shall touch the tip of the right ear of him who is being cleansed, and the thumb of his right hand, as well as the foot, in the place of the blood which was shed for transgression.
29
But the remaining part of the oil which is in his left hand, he shall send upon the head of the one being purified, to appease the Lord on his behalf.
30
And he shall offer a turtledove or a young pigeon,
31
one for transgression, and the other as a holocaust, with their libations.
32
This is the sacrifice of a leper, who is not able to obtain all of the things concerning his cleansing.

Signs of Home Contamination

33
And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
34
When you will have entered into the land of Canaan, which I will give to you as a possession, if there is the mark of leprosy in a building,
35
he whose house it is shall go and report to the priest, saying: “It seems to me that the mark of leprosy is in my house.”
36
And he shall instruct them to carry all things out of the house, before he would enter it and see whether it is leprosy, lest all that is in the house become unclean. And after this, he shall enter to examine the leprosy of the house.
37
And when he will have seen in its walls something like little hollows, deformed with paleness or redness, and lower than the remaining surface,
38
he shall exit by the door of the house, and immediately close it up for seven days.
39
And returning on the seventh day, he shall examine it. If he finds that the leprosy has spread,
40
he shall order the stones in which the leprosy is, to be dug out and cast outside the city in an unclean place,
41
and that the house be scraped on the inside all around, and that the dust of the scrapings be scattered outside the city in an unclean place,
42
and that other stones be put back, in place of those which had been taken away, and that the house be plastered with other mortar.
43
But if, after the stones have been dug out, and the dust wiped away, and it is plastered with other clay,
44
the priest, upon entering, will have seen that the leprosy has returned, and that the walls are sprinkled with spots, then it is a persistent leprosy and the house is unclean.(f)
45
And so they shall promptly destroy it, and shall cast its stones and timber, and also all the dust, outside the town in an unclean place.
46
Whoever enters into the house when it is closed up shall be unclean until evening.
47
And whoever will have slept in it, or eaten anything, shall wash his clothes.(g)

Cleansing a Home

48
But if the priest, upon entering, will have seen that the leprosy has not spread in the house, after it had been newly plastered, he shall purify it, restoring it to health.
49
And for its purification, he shall take two sparrows, and cedar wood, and vermillion, as well as hyssop,
50
and, having immolated one sparrow in an earthen vessel over living waters,
51
he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living sparrow, and he shall dip all these in the blood of the immolated sparrow, and also in the living water, and he shall sprinkle the house seven times.
52
And he shall purify it as much with the blood of the sparrow as with the living water, and with the living sparrow, and the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the vermillion.
53
And when he has released the sparrow to fly freely away into the field, he shall pray for the house, and it shall be justly cleansed.
54
This is the law of every kind of leprosy and plague:
55
of the leprosy of garments and houses,
56
of scars and erupting pustules, of a shining spot, when the appearance is also variegated,
57
so that it can be known at what time a thing is clean or unclean.

Footnotes

(a)14:5 Living waters:That is, waters taken from a spring, brook, or river.(Challoner)
(b)14:6 In the earlier verse (14:4), the word ‘vermiculum’ was used to refer to the dyed cloth, but now ‘cocco’ is used. Each of those two Latin words refers to a dyed cloth by the source of the dye, which in both cases produces a reddish color in the cloth.(Conte)
(c)14:10 A sextarium (Roman measure) is used in the Latin text to represent a ‘log’ which is an ancient Hebrew unit of liquid measure equivalent to 1/12th of a ‘hin’ or about 1/3 of a U.S. quart.(Conte)
(d)14:10 A sextary:Heb. log: a measure of liquids, which was the twelfth part of a hin; and held about as much as six eggs.(Challoner)
(e)14:14 Taking of the blood, etc:These ceremonies used in the cleansing of a leper, were mysterious and very significative. The sprinkling seven times with the blood of the little bird, the washing himself and his clothes, the shaving his hair and his beard, signify the means which are to be used in the reconciliation of a sinner, and the steps by which he is to return to God, viz., by the repeated application of the blood of Christ: the washing his conscience with the waters of compunction: and retrenching all vanities and superfluities, by employing all that is over and above what is necessary in alms deeds. The sin offering, and the holocaust or burnt offering, which he was to offer at his cleansing, signify the sacrifice of a contrite and humble heart, and that of adoration in spirit and truth, with gratitude and thankfulness, for the forgiveness of sins, with which we are ever to appear before the Almighty. The touching the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot, first with the blood of the victim, and then with the remainder of the oil, which had been sprinkled seven times before the Lord, signify the application of the blood of Christ, and the unction of the sevenfold grace of the Holy Ghost; to the sinner’s right ear, that he may duly hearken to and obey the law of God; and to his right hand and foot, that the works of his hands, and all the steps or affections of his soul, signified by the feet, may be rightly directed to God.(Challoner)
(f)14:44 The word ‘leprosy’ in this context probably refers to some type of mold that may have afflicted some of the houses, since these were built with stone and some type of clay mortar. Therefore, the word ‘leprosy’ in ancient times had a much broader meaning than it has today.(Conte)
(g)14:47 Here is an example where the word ‘et’ does not mean ‘and’, but means ‘or’ instead. The man who sleeps in it must surely wash his clothes, even if he does not eat anything. Also, clearly, the man who has a meal in it must also wash. So the meaning is ‘or’ not ‘and’.(Conte)
(Matthew 8:1–4; Mark 1:40–45; Luke 5:12–16)
1
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2
“This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest,
3
and the priest shall go out of the camp. The priest shall examine him. Behold, if the plague of leprosy is healed in the leper,
4
then the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two living clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop.
5
The priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water.
6
As for the living bird, he shall take it, the cedar wood, 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
He shall sprinkle on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird go into the open field.
8
“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. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days.
9
It shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all his hair. He shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his body in water. Then he shall be clean.
10
“On the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without defect, one ewe lamb a year old without defect, three tenths of an ephah(a) of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, and one log (b) of oil.
11
The priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
12
“The priest shall take one of the male lambs, and offer him for a trespass offering, with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.
13
He shall kill the male lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary; for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering. It is most holy.
14
The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip 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.
15
The priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand.
16
The priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD.
17
The priest shall put some of the rest of the oil that is in his hand on the tip 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, upon the blood of the trespass offering.
18
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, and the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD.
19
“The priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed because of his uncleanness. Afterward he shall kill the burnt offering;
20
then the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meal offering on the altar. The priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
21
“If he is poor, and can’t afford so much, then he shall take one male lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and one tenth of an ephah(c) of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering, and a log (d) of oil;
22
and two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.
23
“On the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, before the LORD.
24
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
He shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering. The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip 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.
26
The priest shall pour some 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
Then the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip 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 the place of the blood of the trespass offering.
29
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
He shall offer one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, which ever he is able to afford,
31
of the kind he is able to afford, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meal offering. The priest shall make atonement for him who is to be cleansed before the LORD.”
32
This is the law for him in whom is the plague of leprosy, who is not able to afford the sacrifice for his cleansing.

Signs of Home Contamination

33
The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
34
“When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in the land of your possession,
35
then he who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘There seems to me to be some sort of plague in the house.’
36
The priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goes in to examine the plague, that all that is in the house not be made unclean. Afterward the priest shall go in to inspect the house.
37
He shall examine the plague; and behold, if the plague is in the walls of the house with hollow streaks, greenish or reddish, and it appears to be deeper 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
The priest shall come again on the seventh day, and look. If the plague has spread in the walls of the house,
40
then the priest shall command that they take out the stones in which is the plague, and cast them into an unclean place outside of the city.
41
He shall cause the inside of the house to be scraped all over. They shall pour out the mortar that they scraped off outside of the city into an unclean place.
42
They shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other mortar, and shall plaster the house.
43
“If the plague comes again, and breaks out in the house after he has taken out the stones, and after he has scraped the house, and after it was plastered,
44
then the priest shall come in and look; and behold, if the plague has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew in the house. It is unclean.
45
He shall break down the house, its stones, and its timber, and all the house’s mortar. He shall carry them out of the city into an unclean place.
46
“Moreover he who goes into the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening.
47
He who lies down in the house shall wash his clothes; and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes.

Cleansing a Home

48
“If the priest shall come in, and examine it, and behold, the plague hasn’t spread in the house, after the house was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.
49
To cleanse the house he shall take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop.
50
He shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water.
51
He shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, 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
He shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, with the living bird, with the cedar wood, with the hyssop, and with the scarlet;
53
but he shall let the living bird go out of the city into the open field. So shall he make atonement for the house; and it shall be clean.”
54
This is the law for any plague of leprosy, and for an itch,
55
and for the destructive mildew of a garment, and for a house,
56
and for a swelling, 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.

Footnotes

(a)14:10 1 ephah is about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel
(b)14:10 a log is a liquid measure of about 300 ml or 10 ounces
(c)14:21 1 ephah is about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel
(d)14:21 a log is a liquid measure of about 300 ml or 10 ounces
⮜ Back | Contents | Next ⮞