Lev. 13:47-59 & 14:33-57 – Keeping an Uncontaminated Home

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS 31 July 2016

· In my last Leviticus sermon on chapter 13, we looked at possible meanings of the Hebrew word for “leprosy,” noting that :

o the symptoms in Leviticus don’t match the disease that doctors call “leprosy” today,

o so it could mean a special judgment from God resulting in a special skin disease not found today,

o or it could refer to a range of harmful skin diseases known today as Baras or favus,

o or even to harmless skin problems like psoriasis which might have been treated as unclean simply for symbolic reasons rather than medical reasons.

o My opinion is that the prima facie meaning is any harmful, contagious skin disease.

· But we saw that the Bible uses literal skin diseases to symbolize a deeper problem, the spiritual problem of sin

o how disgusting it is to God when we disobey Him,

o how disfiguring it is to our minds and bodies when we let sin twist us up,

o and how serious the consequences are – banishment from the community of God’s people and being left out of God’s blessings.

· Now, as we look at the last part of chapter 13, we add one more definition for leprosy beginning with verse 47. The Hebrew text uses the same word for “leprosy” to describe “mold” or “mildew” – a spreading, destructive surface blight on a textile or, as we’ll see in chapter 14, on the walls of a building.

· READ Leviticus 13 PASSAGE
47 Now, in the case of clothing where a lesion of leprosy exists in it - in clothing of wool or in clothing of linen, 48 or in woven-material or in knitted-material (of linens or of wool) or in a skin or in any leather craft, 49 and the lesion is yellowish-green or reddish in the clothing or in the skin or in the woven material or in the knitted-material or in any item of leather, it is a lesion of leprosy, and it shall be shown to the priest, 50 and the priest shall look at the lesion and shut away the lesion seven days. 51 Then he shall look at the lesion during the seventh day. If the lesion has spread in the clothing or in the woven-material or in the knitted-material or in the skin for anything which the skin is made for [leather-]craft, the lesion is a bitter leprosy; it is unclean. 52 He shall therefore burn the clothing or the woven material or the knitted material ([made] with wool or with linen) or any item of leather in which the lesion exists, because it is a bitter leprosy. It shall be burned in the fire. 53 If, however, the priest looks and sees that the lesion has not spread in the clothing or woven material or knitted material or in any item of leather, 54 then the priest shall issue the command that they wash whatever had the lesion in it, and he shall shut it away a second seven days. 55 Then the priest shall look (after the lesion has been washed) and see. [If] the lesion has not changed its look – even [if] the lesion has not spread, it is unclean. You shall burn it in the fire; it is an erosion with depilation on its back side or depilation on its front side. 56 But if the priest looks and sees that the lesion has diminished after it has been washed, then he shall tear it from the cloth - or from the skin or from the woven material or from the knitted material. 57 However, if it is seen again in the garment or in the woven material or the knitted material or in any item of leather, it is an outbreak ; whatever has the lesion in it, you shall burn it in the fire 58 But as for the garment or the woven-material or the knitted-material or any item of leather which you wash and the lesion goes away from them, it shall then be washed a second time, and it will be pure. 59 This is the instruction regarding a lesion of leprosy [on] a garment of wool or of linen or of woven-material or knitted-material or of any item of leather, for classifying it pure or for classifying it unclean. (NAW)

· In chapter 13, verses 47-48, the we are alerted to the fact that “tsara’at” (Biblical leprosy) might be present in textiles used for clothing: woven or knitted of flax or linen or wool, or leather-work made of animal-skins.

· What characterized these garment-blights?

a yellowish-green or reddish color (v.49)
an “erosion” with “depilation” on the back” and/or “front side” of the textile (v.55)

o same wording as used earlier in ch. 13 to describe patterns of balding.

o The back side of a woven textile would be where they drew the different colored threads to get to the right places so that they would make a nice pattern on the front side.

o The “warp,” if I remember correctly, would be the horizontal threads, and the “woof” would be the vertical threads in the criss-crossing weaving pattern.

It spreads (v.51) or at least does not go away after washing (v.55), or it appears to go away, but then it comes back (v.57)

· What was to be done?

It must be shown to the priest (v.49) for him to make a determination as to whether or not it is safe (v.59)
v. 50 The priest must quarantine and examine the item
v.54 An attempt was to be made to wash the blight off
v.52 If the priest determines that it is a dangerous tsara’at, it must be destroyed by fire, but If the priest determines that it is safe, the bad spot must be torn out of the cloth (v.56) and the whole must be washed again (v.58).

· Now, flip forward to the second half of chapter 14, where we see a similar scenario play out with lesions on the walls of buildings:

o Robert already read most of this passage for us, so let me just summarize:

o The house-blight has the same three characteristics that the clothing-blight had:

1. It is yellowish-green or reddish (v.37)

2. It destroys the surface, leaving pitting (v.37)

3. and it spreads (v.39) - or it comes back after being in remission (v.43)

o And the same sorts of things were initially done:

1. The owner had to bring it to the attention of the priest (v.35), and the priest had to make a determination as to whether or not it was safe (v.37)

2. The priest quarantined the building by boarding it up for seven days, then re-examined it (v.38-39)

3. An attempt was to be made to remove the blight: Again, garments were washed (v.47), and the contaminated stones and mortar were scraped off or busted out and replaced with clean stones and mortar. (vs. 40ff)

4. If replacing the mildewed stones didn’t get rid of the problem, the whole house was destroyed and taken piecemeal to the dump (v.45), but if it did work, the house was sprinkled and classified as clean with the offering of a form of the sin-offering. (vs. 51-53).

· What did this mean, and how can we apply it today?

It is part of our God-given role as dominion-takers over His creation to intervene and put the brakes on destruction.

In Gen. 1, God told mankind to be fruitful and multiply and take dominion over what God had created.
This applies to the literal meaning of this passage. If mildew is destroying a piece of fabric or is taking over a wall of your house, wash it; get rid of the bad spot!
When we were in Uruguay a few weeks ago, the humidity hovered around 100% for days. Our clothes got soaked from walking through the rain, and, although I hung my wet clothes up for a couple of days, they never dried out. All the warm air inside the house – especially the heat from the gas oven in the kitchen naturally rose to the highest point of the house which was the ceiling of the stairwell leading to Ray’s office. That warm, humid air would hit the cold exterior wall of the stairwell and then the water would condense out and drip back down the stairs and would cause mold to grow all over the ceiling of the stairwell. It took Andy a long-handled mop and a bucket or chlorine solution and a bunch of elbow grease to scrub that mildew off. And to keep the mildew off, it’s going to take a change in the design of that roof in that stairwell. I have some ideas that I have already pitched to Ray about it. But we can intervene with mold and mildew.
It applies more widely to our environment as well. When we see healthy things being destroyed – whether by natural disasters or through the violence of men, Christians don’t sit back and say, “Que sera, sera.” We are not fatalists on a sinking ship, resigned to watching the ship go down. We are vice-regents of the victorious King of Kings, whom He has deputized to be agents of reconciliation! When we see plants or animals destroyed in plagues or by human carelessness, we intervene and say, “That’s sick! I’m going to do something to stop it!” God has commanded us to take dominion over this world!
This principle extends to the spiritual battle against sin. Christians are to be “salt” that preserves society from the ravages of sin. Titus 1:10-15 “For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers... whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not... Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to... fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.” (NKJV) This leads me to my second point:

It is part of our God-given role as priests to make judgment calls about what we observe in the world around us. We need to constantly be asking, “Is this safe? Is that safe?”

Anyone who turns off their discernment and stops asking, “Is this in conformance with the character of God or not?” is not following Christ.
When a Christian sees sickness (represented by the yellowish-green color) or distress (represented by the red color) or destruction, bitterness, and loss represented by the pitting of the leprosy-mildew, or when we hear filthy language from associates or see sexual immorality promoted in the media, we must make the judgment call that these things are bad. They are not to be tolerated.
Jude 1:22-23 NKJV And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
“Beware the leaven of the Pharisees”

As we saw in our study of the first part of Leviticus chapter 13, leprosy in the Bible is used to represent rebellion against God and sin. If we apply this symbolism to the last part of chapter 13, and the last part of chapter 14, we can be alerted to the fact that sin not only can infect our bodies, but it can infect our clothing and our homes and that it can (and should) be removed.

In Chapter 14: v.53 The verb used to describe the casting away of the live bird is the same verb as the one used to describe throwing the contaminated stones out of the city a few verses previous, so presumably there is a parallel meaning of symbolically moving sin and its consequences away from where God’s people lived.
This sort of ceremony described in chapter 14 with dipping a hyssop plant into blood and applying the blood to a structure is mentioned in only a couple other places in the Bible. I plan to go into more in depth next week, but to give a brief overview:

i. It was done as part of the first Passover (Exodus 12:22),

ii. and then in Num. 19 in the ordinance of the red heifer, cleansing the temple and priests from the defilement of death (This is alluded to in Hebrews 9:19).

iii. and then Psalm 51 connects this ceremony directly with cleansing from sin.

John Calvin commented on this passage: “God... subjected woolen garments and furs to the ravages of the moth, and vessels of various kinds to rust, and other corruptions; in fact, has surrounded the human race with rottenness, in order that everywhere our eyes should light on the punishment of sin...”
And this is borne out in Romans 8:20-22 “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” (NKJV) Human sin has brought corruption into our very environment, but God is at work to fix the problem of sin and therefore we have hope!

When we recognize a sin close to us, we must act to remove it. In Leviticus 13 and 14 we see that the first step is to IDENTIFY the contamination, the second step is to try to REMOVE the impurity, and then the third step was to irrevocably DESTROY what has been contaminated in our home.

When we begin to suspect that there is something wrong close to us, we can start by IDENTIFYING what it is and whether or not to tolerate it.

i. Maybe it’s that I’m irritated because a child or a grandchild made a mess that I have to clean up.

1. You can break it down to see whether that mess was an accident that just has to be tolerated with children

2. or whether it was the result of a sin which should not be tolerated. Maybe you told them five minutes ago not to drink that cup of milk on the couch and they didn’t obey you. Or ,maybe they threw the cup of milk on the floor as part of a temper tantrum. If so, you can identify these sins to your children and discipline them and reconcile them to God and His blessings.

3. However, if it is not due to a sin on their part, maybe it is a selfish, impatient, or faithless attitude on your part that has you out of sorts. Such attitudes are not o.k. to tolerate; they should be confronted.

So you try to REMOVE it. Aggressive, bitter blights, like sin, must not be tolerated, they must be busted out and scrubbed out.

i. Sin, of course, is not washed out by water like a harmless mold; it can only be erased by the death of the sinner. But God, in His mercy, sent His Son Jesus to die in the place of sinners in order that the blood of Jesus would erase their sins. This is pictured in the killing of one bird and the dipping of the other bird in the blood and releasing it. We take hold of God’s mercy by confessing our sins, asking Jesus to forgive us, and living under the control of Jesus instead of under the control of sin.

ii. We can also help other people to find God’s way of cleansing from the blight of sin:

1. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives...” (Eph. 5:25-28, NKJV) Do you see how the New Testament applies the leprosy spots and washing to counteracting sin by sharing the word of God in the Bible?

2. “He who turns a sinner from the error of his ways saves his soul from death and covers a multitude of sins.” (James 5:20)

3. And if you can’t make headway in stopping a brother or sister from sinning, you can always pray: “Deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6) Father, don’t let this sin continue to destroy my brother or sister in Christ! Deliver us from evil!

Finally, if it is a stubborn evil close to you or in your home that you’ve tried to get under control but it keeps coming back and wreaking havoc around you, it’s time to DESTROY it.

i. Don’t keep limping along with conditions that lead you into sin over and over again. Do whatever it takes to destroy the sin once and for all.

ii. Different people have different temptations;

1. for some, it is a craving for alcohol that gets out of control,

2. for others it is other drugs,

3. for others it is the messed-up thrill of pursuing sexual immorality or pursuing some other forbidden thing.

4. Or maybe it’s just time-wasters – certain forms of entertainment (movies, games, social media, magazines, books, TV shows, even work projects) that aren’t necessarily sinful in-and-of themselves, but they nevertheless creep into your life and take more and more of your attention as time goes by, until you realize that they have become to you like a kind of leprosy that’s out-of-control.

5. This passage teaches us that such things are not to be ignored or tolerated; they must be ripped out and destroyed so that they never distract you from your devotion to God again!

iii. Over the years, I have occasionally run across different websites that put me over the edge. I expect many of you know what I mean when I say that it didn’t work to just decide to quit checking into those websites. No matter how much resolve I had, it would always crumble in time and I’d be back out-of-control. One of my mentors said, “Nate, it’s not enough to shut the door on sin. You have to barricade it so you can’t open that door again.” And so I have restricted my internet access and increased my accountability to other people as a kind of digital equivalent of tearing out the leprosy and throwing it into the fire.

iv. We must be ruthless and unsparing when it comes to rooting sin out of our lives. Jesus said, “If your hand or your foot scandalizes you, cut it off and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter into The Life crippled or maimed than to be thrown into the eternal fire while having two hands or two feet! And if your eye scandalizes you, snatch it and throw it away from you; it is better for you to enter into The Life one-eyed than to be cast into the Hell of fire while having two eyes.” (Matthew 18:8-9, NAW)

v. Is there anything in your home that is the equivalent of a spreading leprosy or mildew? Identify it, try to clean it up, and, if all else fails, destroy it before it destroys your relationship with God – or your wife’s relationship with God, or your children’s relationship with God! This is serious business, this warfare against sin!

Let me make one more observation based on chapter 14, v.34: God is sovereign! The LORD said, “When I put a leprosy into a house.”

God – not the Devil – allowed that problem into your life. God is sovereign over all the evils and even over all the nuisances that we face.
But “God works all things together for good for those who love Him” (Romans 8:28).
These trials are calculated by God to correspond with your ability to resist sin, for, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tested above what you are able” (1 Corinthians 10:13, NAW).
And these battles against sin grow us in our maturity and are part of Jesus’ “sanctifying us.... that He might present [us] to Himself a glorious church... holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5)
Note also God’s sovereignty in preparing the tent-dwelling, desert-wandering Hebrews for the future of their society. It would be decades after the writing of Leviticus that they would move out of tents into the fortified cities of Caanan, and yet God has the foresight to give these instructions in Leviticus 14 about caring for houses. This is just another illustration of God’s sovereign control over all things, even of the future!
The Medieval Jewish Rabbi Rashi related the story of some ancient Hebrews who had moved into a fortified city that had originally been built by the Amorites whom they had conquered. Well, mildew showed up on the walls, and wouldn’t come clean, so these Jews went through the hard work of tearing down the walls and disposing of the building materials. They struggled with a bad attitude over this. “God, why would you allow this to happen to my new home?” but then as they tore the walls down, they discovered that the Amorites had hidden a bunch of valuables inside the wall, and that provided gold and silver to spend on building a better house! God is sovereign; He knows what is best for you! And if you have to turn your house upside down in order to get free from sin, be assured, God will make it worthwhile!

Comparative translations of Leviticus 13:47-59 & 14:33-57

When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original Hebrew, I use ~~strikeout~~. And when a version omits a word which is in the Hebrew text, I insert an X. (Sometimes I will place the X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I have also tried to use colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word. Hebrew text that is colored purple matches the Dead Sea Scrolls, and variants between the DSS and the MT are noted in endnotes with the following exceptions: When a holem pointing in the MT is represented in the DSS by a vav or a hireq pointing in the MT is represented in the DSS by a yod (the corresponding consonantal representation of the same vowel) or when the tetragrammaton is spelled with paleo Hebrew letters, I did not record it a variant.

LXX/Brenton	KJV	NAW	MT
47 Καὶ ἱματίῳ ἐὰν γένηται ἐν αὐτῷ ἁφὴ λέπρας, ἐν ἱματίῳ ἐρεῷ ἢ ἐν ἱματίῳ στιππυίνῳ, And if a garment have in it the plague of leprosy, a garment of wool, or a garment of flax,	47 The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;	47 Now, in the case of clothing where a lesion of leprosy exists in it - in clothing of wool or in clothing of linen,	47 וְהַבֶּגֶד כִּי-יִהְיֶה בוֹ נֶגַע צָרָעַת בְּבֶגֶד צֶמֶר אוֹ בְּבֶגֶד פִּשְׁתִּים:
48 ἢ ἐν στήμονι ἢ ἐν κρόκῃ ἢ ἐν τοῖς λινοῖς ἢ ἐν τοῖς ἐρεοῖς ἢ ἐν δέρματι ἢ ἐν παντὶ ἐργασίμῳ δέρματι, either in the warp or in the woof, or in the linen, or in the woollen threads, or in a skin, or in any workmanship of skin,	48 Whether it be in the warp, or woof; of linen, or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin;	48 or in woven-material or in knitted-material (of linens or of wool) or in a skin or in any leather craft,	48 אוֹ בִשְׁתִי אוֹ בְעֵרֶב לַפִּשְׁתִּים וְלַצָּמֶר אוֹ בְעוֹר אוֹ בְּכָל-מְלֶאכֶת עוֹר:
49 καὶ γένηται ἡ ἁφὴ χλωρίζουσα ἢ πυρρίζουσα ἐν τῷ δέρματι ἢ ἐν τῷ ἱματίῳ ἢ ἐν τῷ στήμονι ἢ ἐν τῇ κρόκῃ ἢ ἐν παντὶ σκεύει ἐργασίμῳ δέρματος, ἁφὴ λέπρας ἐστίν, καὶ δείξει τῷ ἱερεῖ. and the plague be greenish or reddish in the skin, or in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any utensil of skin, it is a plague of leprosy, and he shall show it to the priest.	49 And if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a plague of leprosy, and shall be shewed unto the priest:	49 and the lesion is yellowish-green^{^[a]} or reddish in the clothing or in the skin or in the woven material or in the knitted-material or in any item of leather, it is a lesion of leprosy, and it shall be shown to the priest,	49 וְהָיָה הַנֶּגַע יְרַקְרַק אוֹ אֲדַמְדָּם בַּבֶּגֶד אוֹ בָעוֹר אוֹ-בַשְּׁתִי אוֹ-בָעֵרֶב אוֹ בְכָל-כְּלִי-עוֹר נֶגַע צָרַעַת הוּא וְהָרְאָה^HoPאֶת-הַכֹּהֵן:
50 καὶ ὄψεται ὁ ἱερεὺς τὴν ἁφήν, καὶ ἀφοριεῖ ὁ ἱερεὺς τὴν ἁφὴν ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας. And the priest shall look upon the plague, and the priest shall set apart that which has the plague seven days.	50 And the priest shall look upon the plague, and shut up it that hath the plague seven days:	50 and the priest shall look at the lesion and shut away the lesion seven days.	50 וְרָאָה הַכֹּהֵן אֶת-הַנָּגַע וְהִסְגִּיר^{^[b]} אֶת-הַנֶּגַע שִׁבְעַת יָמִים:
51 καὶ ὄψεται ὁ ἱερεὺς τὴν ἁφὴν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ· ἐὰν δὲ διαχέηται ἡ ἁφὴ ἐν τῷ ἱματίῳ ἢ ἐν τῷ στήμονι ἢ ἐν τῇ κρόκῃ ἢ ἐν τῷ δέρματι κατὰ πάντα, ὅσα ἂν ποιηθῇ δέρματα ἐν τῇ ἐργασίᾳ, λέπρα ἔμμονός ἐστιν ἡ ἁφή, ἀκάθαρτός ἐστιν. And the priest shall look upon the plague on the seventh day; and if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in the skin, in whatsoever things skins may be used in their workmanship, the plague is a confirmed leprosy; it is unclean.	51 And he shall look on the plague on the seventh day: if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in a skin, or in any work that is made of skin; the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean.	51 Then he shall look at the lesion during the seventh day. If the lesion has spread in the clothing or in the woven-material or in the knitted-material or in the skin for anything which the skin is made for [leather-]craft, the lesion is a bitter leprosy; it is unclean.	51 וְרָאָה אֶת-הַנֶּגַע בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי כִּי-פָשָׂה הַנֶּגַע בַּבֶּגֶד אוֹ-בַשְּׁתִי אוֹ-בָעֵרֶב אוֹ בָעוֹר לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר-יֵעָשֶׂה^NiIהָעוֹר לִמְלָאכָה צָרַעַת מַמְאֶרֶת^{^[c]} הַנֶּגַע טָמֵא הוּא:
LXX/Brenton	KJV	NAW	MT
52 κατακαύσει τὸ ἱμάτιον ἢ τὸν στήμονα ἢ τὴν κρόκην ἐν τοῖς ἐρεοῖς ἢ ἐν τοῖς λινοῖς ἢ ἐν παντὶ σκεύει δερματίνῳ, ἐν ᾧ ἐὰν ᾖ ἐν αὐτῷ ἡ ἁφή, ὅτι λέπρα ἔμμονός ἐστιν, ἐν πυρὶ κατακαυθήσεται. He shall burn the garment, either the warp or woof in woollen garments or in flaxen, or in any utensil of skin, in which there may be the plague; because it is a confirmed leprosy; it shall be burnt with fire.	52 He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire.	52 He shall therefore burn the clothing or the woven material or the knitted material ([made] with wool or with linen) or any item of leather in which the lesion exists, because it is a bitter leprosy. It shall be burned in the fire.	52 וְשָׂרַף אֶת-הַבֶּגֶד אוֹ אֶת-הַשְּׁתִי אוֹ אֶת-הָעֵרֶב בַּצֶּמֶר אוֹ בַפִּשְׁתִּים אוֹ אֶת-כָּל-כְּלִי הָעוֹר אֲשֶׁר-יִהְיֶה בוֹ הַנָּגַע כִּי-צָרַעַת מַמְאֶרֶת הִוא בָּאֵשׁ תִּשָּׂרֵף^NiI3f:
53 ἐὰν δὲ ἴδῃ ὁ ἱερεὺς καὶ μὴ διαχέηται ἡ ἁφὴ ἐν τῷ ἱματίῳ ἢ ἐν τῷ στήμονι ἢ ἐν τῇ κρόκῃ ἢ ἐν παντὶ σκεύει δερματίνῳ, And if the priest should see, and the plague be not spread in the garments, either in the warp or in the woof, or in any utensil of skin,	53 And if the priest shall look, and, behold, the plague be not spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin;	53 If, however, the priest looks and sees that the lesion has not spread in the clothing or woven material or knitted material or in any item of leather,	53 וְאִם יִרְאֶה הַכֹּהֵן וְהִנֵּה לֹא-פָשָׂה הַנֶּגַע בַּבֶּגֶד אוֹ בַשְּׁתִי אוֹ בָעֵרֶב אוֹ בְּכָל-כְּלִי-עוֹר:
54 καὶ συντάξει ὁ ἱερεύς, καὶ πλυνεῖ ἐφ᾿ οὗ ἐὰν ᾖ ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἡ ἁφή, καὶ ἀφοριεῖ [ὁ ἱερεὺς] τὴν ἁφὴν ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας τὸ δεύτερον· then the priest shall give directions, and one shall wash that on which there may have been the plague, and the priest shall set it aside a second time for seven days.	54 Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more:	54 then the priest shall issue the command that they wash whatever had the lesion in it, and he shall shut it away a second seven days.	54 וְצִוָּה הַכֹּהֵן וְכִבְּסוּ אֵת אֲשֶׁר-בּוֹ הַנָּגַע וְהִסְגִּירוֹ^{^[d]} שִׁבְעַת-יָמִים שֵׁנִית:
55 καὶ ὄψεται ὁ ἱερεὺς μετὰ τὸ πλυθῆναι αὐτὸ τὴν ἁφήν, καὶ ἥδε μὴ μετέβαλεν τὴν ὄψιν ἡ ἁφή, καὶ ἡ ἁφὴ οὐ διαχεῖται, ἀκάθαρτόν ἐστιν, ἐν πυρὶ κατακαυθήσεται· ἐστήρισται ἐν τῷ ἱματίῳ ἢ ἐν τῷ στήμονι ἢ ἐν τῇ κρόκῃ. And the priest shall look upon it after the plague has been washed; and if this, even the plague, has not changed its appearance, and the plague does not spread, it is unclean; it shall be burnt with fire: it is fixed in the garment, in the warp, or in the woof.	55 And the priest shall look on the plague, after that it is washed: and, behold, if the plague have not changed his colour, and the plague be not spread; it is unclean; thou shalt burn it in the fire; it is fret inward, whether it be bare within or without.	55 Then the priest shall look (after the lesion has been washed) and see. [If] the lesion has not changed its look – even [if] the lesion has not spread, it is unclean. You shall burn it in the fire; it is an erosion with depilation on its back side or depilation on its front side.^{^[e]}	55 וְרָאָה הַכֹּהֵן אַחֲרֵי הֻכַּבֵּס^HoNאֶת-הַנֶּגַע וְהִנֵּה לֹא-הָפַךְ הַנֶּגַע אֶת-עֵינוֹ וְהַנֶּגַע לֹא-פָשָׂה טָמֵא הוּא בָּאֵשׁ תִּשְׂרְפֶנּוּ^QI2+3sפְּחֶתֶת^{^[f]} הִוא בְּקָרַחְתּוֹ אוֹ בְגַבַּחְתּוֹ:
56 καὶ ἐὰν ἴδῃ ὁ ἱερεὺς καὶ ᾖ ἀμαυρὰ ἡ ἁφὴ μετὰ τὸ πλυθῆναι αὐτό, ἀπορρήξει αὐτὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱματίου ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ δέρματος ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ στήμονος ἢ ἀπὸ τῆς κρόκης. And if the priest should look, and the spot be dark after it has been washed, he shall tear it off from the garment, either from the warp or from the woof, or from the skin.	56 And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat dark after the washing of it; then he shall rend it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof:	56 But if the priest looks and sees that the lesion has diminished after it has been washed, then he shall tear it from the cloth - or from the skin or from the woven material or from the knitted material.	56 וְאִם רָאָה הַכֹּהֵן וְהִנֵּה כֵּהָה הַנֶּגַע אַחֲרֵי הֻכַּבֵּס^{^[g]} אֹתוֹ וְקָרַע אֹתוֹ מִן-הַבֶּגֶד אוֹ מִן-הָעוֹר אוֹ מִן-הַשְּׁתִי אוֹ מִן-הָעֵרֶב:
57 ἐὰν δὲ ὀφθῇ ἔτι ἐν τῷ ἱματίῳ ἢ ἐν τῷ στήμονι ἢ ἐν τῇ κρόκῃ ἢ ἐν παντὶ σκεύει δερματίνῳ, λέπρα ἐξανθοῦσά ἐστιν· ἐν πυρὶ κατακαυθήσεται ἐν ᾧ ἐστὶν ἡ ἁφή. And if it should still appear in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of skin, it is a leprosy bursting forth: that wherein is the plague shall be burnt with fire.	57 And if it appear still in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a spreading plague: thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is with fire.	57 However, if it is seen again in the garment or in the woven material or the knitted material or in any item of leather, it is an outbreak^{^[h]}; whatever has the lesion in it, you shall burn it in the fire	57 וְאִם-תֵּרָאֶה^NiI3fsעוֹד בַּבֶּגֶד אוֹ-בַשְּׁתִי אוֹ-בָעֵרֶב אוֹ בְכָל-כְּלִי-עוֹר פֹּרַחַת^QPTfהִוא בָּאֵשׁ תִּשְׂרְפֶנּוּ^QI2+3ms אֵת אֲשֶׁר-בּוֹ הַנָּגַע:
LXX/Brenton	KJV	NAW	MT
58 καὶ τὸ ἱμάτιον ἢ ὁ στήμων ἢ ἡ κρόκη ἢ πᾶν σκεῦος δερμάτινον, ὃ πλυθήσεται καὶ ἀποστήσεται ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἡ ἁφή, καὶ πλυθήσεται τὸ δεύτερον καὶ καθαρὸν ἔσται. And the garment, or the warp, or the woof, or any article of skin, which shall be washed, and the plague depart from it, shall also be washed again, and shall be clean.	58 And the garment, either warp, or woof, or whatsoever thing of skin it be, which thou shalt wash, if the plague be departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and shall be clean.	58 But as for the garment or the woven-material or the knitted-material or any item of leather which you wash and the lesion goes away from them, it shall then be washed a second time, and it will be pure.	58 וְהַבֶּגֶד אוֹ-הַשְּׁתִי אוֹ-הָעֵרֶב אוֹ-כָל-כְּלִי הָעוֹר אֲשֶׁר תְּכַבֵּס^PiI2sוְסָר מֵהֶם הַנָּגַע וְכֻבַּס^PuPשֵׁנִית וְטָהֵר:
59 οὗτος ὁ νόμος ἁφῆς λέπρας ἱματίου ἐρεοῦ ἢ στιππυίνου ἢ στήμονος ἢ κρόκης ἢ παντὸς σκεύους δερματίνου εἰς τὸ καθαρίσαι αὐτὸ ἢ μιᾶναι αὐτό. This is the law of the plague of leprosy of a woollen or linen garment, either of the warp, or woof, or any leathern article, to pronounce it clean or unclean.	59 This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woollen or linen, either in the warp, or woof, or any thing of skins, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.	59 This is the instruction regarding a lesion of leprosy [on] a garment of wool or of linen or of woven-material or knitted-material or of any item of leather, for classifying it pure or for classifying it unclean.”	59 זֹאת תּוֹרַת נֶגַע-צָרַעַת בֶּגֶד הַצֶּמֶר אוֹ הַפִּשְׁתִּים אוֹ הַשְּׁתִי אוֹ הָעֵרֶב אוֹ כָּל-כְּלִי-עוֹר לְטַהֲר^{^[i]}וֹ אוֹ לְטַמְּאוֹ^PiN: פ

CHAPTER 14

LXX/Brenton	KJV	NAW	MT
33 Καὶ ἐλάλησεν κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν καὶ Ααρων λέγων And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,	33 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,	33 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying,	3 3 וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל-אַהֲרֹן לֵאמֹר:
34 Ὡς ἂν εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν γῆν τῶν Χαναναίων, ἣν ἐγὼ δίδωμι ὑμῖν ἐν κτήσει, καὶ δώσω ἁφὴν λέπρας ἐν ταῖς οἰκίαις τῆς γῆς τῆς ἐγκτήτου ὑμῖν, Whensoever ye shall enter into the land of the Chananites, which I give you for a possession, and I shall put the plague of leprosy in the houses of the land of your possession;	34 When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;	34 “In a case where y’all go into the land of Canaan which I am giving to y’all as your possession, and I put a lesion of leprosy into a house of the land of y’all’s possession,^{^[j]}	4 3 כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל-אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם לַאֲחֻזָּה וְנָתַתִּי נֶגַע צָרַעַת בְּבֵית אֶרֶץ אֲחֻזַּתְכֶם:
35 καὶ ἥξει τίνος αὐτοῦ ἡ οἰκία καὶ ἀναγγελεῖ τῷ ἱερεῖ λέγων Ὥσπερ ἁφὴ ἑώραταί μου ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ. then the owner of the house shall come and report to the priest, saying, I have seen as it were a plague in the house.	35 And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house:	35 then the one to whom the house belongs shall go and relate it to the priest, saying, ‘It looks to me like there’s a lesion in the house.’	35 וּבָא אֲשֶׁר-לוֹ הַבַּיִת וְהִגִּיד לַכֹּהֵן לֵאמֹר כְּנֶגַע נִרְאָה לִי בַּבָּיִת:
36 καὶ προστάξει ὁ ἱερεὺς ἀποσκευάσαι τὴν οἰκίαν πρὸ τοῦ εἰσελθόντα ἰδεῖν τὸν ἱερέα τὴν ἁφὴν καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀκάθαρτα γένηται ὅσα ἐὰν ᾖ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα εἰσελεύσεται ὁ ἱερεὺς καταμαθεῖν τὴν οἰκίαν. And the priest shall give orders to remove [the furniture of] the house, before the priest comes in to see the plague, and thus none of the things in the house shall become unclean; and afterwards the priest shall go in to examine the house.	36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house:	36 And the priest shall command that they turn [things] out of the house before the priest goes to look at the lesion, so that everything that is in the house will not be classified unclean, and then afterward, the priest shall go to look at the house.	36 וְצִוָּה הַכֹּהֵן וּפִנּוּ אֶת-הַבַּיִת בְּטֶרֶם יָבֹא הַכֹּהֵן לִרְאוֹת אֶת-הַנֶּגַע^{^[k]} וְלֹא יִטְמָא כָּל-אֲשֶׁר בַּבָּיִת וְאַחַר^{^[l]} כֵּן יָבֹא הַכֹּהֵן לִרְאוֹת אֶת-הַבָּיִת:
LXX	KJV	NAW	MT
37 καὶ ὄψεται τὴν ἁφὴν ἐν τοῖς τοίχοις τῆς οἰκίας, κοιλάδας χλωριζούσας ἢ πυρριζούσας, καὶ ἡ ὄψις αὐτῶν ταπεινοτέρα τῶν τοίχων, And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague is in the walls of the house, [he will see] greenish or reddish cavities, and the appearance of them will be beneath the surface of the walls.	37 And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house [with] hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall;	37 And he shall look at the lesion and see that the lesion in the walls of the house is yellowish-green or reddish depressions and that their looks are lower than the flat-surface,	37וְרָאָה^{^[m]} אֶת-הַנֶּגַע וְהִנֵּה הַנֶּגַע בְּקִירֹת הַבַּיִת שְׁקַעֲרוּרֹת יְרַקְרַקֹּת אוֹ אֲדַמְדַּמֹּת וּמַרְאֵיהֶן שָׁפָל מִן-הַקִּיר:
38 καὶ ἐξελθὼν ὁ ἱερεὺς ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν τῆς οἰκίας καὶ ἀφοριεῖ ὁ ἱερεὺς τὴν οἰκίαν ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας. And the priest shall come out of the house to the door of the house, and the priest shall separate the house seven days.	38 Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days:	38 and the priest shall go outside of the house to the doorway of the house and shut the house up for seven days.	38 וְיָצָא הַכֹּהֵן מִן-הַבַּיִת אֶל-פֶּתַח הַבָּיִת וְהִסְגִּיר אֶת-הַבַּיִת שִׁבְעַת יָמִים:
39 καὶ ἐπανήξει ὁ ἱερεὺς τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ καὶ ὄψεται [τὴν οἰκίαν] καὶ ἰδοὺ οὐ διεχύθη ἡ ἁφὴ ἐν τοῖς τοίχοις τῆς οἰκίας, And the priest shall return on the seventh day and view [the house]; and, behold, if the plague is spread in the walls of the house,	39 And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house;	39 Then the priest shall return during the seventh day, and he shall look and see that the lesion has spread on the walls of the house.	39 וְשָׁב הַכֹּהֵן בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וְרָאָה וְהִנֵּה פָּשָׂה הַנֶּגַע בְּקִירֹת הַבָּיִת:
40 καὶ προστάξει ὁ ἱερεὺς καὶ ἐξελοῦσιν τοὺς λίθους, ἐν οἷς ἐστιν ἡ ἁφή, καὶ ἐκβαλοῦσιν αὐτοὺς ἔξω τῆς πόλεως εἰς τόπον ἀκάθαρτον. then the priest shall give orders, and they shall take away the stones in which the plague is, and shall cast them out of the city into an unclean place.	40 Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city:	40 Then the priest shall command that they bust out the stones in which the lesion exists and that they cast them into an unclean place on the outside of the city	40 וְצִוָּה הַכֹּהֵן וְחִלְּצוּ אֶת-הָאֲבָנִים אֲשֶׁר בָּהֵן הַנָּגַע וְהִשְׁלִיכוּ אֶתְהֶן אֶל-מִחוּץ לָעִיר אֶל-מָקוֹם טָמֵא:
41 καὶ ἀποξύσουσιν τὴν οἰκίαν ἔσωθεν κύκλῳ καὶ ἐκχεοῦσιν τὸν χοῦν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως εἰς τόπον ἀκάθαρτον. And they shall scrape the house within round about, and shall pour out the dust [scraped off] outside the city into an unclean place.	41 And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:	41 and that they scrape the interior of the house itself all around and that they pour the dust that they scrape out into an unclean place on the outside of the city	41 וְאֶת-הַבַּיִת יַקְצִעַ^{^[n]} מִבַּיִת סָבִיב וְשָׁפְכוּ אֶת-הֶעָפָר אֲשֶׁר הִקְצוּ^{^[o]} אֶל-מִחוּץ לָעִיר אֶל-מָקוֹם טָמֵא:
42 καὶ λήμψονται λίθους [ἀπεξυσμένους] ἑτέρους καὶ ἀντιθήσουσιν ἀντὶ τῶν λίθων καὶ χοῦν ἕτερον λήμψονται καὶ ἐξαλείψουσιν τὴν οἰκίαν. And they shall take other [scraped] stones, and put them in the place of the former stones, and they shall take other plaster and plaster the house.	42 And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other morter, and shall plaister the house.	42 and that they take replacement stones and make them go in instead of the [removed] stones and that they get replacement mortar and plaster the house.	42 וְלָקְחוּ אֲבָנִים אֲחֵרוֹת וְהֵבִיאוּ אֶל-תַּחַת הָאֲבָנִים וְעָפָר אַחֵר יִקַּח וְטָח^{^[p]} אֶת-הַבָּיִת:
43 ἐὰν δὲ ἐπέλθῃ πάλιν ἁφὴ καὶ ἀνατείλῃ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ μετὰ τὸ ἐξελεῖν τοὺς λίθους καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἀποξυσθῆναι τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἐξαλειφθῆναι, And if the plague should return again, and break out in the house after they have taken away the stones and after the house is scraped, and after it has been plastered,	43 And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered;	43 If, however, the lesion returns and breaks out in the house after the breaking-out of the stones and after the scraping of the house and after the plastering,	43 וְאִם-יָשׁוּב הַנֶּגַע וּפָרַח בַּבַּיִת אַחַר^{^[q]} חִלֵּץ^{^[r]} אֶת-הָאֲבָנִים וְאַחֲרֵי הִקְצוֹת^{^[s]} אֶת-הַבַּיִת וְאַחֲרֵי הִטּוֹחַ:
LXX	KJV	NAW	MT
44 καὶ εἰσελεύσεται ὁ ἱερεὺς καὶ ὄψεται· εἰ διακέχυται ἡ ἁφὴ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ, λέπρα ἔμμονός ἐστιν ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ, ἀκάθαρτός ἐστιν. then the priest shall go in and see if the plague is spread in the house: it is a confirmed leprosy in the house, it is unclean.	44 Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean.	44 then the priest shall go and look and see that the lesion has spread in the house. If it looks to be leprosy in the house, it is unclean,	44 וּבָא הַכֹּהֵן וְרָאָה וְהִנֵּה פָּשָׂה^{^[t]} הַנֶּגַע בַּבָּיִת צָרַעַת מַמְאֶרֶת הִוא^{^[u]} בַּבַּיִת טָמֵא הוּא:
45 καὶ καθελοῦσιν τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ τὰ ξύλα αὐτῆς καὶ τοὺς λίθους αὐτῆς καὶ πάντα τὸν χοῦν ἐξοίσουσιν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως εἰς τόπον ἀκάθαρτον. And they shall take down the house, and its timbers and its stones, and they shall carry out all the mortar without the city into an unclean place.	45 And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.	45 and they shall break down the house – its stones and its timbers and all the mortar of the house – and take them outside to an unclean place on the outside of the city.	45 וְנָתַץ^{^[v]} אֶת-הַבַּיִת אֶת-אֲבָנָיו^{^[w]} וְאֶת-עֵצָיו וְאֵת כָּל-עֲפַר הַבָּיִת וְהוֹצִיא^{^[x]} אֶל-מִחוּץ לָעִיר אֶל-מָקוֹם טָמֵא:
46 καὶ ὁ εἰσπορευόμενος εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας, ἃς ἀφωρισμένη ἐστίν, ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται ἕως ἑσπέρας· And he that goes into the house at any time, during its separation, shall be unclean until evening.	46 Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even.	46 And he who goes into the house any the days of its being shut up will be unclean until evening,	46 וְהַבָּא אֶל-הַבַּיִת כָּל-יְמֵי הִסְגִּיר^{^[y]} אֹתוֹ יִטְמָא עַד-הָעָרֶב:
47 καὶ ὁ κοιμώμενος ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ πλυνεῖ τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ [καὶ ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται ἕως ἑσπέρας·] καὶ ὁ ἔσθων ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ πλυνεῖ τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται ἕως ἑσπέρας. And he that sleeps in the house shall wash his garments, [and be unclean until evening]; and he that eats in the house shall wash his garments, and be unclean until evening.	47 And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.	47 moreover, he who lies down in the house shall wash his clothes, and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes.	47 וְהַשֹּׁכֵב בַּבַּיִת יְכַבֵּס אֶת-בְּגָדָיו וְהָאֹכֵל בַּבַּיִת יְכַבֵּס אֶת-בְּגָדָיו:
48 ἐὰν δὲ παραγενόμενος εἰσέλθῃ ὁ ἱερεὺς καὶ ἴδῃ καὶ ἰδοὺ διαχύσει οὐ διαχεῖται ἡ ἁφὴ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ μετὰ τὸ ἐξαλειφθῆναι τὴν οἰκίαν, καὶ καθαριεῖ ὁ ἱερεὺς τὴν οἰκίαν, ὅτι ἰάθη ἡ ἁφή. and if the priest shall arrive and enter and see, and behold the plague be not at all spread in the house after the house has been plastered, then the priest shall declare the house clean, because the plague is healed.	48 And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.	48 But if the priest really comes and looks and sees that the lesion has not spread in the house after the plastering of the house, then the priest shall classify the house pure because the lesion has been healed.	48 וְאִם-בֹּא יָבֹא הַכֹּהֵן וְרָאָה וְהִנֵּה לֹא-פָשָׂה הַנֶּגַע בַּבַּיִת אַחֲרֵי הִטֹּחַ אֶת-הַבָּיִת וְטִהַר הַכֹּהֵן אֶת-הַבַּיִת כִּי נִרְפָּא הַנָּגַע:
49 καὶ λήμψεται ἀφαγνίσαι τὴν οἰκίαν δύο ὀρνίθια [ζῶντα καθαρὰ] καὶ ξύλον κέδρινον καὶ κεκλωσμένον κόκκινον καὶ ὕσσωπον· And he shall take to purify the house two [clean living] birds, and cedar wood, and spun scarlet, and hyssop.	49 And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:	49 And he shall take for a sin-offering for the house two game-birds and a cedar stick and crimson scarlet-thread^{^[z]} and a hyssop-plant^{^[aa]},	49 וְלָקַח^{^[bb]} לְחַטֵּא אֶת-הַבַּיִת שְׁתֵּי צִפֳּרִים וְעֵץ אֶרֶז וּשְׁנִי תוֹלַעַת וְאֵזֹב:
50 καὶ σφάξει τὸ ὀρνίθιον τὸ ἓν εἰς σκεῦος ὀστράκινον ἐφ᾿ ὕδατι ζῶντι And he shall slay one bird in an earthen vessel over running water.	50 And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water:	50 and he shall slaughter the first bird over a ceramic vessel containing fresh water,	50 וְשָׁחַט^{^[cc]} אֶת-הַצִּפֹּר הָאֶחָת אֶל-כְּלִי-חֶרֶשׂ עַל-מַיִם חַיִּים:
LXX	KJV	NAW	MT
51 καὶ λήμψεται τὸ ξύλον τὸ κέδρινον καὶ τὸ κεκλωσμένον κόκκινον καὶ τὸν ὕσσωπον καὶ τὸ ὀρνίθιον τὸ ζῶν καὶ βάψει ~~αὐτὸ~~ εἰς τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ὀρνιθίου τοῦ ἐσφαγμένου X ἐφ᾿ ὕδατι ζῶντι καὶ περιρρανεῖ [ἐν αὐτοῖς] ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν ἑπτάκις And he shall take the cedar wood, and the spun scarlet, and the hyssop, and the living bird; and shall dip it into the blood of the bird slain X over running water, and [with them] he shall sprinkle the house seven times.	51 And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and 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:	51 then he shall take the cedar stick and the hyssop and the crimson scarlet thread and the living gamebird and he shall dip them in the blood of the slaughtered gamebird and in the fresh water, and he shall sprinkle the house seven times.^{^[dd]}	51 וְלָקַח אֶת-עֵץ-הָאֶרֶז וְאֶת-הָאֵזֹב וְאֵת שְׁנִי הַתּוֹלַעַת וְאֵת הַצִּפֹּר הַחַיָּה וְטָבַל אֹתָם בְּדַם הַצִּפֹּר הַשְּׁחוּטָה וּבַמַּיִם הַחַיִּים וְהִזָּה אֶל^{^[ee]}-הַבַּיִת שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים:
52 καὶ ἀφαγνιεῖ τὴν οἰκίαν ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ ὀρνιθίου καὶ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι τῷ ζῶντι καὶ ἐν τῷ ὀρνιθίῳ τῷ ζῶντι καὶ ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ τῷ κεδρίνῳ καὶ ἐν τῷ ὑσσώπῳ καὶ ἐν τῷ κεκλωσμένῳ κοκκίνῳ· and he shall purify the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the spun scarlet.	52 And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet:	52 Thus he shall offer a sin-offering for the house with the blood of the gamebird and with the fresh water and with the living gamebird and with a cedar stick and with hyssop and with crimson scarlet thread.	2 5 וְחִטֵּא אֶת-הַבַּיִת בְּדַם הַצִּפּוֹר וּבַמַּיִם הַחַיִּים וּבַצִּפֹּר הַחַיָּה וּבְעֵץ הָאֶרֶז וּבָאֵזֹב וּבִשְׁנִי הַתּוֹלָעַת:
53 καὶ ἐξαποστελεῖ τὸ ὀρνίθιον τὸ ζῶν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως εἰς τὸ πεδίον καὶ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ τῆς οἰκίας, καὶ καθαρὰ ἔσται. And he shall let the living bird go out of the city into the field, and shall make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.	53 But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.	53 Then he shall cast^{^[ff]} the living gamebird in the direction of the fields to the outside of the city. Thus he shall make atonement over the house, and it will be pure.	53 וְשִׁלַּח אֶת-הַצִּפֹּר הַחַיָּה אֶל-מִחוּץ לָעִיר אֶל-פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה וְכִפֶּר עַל-הַבַּיִת וְטָהֵר:
54 Οὗτος ὁ νόμος κατὰ πᾶσαν ἁφὴν λέπρας καὶ θραύσματος This is the law concerning every plague of leprosy and scurf,	54 This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall,	54 This is the instruction concerning any lesion of leprosy – including the scale,	4 5 זֹאת הַתּוֹרָה לְכָל-נֶגַע הַצָּרַעַת וְלַנָּתֶק:
55 καὶ τῆς λέπρας ἱματίου καὶ οἰκίας and of the leprosy of a garment, and of a house,	55 And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house,	55 and the leprosy of the garment and of the house,	55 וּלְצָרַעַת הַבֶּגֶד וְלַבָּיִת:
56 καὶ οὐλῆς καὶ σημασίας καὶ τοῦ αὐγάζοντος and of a sore, and of a clear spot, and of a shining one,	56 And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot:	56 and the swelling and the scab and concerning the bright spot,	56 וְלַשְׂאֵת וְלַסַּפַּחַת וְלַבֶּהָרֶת:
57 καὶ τοῦ ἐξηγήσασθαι ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ ἀκάθαρτον καὶ ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ ~~καθαρισθήσεται·~~ οὗτος ὁ νόμος τῆς λέπρας. and of declaring in what day it is unclean, and in what day it ~~shall be purged~~: this is the law of the leprosy.	57 To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.	57 in order to teach when there is uncleanness and when there is purity. This is the instruction regarding the leprosy.	57 לְהוֹרֹת^{^[gg]} בְּיוֹם הַטָּמֵא וּבְיוֹם הַטָּהֹר זֹאת תּוֹרַת הַצָּרָעַת: ס

^{^[a]} The only other place this word occurs besides chapter 14 is Psalm 68:13, where it is the color of gold ore.

^{^[b]} A couple of Hebrew manuscripts and a couple of ancient translations (LXX & Syriac) make the subject explicit here “the priest,” but I don’t think it’s original.

^{^[c]} Hiphil Participle fem. sing. (S.P. switches two letters, changing the meaning from “fretting/malignant/destructive” to “visible,” and the LXX translates it “confirmed.”)

^{^[d]} Hiph. Perf. 3ms + 3ms pronoun. Septuagint, Syriac, and Targums translations all give a more explicit subject (“the priest”) here than the Hebrew does (“he”), but it’s talking about the same person.

^{^[e]} These are the same Hebrew words used for baldness starting from the back of the head or the front of the head in vs. 32-33.

^{^[f]} “The word suggests the ideas of low-lying, like a pit (Rashi). Ibn Ezra & Rashbaum explained it as from a root meaning “to lessen,’ because this plague is like a curse which blights and diminishes.”

^{^[g]} Hothpael Infinitive, translated passive by LXX and modern English versions. S.P. seems to make it and the following verb Perfect tense 3^rd plural (“they washed it and they shall tear it”), which seems spurious, especially considering that the LXX follows the MT here.

^{^[h]} an epidemic? Rashi: “it is something which recurs”

^{^[i]} Piel Infinitive. The only known DSS of this verse (11Q2 Leviticus^b) makes this word plural with a tav added here. It wouldn’t be possible to make an infinitive plural in Greek or in English, so the LXX and English versions do not weigh in on this variant, but the SP follows the MT in keeping it singular. There is, in addition, some variation in the use of the word “the” in this verse: the MT and SP make the words “wool” and “linen” definite with he- prefixes, but the DSS and LXX don’t (The LXX doesn’t make “warp” or “woof” definite either, as the Hebrew does, so this could indicate a stylistic choice rather than a different reading in Hebrew.). The SP, however differs from the MT by making two more words definite: “leprosy/mildew” and “skin/leather.” I can’t see that it makes any difference in meaning either way.

^{^[j]} Note God’s sovereignty over nuisances and bad things. Note also God’s forethought to give instructions about situations which they were not currently experiencing but would experience a generation later when they moved out of their tents into fortified cities. The Medieval Jewish Rabbi Rashi related the story of some Jews who had moved into a fortified city that had originally been built by the Amorites whom they had conquered. Well, mildew showed up on the walls, and wouldn’t come clean, so these Jews went through the hard work of tearing down the walls and disposing of the building materials. They struggled with a bad attitude over this. “God, why would you allow this to happen to my new home?” but then as they tore the walls down, they discovered that the Amorites had hidden all their valuables inside the wall, and that provided gold and silver to spend on building a better house! God is always thinking ahead. Jesus went to prepare a place for us, for our future dwelling with Him too!

^{^[k]} DSS 4Q26 adds a definite article and an adjective to read “the leprous lesion.” It doesn’t change the meaning though. Since the LXX does not have these extra words, I’ll go with the more terse wording of the MT.

^{^[l]} SP adds a yod to the end of this word, but it doesn’t change the meaning.

^{^[m]} The Samaritan Pentateuch (SP) and Jonathan Targums spell out the assumed subject (“the priest”), but I suspect those are later insertions not original to the text.

^{^[n]} (Hiph. Impf.) SP, LXX, & Targums give this verb a plural subject “they shall scrape,” which would match the plural “they scraped” at the end of the verse. However, the character spacing of DSS (4Q23a) does not support the additional letter it would take to pluralize. I’m inclined to go with the LXX reading here over the MT to avoid confusion.

^{^[o]} Hiph Perf. 3p. The SP turns it into an imperative which doesn’t make sense, and the LXX throws this word into the next verse as a participle. Stick with the MT.

^{^[p]} SP and LXX & DSS (4Q23a) render the subjects of these two verbs plural, so I’m inclined to go with them instead of the MT here.

^{^[q]} Cf 36^a – DSS (4Q23a) adds a yod to the end of the word here, does not have the yod at the end of the next iteration of the same word later in the verse, and omits the entire word the third time it occurs in the verse. However, it does not create a significant difference in meaning.

^{^[r]} Piel Perfect 3ms (“it removed”), according to Beall. LXX = infinitive (חַלֵּץ = “the removal”), SP=plural חׅלּֽצוּ (“they removed”), and DSS=Hiphil singular חליצ (“he caused to remove”). This is a hard call, but I prefer what the LXX did – keeping the same spelling as the unpointed MT.

^{^[s]} Hiphil Infinitive, according to Beall. LXX, Syrac, and Targums spell this passively, and DSS (4Q23a) omits this word altogether. I’m inclined to go with the MT reading.

^{^[t]} SP uses the synonym פרח

^{^[u]} SP omits this pronoun while the DSS (4Q23a) spells the pronoun feminine (describing “leprosy”) instead of the MT’s masculine spelling (which would refer to the masculine “mark/lesion”). This makes no difference in meaning.

^{^[v]} SP, LXX, DSS (4Q12a), Syriac, and Jonathan Targums spell this plural, so I will diverge with them from the MT.

^{^[w]} 4Q23a DSS spells this “stone” rather than “its stones” – not a significant difference. The LXX supports the MT, so I will go with the MT.

^{^[x]} SP, LXX, and Syriac spell this plural, and the spacing on the 4Q23a DSS supports this, so I will diverge with them from the MT.

^{^[y]} 4Q23a DSS skips the direct object indicator, but the meaning is the same.

^{^[z]} Exodus 35 indicates that it was a popular craft among the Hebrew women to make scarlet thread.

^{^[aa]} Hyssop is portrayed as the opposite of cedar in 1Kings 4:33 – a common, scrubby plant which grew a lot of little branches. It’s design was convenient for sprinkling because you could grab the stem and dip the branches into a bowl and use it as a paintbrush or a sprinkler.

^{^[bb]} SP pl, DSS (4Q23a) omits copula and substitutes a synonym טהר (purify) for the infinitive. I’m going to stick with the MT here, which is supported by the LXX.

^{^[cc]} DSS (4Q23a) reads “they shall slay,” but since the LXX agrees with the MT in a context where it often disagrees with the MT (i.e. the priests rather than the worshipper slaughtering the animal), I’ll go with the MT reading.

^{^[dd]} This sort of ceremony with dipping a hyssop plant into blood and applying the blood to a structure was done as part of the first Passover, then here in the purification from leprosy, and then later in the Num. 19 in the ordinance of the red heifer which cleansed the temple and priests from the defilement of a death. David, however, refers to it in Psalm 51 as a symbol of being cleansed from his sin.

^{^[ee]} LXX (epi) and DSS (4Q23a) reads the synonym על – not a significant difference in meaning, but I’m inclined to use “upon” because the LXX and DSS agree and are so much older than the MT.

^{^[ff]} This is the same verb as the one used to describe throwing the contaminated stones out of the city and presumably has a parallel meaning of symbolically moving sin and its consequences away from where God’s people lived.

^{^[gg]} The LXX and Syriac add an “and” to the beginning of this verse, but this is not supported in the character spacing of the DSS (11Q1)