(KJV) Leviticus 141

<< Leviticus 13 Leviticus 15 >>

⥃Cleansing from Skin Diseases [ Matthew 8:1–4 † Mark 1:40–45 † Luke 5:12–16 ]

[1] And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, [2] This shall be the law2 of the leper in the day3 of his cleansing: He shall4 be brought unto the priest: [3] And the priest shall go forth5 out of6 the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, [if] the plague of leprosy be healed7 in the leper; [4] Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds8 alive [and] clean, and cedar9 wood, and scarlet10, and hyssop11: [5] And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel12 over running water: [6] As for the living bird13, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them14 and the living bird in the blood of the bird [that was] killed over the running water: [7] And he shall sprinkle15 upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times16, and shall pronounce17 him clean, and shall let18 the living bird loose into the open field19. [8] And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his20 clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself21 in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall22 tarry abroad out of his tent seven days23. [9] But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all24 his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh25 in water, and he shall be clean. [10] And on the eighth day26 he shall take27 two he lambs28 without blemish, and one ewe lamb29 of the first year30 without blemish, and three tenth31 deals of fine flour [for] a meat offering32, mingled with oil, and one log of oil33. [11] And the priest that maketh [him] clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the Lord, [at] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:34 [12] And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass35 offering, and the log of oil, and wave them36 [for] a wave offering before the Lord: [13] And he shall slay the lamb in the place37 where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin38 offering [is] the priest’s, [so is] the trespass offering: it [is] most holy39: [14] And the priest shall take [some] of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put [it] upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:40 [15] And the priest shall take [some] of the log of oil, and pour [it] into the palm of his own left hand:41 [16] And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that [is] in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord:42 [17] And of the rest of the oil that [is] in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering:43 [18] And the remnant44 of the oil that [is] in the priest’s hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement45 for him before the Lord. [19] And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering:46 [20] And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.47 [21] And if he [be] poor48, and cannot49 get so much; then he shall take one lamb50 [for] a trespass offering to be waved51, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil; [22] And two turtledoves52, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering. [23] And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord.53 [24] And 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:54 [25] And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take [some] of the blood of the trespass offering, and put [it] upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:55 [26] And the priest shall pour 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] And the priest shall put of the oil that [is] in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering: [29] And the rest of the oil that [is] in the priest’s hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the Lord.56 [30] And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get;57 [31] [Even] such as he is able to get, the one [for] a sin offering, and the other [for] a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the Lord. [32] This [is] the law [of him] in whom [is] the plague of leprosy, whose hand58 is not able to get [that which pertaineth] to his cleansing.59

⥃Signs of Home Contamination

[33] And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, [34] When60 ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I61 give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy62 in a house of the land of your possession; [35] And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me [there is] as it were a plague63 in the house: [36] Then the priest shall command that they empty64 the house, before the priest go [into it] to see the plague, that all that [is] in the house be not made65 unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house: [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;66 [38] Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days:67 [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;686970717273 [40] Then the priest shall command that they take away74 the stones in which the plague [is], and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city75: [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 place76: [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.77 [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;78 [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.79 [45] And he shall break down80 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 place81. [46] Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean82 until the even. [47] And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes83; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.

⥃Cleansing a Home

[48] And if the priest shall come in84, 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. [49] And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:85 [50] And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water: [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: [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: [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.86 [54] This [is] the law87 for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall88, [55] And for the leprosy89 of a garment, and of a house90, [56] And for a rising91, and for a scab, and for a bright spot: [57] To teach92 when [it is] unclean, and when [it is] clean93: this [is94] the law of leprosy.

<< Leviticus 13 Leviticus 15 >>

  1. Lev 14:1, The rites and sacrifices in cleansing the leper; Lev 14:33, The signs of leprosy in a house; Lev 14:48, The cleansing of that house. ↩

  2. Lev 14:54-57, Lev 13:59 ↩

  3. Num 6:9 ↩

  4. Matt 8:2-4; Mark 1:40-44; Luke 5:12-14, Luke 17:14 ↩

  5. Lepers were obliged to live in a detached situation, separate from other people, and to keep themselves actually at a distance from them. They were distinguished by a peculiar dress; and if any person approached, they were bound to give him warning, by crying out, Unclean! unclean! ↩

  6. Lev 13:46 ↩

  7. Exod 15:26; 2Kgs 5:3, 2Kgs 5:7-8, 2Kgs 5:14; Job 5:18; Matt 10:8, Matt 11:5; Luke 4:27, Luke 7:22; Luke 17:15, Luke 17:16-19; 1Cor 6:9-11 ↩

  8. or, sparrows, The word tzippor, from the Arabic zaphara, to fly, is used in the Scriptures to denote birds of every species, particularly small birds. But it is often used in a more restricted sense, as the Hebrew writers assert, to signify the sparrow. Aquinas says the same; and Jerome renders it here the sparrow. So the Greek στρουθια, in Matthew and Luke, which signifies a sparrow, is rendered by the Syriac translator tzipparin, the same as the Hebrew tzipporim. Nor is it peculiar to the Hebrews to give the same name to the sparrow and to fowls of the largest size; for Nicander calls the hen στρουθος κατοικαδος, the domestic sparrow, and both Plautus and Ausonius call the ostrich, passer marinus, "the marine sparrow." It is evident, however, that the word in this passage signifies birds in general; for if the sparrow was a clean bird, there was no necessity for commanding a clean one to be taken, since every one of the species was ceremonially clean; but if it was unclean, then it could not be called clean. Lev 1:14, Lev 5:7, Lev 12:8 ↩

  9. Lev 14:6, Lev 14:49-52; Num 19:6 ↩

  10. Heb 9:19 ↩

  11. Exod 12:22; Num 19:18; Ps 51:7 ↩

  12. Lev 14:50; Num 5:17; 2Cor 4:7, 2Cor 5:1, 2Cor 13:4; Heb 2:14 ↩

  13. John 14:19; Rom 4:25, Rom 5:10; Phil 2:9-11; Heb 1:3; Rev 1:18 ↩

  14. Lev 14:51-53; Zech 13:1; Rev 1:5 ↩

  15. Num 19:18-19; Isa 52:15; Ezek 36:25; John 19:34; Heb 9:13, Heb 9:19, Heb 9:21; Heb 10:22, Heb 12:24; 1Pet 1:2; 1John 5:6 ↩

  16. Lev 14:51, Lev 4:6, Lev 4:17, Lev 8:11, Lev 16:14, Lev 16:19; 2Kgs 5:10, 2Kgs 5:14; Ps 51:2, Ps 51:7; Eph 5:26-27 ↩

  17. Lev 13:13, Lev 13:17 ↩

  18. Lev 16:22; Dan 9:24; Mic 7:19; Heb 9:26 ↩

  19. Heb. upon the face of the field ↩

  20. Lev 11:25, Lev 13:6, Lev 15:5-8; Exod 19:10, Exod 19:14; Num 8:7; Rev 7:14 ↩

  21. Lev 8:6; 1Pet 3:21; Rev 1:5-6 ↩

  22. Num 12:15 ↩

  23. Lev 8:33-35, Lev 13:5 ↩

  24. Num 6:9, Num 8:7 ↩

  25. Lictenstein states that "among the Koossas (a nation of South Africa), there are certain prevailing notions respecting moral (ceremonial) uncleanness. All children are unclean till they are admitted among grown-up persons (which happens with the males through the various ceremonies attending circumcision); all lying-in women are unclean for the first month; all men who have lost their wives, for a fortnight, and all widows for a month; a mother who has lost a child, for two days; all persons who have been present at a death, the men returning from a battle, etc. No one may have intercourse with such an unclean person, till he has washed himself, rubbed his body with fresh paint, and rinsed his mouth with milk. But he must not do this till after the lapse of a certain time, fixed by general consent for each particular case, and during this time he must wholly refrain from washing, painting, or drinking milk." ↩

  26. Lev 14:23, Lev 9:1, Lev 15:13-14 ↩

  27. Matt 8:4; Mark 1:44; Luke 5:14 ↩

  28. Lev 1:10; John 1:29; 1Pet 1:19 ↩

  29. Lev 4:32; Num 6:14 ↩

  30. Heb. the daughter of her year ↩

  31. Lev 23:13; Exod 29:40; Num 15:9, Num 28:20 ↩

  32. Lev 2:1; Num 15:4-15; John 6:33, John 6:51 ↩

  33. Lev 14:12, Lev 14:15, Lev 14:21, Lev 14:24 ↩

  34. Lev 8:3; Exod 29:1-4; Num 8:6-11, Num 8:21; Eph 5:26-27; Jude 1:24 ↩

  35. Lev 5:2-3, Lev 5:6-7, Lev 5:18-19, Lev 6:6-7; Isa 53:10 ↩

  36. Lev 8:27-29; Exod 29:24 ↩

  37. Lev 1:5, Lev 1:11, Lev 4:4, Lev 4:24; Exod 29:11 ↩

  38. Lev 7:7, Lev 10:17 ↩

  39. Lev 2:3, Lev 7:6, Lev 21:22 ↩

  40. Lev 8:23-24; Exod 29:20; Isa 1:5; Rom 6:13, Rom 6:19, Rom 12:1; 1Cor 6:20; 2Cor 7:1; Phil 1:20; 1Pet 1:14-15, 1Pet 2:5, 1Pet 2:9-10; Rev 1:5-6 ↩

  41. Ps 45:7; John 3:34; 1John 2:20 ↩

  42. Lev 4:6, Lev 4:17; Luke 17:18; 1Cor 10:31 ↩

  43. Lev 14:14, Lev 8:30; Exod 29:20-21; Ezek 36:27; John 1:16; Titus 3:3-6; 1Pet 1:2 ↩

  44. Lev 8:12; Exod 29:7; 2Cor 1:21-22; Eph 1:17-18 ↩

  45. Lev 4:26, Lev 4:31, Lev 5:16 ↩

  46. Lev 14:12, Lev 5:1, Lev 5:6, Lev 12:6-8; Rom 8:3; 2Cor 5:21 ↩

  47. Lev 14:10; Eph 5:2 ↩

  48. Lev 1:14, Lev 5:7, Lev 12:8; 1Sam 2:8; Job 34:19; Prov 17:5, Prov 22:2; Luke 6:20, Luke 21:2-4; 2Cor 8:9, 2Cor 8:12; Jas 2:5-6 ↩

  49. Heb. his hand reach not ↩

  50. Lev 14:10 ↩

  51. Heb. for a waving ↩

  52. Tor, the turtle or ring-dove, so called by an onomatopœia from its cooing, as in Greek τρυγων, Latin, turtur and English, turtle. It is a species of the dove or pigeon, here called yonah, and in the Syriac yauno, from the verb to oppress, afflict, because of its being particularly defenceless, and exposed to rapine and violence. The dove is a genus of birds too well known to need a particular description; and of which there are several species besides the turtle-dove; as the wood pigeon, tame pigeon, and others. The dove is universally allowed to be one of the most beautiful objects in nature. The brilliancy of her plumage, the splendour of her eye, the innocence of her look, the excellence of her dispositions, and the purity of her manners, have been the theme of admiration and praise in every age. To the snowy whiteness of her wings, and the rich golden hues that adorn her neck, the inspired Psalmist alludes in most elegant strains (Ps 68:13). The voice of the dove is particularly tender and plaintive, and bears a striking resemblance to the groan of a person in distress; to which the inspired bards frequently allude (Isa 38:14; Isa 59:11; Ezek 7:16). Her native dwelling is in the caves or hollows of the rock; allusions to which fact also occur in the Sacred Writings (Song 2:14; Jer 48:28). Her manners are as engaging as her form is elegant, and her plumage rich and beautiful. She is the chosen emblem of simplicity, gentleness, chastity, and feminine timidity, and for this reason, as well as from their abounding in the East, they were probably chosen as offerings by Jehovah. Ps 68:13; Song 2:14; Isa 38:14, Isa 59:11; Jer 48:28; Ezek 7:16 ↩

  53. Lev 14:11 ↩

  54. Lev 14:10-13 ↩

  55. Lev 14:14-20; Ps 40:6; Eccl 5:1 ↩

  56. Lev 14:18, Lev 14:20; Exod 30:15-16; John 17:19; 1John 2:1-2, 1John 5:6 ↩

  57. Lev 14:22, Lev 12:8, Lev 15:14-15; Luke 2:24; Rom 8:3 ↩

  58. Lev 14:10, Lev 14:21; Ps 72:12-14, Ps 136:23; Matt 11:5; 1Cor 1:27-28 ↩

  59. Lev 14:2, Lev 14:54-57, Lev 13:59 ↩

  60. Lev 23:10, Lev 25:2; Num 35:10; Deut 7:2, Deut 12:1, Deut 12:8, Deut 19:1, Deut 26:1, Deut 27:3 ↩

  61. Gen 12:7, Gen 13:17, Gen 17:8; Num 32:32; Deut 12:9-10, Deut 32:49; Josh 13:1 ↩

  62. It was probably from this text, that the leprosy has been in general considered to be a supernatural disease, inflicted immediately by God himself; but it cannot be inferred from this expression, as it is well known, that in Scripture, God is frequently represented as doing what, in the course of his providence, he only permits to be done. Exod 15:26; Deut 7:15; 1Sam 2:6; Prov 3:33; Isa 45:7; Amos 3:6, Amos 6:11; Mic 6:9 ↩

  63. Deut 7:26; Josh 7:21; 1Sam 3:12-14; 1Kgs 13:34; Ps 91:10; Prov 3:33; Zech 5:4 ↩

  64. or, prepare ↩

  65. 1Cor 15:33; 2Tim 2:17-18; Heb 12:15; Rev 18:4 ↩

  66. Lev 13:3, Lev 13:19-20, Lev 13:42, Lev 13:49 ↩

  67. Lev 13:50 ↩

  68. Lev 13:7-8, Lev 13:22, Lev 13:27, Lev 13:36, Lev 13:51; The consideration of the circumstances will exhibit the importance and the propriety of the Mosaic ordinance on the subject of the house leprosy. ↩

    1. Moses ordained that the owner of a house, when any suspicious spots appeared on the walls, should be bound to give notice of it, in order that the house might be inspected; and that person, as in the case of the human leprosy, was to be the priest, whose duty it was. Now this would serve to check the mischief at its very origin, and make every one attentive to observe it.

    ↩

    1. On notice being given, the priest was to inspect the house, but the occupant had liberty to remove everything previously out of it; and that this might be done, the priest was empowered to order it ex officio; for whatever was found within a house declared unclean, became unclean along with it.

    ↩

    1. If, on the first inspection, the complaint did not appear wholly without foundation, but suspicious spots or dimples were actually to be seen, the house was to be shut up for seven days and then to be inspected anew. If, in this interval, the evil did not spread, it was considered as have been a circumstance merely accidental, and the house was not polluted; but if it had spread, it was not considered a harmless accident, but the real house leprosy; and the stones affected with it were to be broken out of the wall, and carried to an unclean place without the city, and the walls of the whole house here scraped and plastered anew.

    ↩

    1. If, after this, the leprosy broke out afresh, the whole house was to be pulled down, and the materials carried without the city. Moses therefore, never suffered a leprous house to stand.

    ↩

    1. If, on the other hand, the house being inspected a second time, was found clean, it was solemnly so declared, and offering made on the occasion; in order that every one might know for certain that it was not infected, and the public be freed from all fears on that score. By this law many evils were actually prevented - it would check the mischief in its very origin, and make every one attentive to observe it. The people would also guard against those impurities whence it arose, and thus the health be preserved and not suffer in an infected house. These Mosaic statues were intended to prevent infection by the sacred obligations of religion. Ceremonial laws many keep more conscientiously and sacredly than moral precepts.

    ↩

  74. Ps 101:5, Ps 101:7-8; Prov 22:10, Prov 25:4-5; Isa 1:25-26; Matt 18:17; John 15:2; 1Cor 5:5-6, 1Cor 5:13; Titus 3:10; 2John 1:10-11; Rev 2:2, Rev 2:6, Rev 2:14-16, Rev 2:20 ↩

  75. Rev 22:15 ↩

  76. Job 36:13-14; Isa 65:4; Matt 8:28, Matt 24:51; 1Tim 1:20; Rev 22:15 ↩

  77. Gen 18:19; Josh 24:15; 2Chr 17:7-9, 2Chr 19:5-7, 2Chr 29:4-5; Ps 101:6; Acts 1:20-26; 1Tim 5:9-10, 1Tim 5:21-22; 2Tim 2:2; Titus 1:5-9 ↩

  78. Jer 6:28-30; Ezek 24:13; Heb 6:4-8; 2Pet 2:20, 2Pet 2:22; Jude 1:12 ↩

  79. Lev 13:51-52; Zech 5:4 ↩

  80. 1Kgs 9:6-9; 2Kgs 10:27, 2Kgs 17:20-23, 2Kgs 18:4, 2Kgs 25:4-12, 2Kgs 25:25-26; Jer 52:13; Ezek 5:4; Matt 22:7, Matt 24:2; Rom 11:7-11; Rev 11:2 ↩

  81. Lev 14:41 ↩

  82. Lev 11:24-25, Lev 11:28, Lev 15:5-8, Lev 15:10, Lev 17:15, Lev 22:6; Num 19:7-10, Num 19:21-22 ↩

  83. Lev 14:8-9 ↩

  84. Heb. in coming in shall come in, etc. because. Lev 14:3; Job 5:18; Hos 6:1; Mark 5:29, Mark 5:34; Luke 7:21; 1Cor 6:11 ↩

  85. Lev 14:4-7 ↩

  86. Lev 14:20 ↩

  87. Lev 14:2, Lev 14:32, Lev 6:9, Lev 6:14, Lev 6:25, Lev 7:1, Lev 7:37, Lev 11:46, Lev 15:32; Num 5:29, Num 6:13, Num 19:14; Deut 24:8 ↩

  88. Lev 13:30-31 ↩

  89. Lev 13:47-59 ↩

  90. Lev 14:34 ↩

  91. Lev 13:2 ↩

  92. Lev 10:10; Jer 15:19; Ezek 44:23 ↩

  93. Heb. in the day of the unclean, and in the day of the clean ↩

  94. Deut 24:8 ↩