The Red Heifer

¹Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

²“This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red heifer that has no defect and has never been placed under a yoke.

³Give it to Eleazar the priest, and he will have it brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.

⁴Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting.

⁵Then the heifer must be burned in his sight. Its hide, its flesh, and its blood are to be burned, along with its dung.

⁶The priest is to take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer.

⁷Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean until evening.

⁸The one who burned the heifer must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he too will be ceremonially unclean until evening.

⁹Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept by the congregation of Israel for preparing the water of purification; this is for purification from sin.

¹⁰The man who has gathered up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he will be ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the foreigner residing among them.

Purification of the Unclean

¹¹Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days.

¹²He must purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean.

¹³Anyone who touches a human corpse and fails to purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person must be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean, because the water of purification has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴This is the law when a person dies in a tent: Everyone who enters the tent and everyone already in the tent will be unclean for seven days,

¹⁵and any open container without a lid fastened on it is unclean.

¹⁶Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

¹⁷For the purification of the unclean person, take some of the ashes of the burnt sin offering, put them in a jar, and pour fresh waterover them.

¹⁸Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, or a person who has died or been slain.

¹⁹The man who is ceremonially clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and that evening he will be clean.

²⁰But if a person who is unclean does not purify himself, he will be cut off from the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.

²¹This is a permanent statute for the people: The one who sprinkles the water of purification must wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening.

²²Anything the unclean person touches will become unclean, and anyone who touches it will be unclean until evening.”

Laws about Skin Diseases

¹Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

²“When someone has a swelling or rash or bright spot on his skin that may be an infectious skin disease,he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest.

³The priest is to examine the infection on his skin, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean.

⁴If, however, the spot on his skin is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days.

⁵On the seventh day the priest is to reexamine him, and if he sees that the infection is unchanged and has not spread on the skin, the priest must isolate him for another seven days.

⁶The priest will examine him again on the seventh day, and if the sore has faded and has not spread on the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is a rash. The person must wash his clothes and be clean.

⁷But if the rash spreads further on his skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he must present himself again to the priest.

⁸The priest will reexamine him, and if the rash has spread on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a skin disease.

⁹When anyone develops a skin disease, he must be brought to the priest.

¹⁰The priest will examine him, and if there is a white swelling on the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling,

¹¹it is a chronic skin disease and the priest must pronounce him unclean. He need not isolate him, for he is unclean.

¹²But if the skin disease breaks out all over his skin so that it covers all the skin of the infected person from head to foot, as far as the priest can see,

¹³the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has covered his entire body, he is to pronounce the infected person clean. Since it has all turned white, he is clean.

¹⁴But whenever raw flesh appears on someone, he will be unclean.

¹⁵When the priest sees the raw flesh, he must pronounce him unclean. The raw flesh is unclean; it is a skin disease.

¹⁶But if the raw flesh changes and turns white, he must go to the priest.

¹⁷The priest will reexamine him, and if the infection has turned white, the priest is to pronounce the infected person clean; then he is clean.

¹⁸When a boil appears on someone’s skin and it heals,

¹⁹and a white swelling or a reddish-white spot develops where the boil was, he must present himself to the priest.

²⁰The priest shall examine it, and if it appears to be beneath the skin and the hair in it has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a diseased infection that has broken out in the boil.

²¹But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in it, and it is not beneath the skin and has faded, the priest shall isolate him for seven days.

²²If it spreads any further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is an infection.

²³But if the spot remains unchanged and does not spread, it is only the scar from the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

²⁴When there is a burn on someone’s skin and the raw area of the burn becomes reddish-white or white,

²⁵the priest must examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and the spot appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a diseased infection.

²⁶But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the spot, and it is not beneath the skin but has faded, the priest shall isolate him for seven days.

²⁷On the seventh day the priest is to reexamine him, and if it has spread further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a diseased infection.

²⁸But if the spot is unchanged and has not spread on the skin but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest is to pronounce him clean; for it is only the scar from the burn.

²⁹If a man or woman has an infection on the head or chin,

³⁰the priest shall examine the infection, and if it appears to be deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a scaly outbreak, an infectious disease of the head or chin.

³¹But if the priest examines the scaly infection and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days.

³²On the seventh day the priest is to reexamine the infection, and if the scaly outbreak has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it, and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin,

³³then the person must shave himself except for the scaly area. Then the priest shall isolate him for another seven days.

³⁴On the seventh day the priest shall examine the scaly outbreak, and if it has not spread on the skin and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, the priest is to pronounce him clean. He must wash his clothes, and he will be clean.

³⁵If, however, the scaly outbreak spreads further on the skin after his cleansing,

³⁶the priest is to examine him, and if the scaly outbreak has spread on the skin, the priest need not look for yellow hair; the person is unclean.

³⁷If, however, in his sight the scaly outbreak is unchanged and black hair has grown in it, then it has healed. He is clean, and the priest is to pronounce him clean.

³⁸When a man or a woman has white spots on the skin,

³⁹the priest shall examine them, and if the spots are dull white, it is a harmless rash that has broken out on the skin; the person is clean.

⁴⁰Now if a man loses his hair and is bald, he is still clean.

⁴¹Or if his hairline recedes and he is bald on his forehead, he is still clean.

⁴²But if there is a reddish-white sore on the bald head or forehead, it is an infectious disease breaking out on it.

⁴³The priest is to examine him, and if the swelling of the infection on his bald head or forehead is reddish-white like a skin disease,

⁴⁴the man is diseased; he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean because of the infection on his head.

⁴⁵A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose,and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’

⁴⁶As long as he has the infection, he remains unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.

Laws about Mildew

⁴⁷If any fabric is contaminated with mildew—any wool or linen garment,

⁴⁸any weave or knit of linen or wool, or any article of leather—

⁴⁹and if the mark in the fabric, leather, weave, knit, or leather article is green or red, then it is contaminated with mildew and must be shown to the priest.

⁵⁰And the priest is to examine the mildew and isolate the contaminated fabric for seven days.

⁵¹On the seventh day the priest shall reexamine it, and if the mildew has spread in the fabric, weave, knit, or leather, then regardless of how it is used, it is a harmful mildew; the article is unclean.

⁵²He is to burn the fabric, weave, or knit, whether the contaminated item is wool or linen or leather. Since the mildew is harmful, the article must be burned up.

⁵³But when the priest reexamines it, if the mildew has not spread in the fabric, weave, knit, or leather article,

⁵⁴the priest is to order the contaminated article to be washed and isolated for another seven days.

⁵⁵After it has been washed, the priest is to reexamine it, and if the mildewed article has not changed in appearance, it is unclean. Even though the mildew has not spread, you must burn it, whether the rot is on the front or back.

⁵⁶If the priest examines it and the mildew has faded after it has been washed, he must cut the contaminated section out of the fabric, leather, weave, or knit.

⁵⁷But if it reappears in the fabric, weave, or knit, or on any leather article, it is spreading. You must burn the contaminated article.

⁵⁸If the mildew disappears from the fabric, weave, or knit, or any leather article after washing, then it is to be washed again, and it will be clean.

⁵⁹This is the law concerning a mildew contamination in wool or linen fabric, weave, or knit, or any leather article, for pronouncing it clean or unclean.”

Clean and Unclean Animals

¹The LORD spoke again to Moses and Aaron, telling them,

²“Say to the Israelites, ‘Of all the beasts of the earth, these ones you may eat:

³You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.

⁴But of those that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, you are not to eat the following:The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

⁵The rock badger,though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

⁶The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

⁷And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.

⁸You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.

⁹Of all the creatures that live in the water, whether in the seas or in the streams, you may eat anything with fins and scales.

¹⁰But the following among all the teeming life and creatures in the water are detestable to you: everything in the seas or streams that does not have fins and scales.

¹¹They shall be an abomination to you; you must not eat their meat, and you must detest their carcasses.

¹²Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales shall be detestable to you.

¹³Additionally, you are to detest the following birds, and they must not be eaten because they are detestable:the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture,

¹⁴the kite, any kind of falcon,

¹⁵any kind of raven,

¹⁶the ostrich,the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,

¹⁷the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,

¹⁸the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,

¹⁹the stork, any kind of heron,the hoopoe, and the bat.

²⁰All flying insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you.

²¹However, you may eat the following kinds of flying insects that walk on all fours: those having jointed legs above their feet for hopping on the ground.

²²Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, or grasshopper.

²³All other flying insects that have four legs are detestable to you.

²⁴These creatures will make you unclean. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,

²⁵and whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening.

²⁶Every animal with hooves not completely dividedor that does not chew the cud is unclean for you. Whoever touches any of them will be unclean.

²⁷All the four-footed animals that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,

²⁸and anyone who picks up a carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening. They are unclean for you.

²⁹The following creatures that move along the ground are unclean for you: the mole, the mouse, any kind of great lizard,

³⁰the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the skink, and the chameleon.

³¹These animals are unclean for you among all the crawling creatures. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening.

³²When one of them dies and falls on something, that article becomes unclean; any article of wood, clothing, leather, sackcloth, or any implement used for work must be rinsed with water and will remain unclean until evening; then it will be clean.

³³If any of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean; you must break the pot.

³⁴Any food coming into contact with water from that pot will be unclean, and any drink in such a container will be unclean.

³⁵Anything upon which one of their carcasses falls will be unclean. If it is an oven or cooking pot, it must be smashed; it is unclean and will remain unclean for you.

³⁶Nevertheless, a spring or cistern containing water will remain clean, but one who touches a carcass in it will be unclean.

³⁷If a carcass falls on any seed for sowing, the seed is clean;

³⁸but if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.

³⁹If an animal that you may eat dies, anyone who touches the carcass will be unclean until evening.

⁴⁰Whoever eats from the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening, and anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.

⁴¹Every creature that moves along the ground is detestable; it must not be eaten.

⁴²Do not eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it crawls on its belly or walks on four or more feet; for such creatures are detestable.

⁴³Do not defile yourselves by any crawling creature; do not become unclean or defiled by them.

⁴⁴For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy.You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground.

⁴⁵For I am the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt so that I would be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

⁴⁶This is the law regarding animals, birds, all living creatures that move in the water, and all creatures that crawl along the ground.

⁴⁷You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between animals that may be eaten and those that may not.’”

Praise the LORD from the Heavens

¹Hallelujah!Praise the LORD from the heavens;praise Him in the highest places.

²Praise Him, all His angels;praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.

³Praise Him, O sun and moon;praise Him, all you shining stars.

⁴Praise Him, O highest heavens,and you waters above the skies.

⁵Let them praise the name of the LORD,for He gave the command and they were created.

⁶He established them forever and ever;He issued a decree that will never pass away.

⁷Praise the LORD from the earth,all great sea creatures and ocean depths,

⁸lightning and hail, snow and clouds,powerful wind fulfilling His word,

⁹mountains and all hills,fruit trees and all cedars,

¹⁰wild animals and all cattle,crawling creatures and flying birds,

¹¹kings of the earth and all peoples,princes and all rulers of the earth,

¹²young men and maidens,old and young together.

¹³Let them praise the name of the LORD,for His name alone is exalted;His splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

¹⁴He has raised up a horn for His people,the praise of all His saints,of Israel, a people near to Him.Hallelujah!