Leviticus 14:1-32

1 God spoke to Moses,
2 "These are the instructions for the infected person at the time of his cleansing. First, bring him to the priest.
3 The priest will take him outside the camp and make an examination; if the infected person has been healed of the serious skin disease,
4 the priest will order two live, clean birds, some cedar wood, scarlet thread, and hyssop to be brought for the one to be cleansed.
5 The priest will order him to kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot.
6 The priest will then take the live bird with the cedar wood, the scarlet thread, and the hyssop and dip them in the blood of the dead bird over fresh water
7 and then sprinkle the person being cleansed from the serious skin disease seven times and pronounce him clean. Finally, he will release the live bird in the open field.
8 The cleansed person, after washing his clothes, shaving off all his hair, and bathing with water, is clean. Afterwards he may again enter the camp, but he has to live outside his tent for seven days.
9 On the seventh day, he must shave off all his hair - from his head, beard, eyebrows, all of it. He then must wash his clothes and bathe all over with water. He will be clean.
10 "The next day, the eighth day, he will bring two lambs without defect and a yearling ewe without defect, along with roughly six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil.
11 The priest who pronounces him clean will place him and the materials for his offerings in the presence of God at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
12 The priest will take one of the lambs and present it and the pint of oil as a Compensation-Offering and lift them up as a Wave-Offering before God.
13 He will slaughter the lamb in the place where the Absolution-Offering and the Whole-Burnt-Offering are slaughtered, in the Holy Place, because like the Absolution-Offering, the Compensation-Offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy.
14 The priest will now take some of the blood of the Compensation-Offering and put it on the right earlobe of the man being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
15 Following that he will take some oil and pour it into the palm of his left hand
16 and then with the finger of his right hand sprinkle oil seven times before God.
17 The priest will put some of the remaining oil on the right earlobe of the one being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, placing it on top of the blood of the Compensation-Offering.
18 He will put the rest of the oil on the head of the man being cleansed and make atonement for him before God.
19 "Finally the priest will sacrifice the Absolution-Offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness, slaughter the Whole-Burnt-Offering
20 and offer it with the Grain-Offering on the Altar. He has made atonement for him. He is clean.
21 "If he is poor and cannot afford these offerings, he will bring one male lamb as a Compensation-Offering to be offered as a Wave-Offering to make atonement for him, and with it a couple of quarts of fine flour mixed with oil for a Grain-Offering, a pint of oil,
22 and two doves or pigeons which he can afford, one for an Absolution-Offering and the other for a Whole-Burnt-Offering.
23 "On the eighth day he will bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the presence of God.
24 The priest will take the lamb for the Compensation-Offering together with the pint of oil and wave them before God as a Wave-Offering.
25 He will slaughter the lamb for the Compensation-Offering, take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
26 The priest will pour some of the oil into the palm of his left hand,
27 and with his right finger sprinkle some of the oil from his palm seven times before God.
28 He will put some of the oil that is in his palm on the same places he put the blood of the Compensation-Offering, on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
29 The priest will take what is left of the oil in his palm and put it on the head of the one to be cleansed, making atonement for him before God.
30 "At the last, he will sacrifice the doves or pigeons which are within his means,
31 one as an Absolution-Offering and the other as a Whole-Burnt-Offering along with the Grain-Offering. Following this procedure the priest will make atonement for the one to be cleansed before God."
32 These are the instructions to be followed for anyone who has a serious skin disease and cannot afford the regular offerings for 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.

Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.