Leviticus 14:1-32

1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: he shall be brought unto the priest,
3 and the priest shall go out of the camp; and when the priest looketh, and behold, the sore of leprosy is healed in the leper,
4 then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two clean living birds, and cedar-wood, and scarlet, and hyssop.
5 And the priest shall command that one bird be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:
6 as to the living bird -- he shall take it, and the cedar-wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water;
7 and he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.
8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his garments, and shave all his hair, and bathe in water, and he shall be clean; and afterwards shall he come into the camp, and shall abide outside his tent seven days.
9 And it shall come to pass on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair, his head, and his beard, and his eyebrows, even all his hair shall he shave, and he shall wash his garments, and shall bathe his flesh in water, and he is clean.
10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he-lambs without blemish, and one yearling ewe-lamb without blemish, and three tenth parts of fine flour mingled with oil, for an oblation, and one log of oil.
11 And the priest that cleanseth [him] shall present the man that is to be cleansed and those things before Jehovah, at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
12 And the priest shall take one he-lamb, and present it for a trespass-offering, and the log of oil, and wave them as a wave-offering before Jehovah.
13 And he shall slaughter the he-lamb at the place where the sin-offering and the burnt-offering are slaughtered, in a holy place; for as the sin-offering, so the trespass-offering is the priest's: it is most holy.
14 And the priest shall take of the blood of the trespass-offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot.
15 And the priest shall take of the log of oil, and pour it into his, the priest's, left hand;
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 Jehovah.
17 And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put on the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass-offering.
18 And the remainder of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, and the priest shall make atonement for him before Jehovah.
19 And the priest shall offer the sin-offering, and make atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterwards shall he slaughter the burnt-offering.
20 And the priest shall offer the burnt-offering and the oblation upon the altar; and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
21 But if he be poor, and his hand be not able to get it, then he shall take one lamb for a trespass-offering, for a wave-offering, to make atonement for him; and one tenth part of fine flour mingled with oil for an oblation; and a log of oil,
22 and two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, as his hand may be able to get: the one shall be a sin-offering, and the other a burnt-offering.
23 And he shall bring them on the eighth day of his cleansing unto the priest, unto the entrance of the tent of meeting, before Jehovah.
24 And the priest shall take the he-lamb of the trespass-offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them as a wave-offering before Jehovah.
25 And he shall slaughter the he-lamb of the trespass-offering; and the priest shall take 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 on the great toe of his right foot.
26 And the priest shall pour of the oil into [his], the priest's, left hand,
27 and the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before Jehovah.
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 on the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass-offering.
29 And the remainder 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 atonement for him before Jehovah.
30 And he shall offer one of the turtle-doves, or of the young pigeons, of what his hand was able to get;
31 of what his hand was able to get shall the one be a sin-offering, and the other a burnt-offering, with the oblation; and the priest shall make atonement for him that is to be cleansed before Jehovah.
32 This is the law for him in whom is the sore of leprosy, whose hand cannot get what is [regularly prescribed] in his cleansing.

Leviticus 14:1-32 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 14

This chapter treats of the purification of lepers, and the rules to be observed therein; and first what the priest was to do for his cleansing when brought to him, by making use of two birds, with cedar wood, scarlet and hyssop, as directed, Le 14:1-7; what he was to do for himself, shaving off all his hair, and washing his flesh and clothes in water, Le 14:8,9; the offerings to be offered up for him, two he lambs and one ewe lamb, and a meat offering, with a particular account of the use of the blood of the trespass offering, and of oil put upon the tip of his right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the great toe of his right foot, Le 14:10-20; but if poor, only one lamb was required, a meat offering of one tenth deal, and two turtle doves or two young pigeons, and blood and oil used as before, Le 14:21-32; next follow an account of leprosy in an house, and the signs of it, and the rules to judge of it, Le 14:33-48; and the manner of cleansing from it, Le 14:49-53; and the chapter is closed with a recapitulation of the several laws concerning the various sorts of leprosy in this and the preceding chapter, Le 14:54-57.

Footnotes 6

  • [a]. Little birds. As 'sparrow,' Ps. 84.3; 102.7.
  • [b]. Lit.'living.'
  • [c]. As ch. 8.11.
  • [d]. 'Bathe' here and in all these passages is 'bathe the whole body.'
  • [e]. A twelfth part of a hin.
  • [f]. Olah, 'offer up' or 'cause to ascend' on the altar itself: see Note c, ch. 2.12.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.