Leviticus 14:4-14

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.

Leviticus 14:4-14 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.