Leviticus 15:1-33
Rules About Liquid Body Wastes
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘Suppose liquid waste is flowing out of a man’s body. That liquid is not “clean.” It does not matter whether it continues to flow out of his body or is blocked. It will make him “unclean.” Here is how his liquid body waste will make him “unclean.”
“ ‘Any bed the man who has the flow of liquid body waste lies on will be “unclean.” Anything he sits on will be “unclean.” Anyone who touches the man’s bed must wash their clothes. They must take a bath. They will be “unclean” until evening. Suppose someone sits on something the man sat on. Then they must wash their clothes. They must take a bath. They will be “unclean” until evening.
“ ‘Suppose someone touches the man who has the flow of liquid body waste. Then they must wash their clothes. They must take a bath. They will be “unclean” until evening.
“ ‘Suppose someone is “clean.” And suppose the man who has the flow of liquid waste spits on them. Then they must wash their clothes. They must take a bath. They will be “unclean” until evening.
“ ‘Everything the man sits on when he is riding will be “unclean.” Suppose someone touches any of the things that were under him. Then they will be “unclean” until evening. Even if they pick up those things, they must wash their clothes. They must take a bath. They will be “unclean” until evening.
“ ‘Suppose the man who has the liquid flow touches someone. And suppose he does it without rinsing his hands with water. Then the person he touched must wash their clothes. They must take a bath. They will be “unclean” until evening.
“ ‘Suppose the man touches a clay pot. Then that pot must be broken. Any wooden thing he touches must be rinsed with water.
“ ‘Suppose the man has been healed from his liquid flow. Then he must wait seven days. He must wash his clothes. He must take a bath in fresh water. After that, he will be “clean.” On the eighth day he must get two doves or two young pigeons. He must come to the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. There he must give the birds to the priest. The priest must sacrifice them. One is for a sin offering. The other is for a burnt offering. In that way the priest will pay for the man’s sin in the sight of the Lord. He will do it because the man had a liquid flow.
“ ‘Suppose semen flows from a man’s body. Then he must wash his whole body with water. He will be “unclean” until evening. Suppose clothes or leather have semen on them. Then they must be washed with water. They will be “unclean” until evening. Suppose a man sleeps with a woman. And suppose semen flows from his body and touches both of them. Then they must take a bath. They will be “unclean” until evening.
“ ‘Suppose a woman is having her regular monthly period. Then for seven days she will be “unclean.” Anyone who touches her will be “unclean” until evening.
“ ‘Anything she lies on during her period will be “unclean.” Anything she sits on will be “unclean.” Anyone who touches her bed must wash their clothes. They must take a bath. They will be “unclean” until evening. Anyone who touches anything she sits on must wash their clothes. They must take a bath. They will be “unclean” until evening. It does not matter whether it was her bed or anything she was sitting on. If anyone touches it, they will be “unclean” until evening.
“ ‘Suppose a man sleeps with that woman. And suppose blood from her monthly period touches him. Then he will be “unclean” for seven days. Any bed he lies on will be “unclean.”
“ ‘Suppose blood flows from a woman’s body for many days. And it happens at a time other than her monthly period. Or blood keeps flowing after her period is over. Then she will be “unclean” as long as the blood continues to flow. She will be “unclean,” just as she is during the days of her period. Any bed she lies on while her blood continues to flow will be “unclean.” It is the same as it is when she is having her period. Anything she sits on will be “unclean.” If anyone touches those things, they will be “unclean.” They must wash their clothes. They must take a bath. They will be “unclean” until evening.
“ ‘Suppose the woman has been healed from her flow of blood. Then she must wait seven days. After that, she will be “clean.” On the eighth day she must get two doves or two young pigeons. She must bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The priest must sacrifice them. One is for a sin offering. The other is for a burnt offering. In that way he will pay for her sin in the sight of the Lord. He will do it because her flow of blood made her “unclean.”
“ ‘You must keep the Israelites away from things that make them “unclean.” Then they will not die for being “unclean.” And they will not die for making the place “unclean” where I, the Lord, live. It is in the middle of the camp.’ ”
These are the rules for a man who has liquid waste flowing out of his body. They apply to a man made “unclean” by semen that flows from his body. They apply to a woman having her monthly period. They apply to a man or woman who has a liquid flow. And they apply to a man who sleeps with a woman who is “unclean.”
Leviticus 16:1-34
The Day When Sin Is Paid For
The Lord spoke to Moses after two of Aaron’s sons had died. They were the sons who died when they came near the Lord. The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to your brother Aaron. Tell him not to come into the Most Holy Room just anytime he wants to. Tell him not to come behind the curtain in front of the cover of the ark. The cover is the place where sin is paid for. If he comes behind the curtain, he will die. That is because I appear in the cloud over the cover.
“Aaron must not enter the area of the Most Holy Room without bringing a sacrifice. He must bring a young bull for a sin offering. He must also bring a ram for a burnt offering. He must put on the sacred inner robe made out of linen. He must wear linen underwear next to his body. He must tie the linen belt around him. And he must put the linen turban on his head. Those are sacred clothes. So he must take a bath before he puts them on. The community of Israel must give him two male goats and a ram. The goats are for a sin offering. The ram is for a burnt offering.
“Aaron must offer the bull for his own sin offering. It will pay for his own sin and the sin of his whole family. Then he must take the two goats and bring them to me at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He must cast lots for the two goats. One lot is for me. The other is for the goat that carries the people’s sins away. Aaron must bring the goat chosen for me by lot. He must sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by the other lot must remain alive. First, it must be brought in to me to pay for the people’s sins. Then, it must be sent into the desert as a goat that carries the people’s sins away.
“Aaron must bring the bull for his own sin offering. It will pay for his own sin and the sin of his whole family. He must kill the bull for his own sin offering. He must take a shallow cup full of burning coals from the altar in my sight. He must get two handfuls of incense completely ground up. The incense must smell sweet. He must take the cup and the incense behind the curtain. He must put the incense on the fire in my sight. The smoke from the incense will hide the cover of the ark where the tablets of the covenant law are kept. The cover is the place where sin is paid for. Aaron must burn the incense so that he will not die. He must dip his finger in the bull’s blood. He must sprinkle it on the front of the cover of the ark. He must sprinkle some in front of the cover. He must do it seven times.
“Then Aaron must kill the goat for the sin offering for the people. He must take its blood behind the curtain. There he must do the same thing with it as he did with the bull’s blood. He must sprinkle it on the cover of the ark. He must also sprinkle some in front of it. That is how he will make the Most Holy Room pure. He must do it because the Israelites are not ‘clean.’ They have not obeyed me. They have also committed other sins. Aaron must do the same for the tent of meeting because it stands in the middle of the camp. And the camp is ‘unclean.’ Aaron will go into the Most Holy Room to pay for the people’s sin. While Aaron is there, no one may be in the tent of meeting. No one may enter the tent until Aaron comes out. He will not come out until he has paid for his own sin and the sin of his whole family. He will not come out until he has also paid for the sin of the whole community of Israel.
“Then he will come out to the altar for burnt offerings. It is in front of the tent where the ark of the Lord is. He will make the altar pure and clean. He will take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood. Then he will put the blood on all the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar. He will sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times. He will do it to make the altar pure. He will do it to set it apart from the Israelites. They are ‘unclean.’
“Aaron will finish making the Most Holy Room pure and ‘clean.’ He will finish making the tent of meeting and the altar pure. Then he will bring out the live goat. He must place both of his hands on its head. While he does that, he must tell me about all the sins the Israelites have committed. He must tell me about all their evil acts and the times they did not obey me. In that way he puts their sins on the goat’s head. Then he will send the goat away into the desert. The goat will be led away by a man appointed to do it. The goat will carry all their sins on itself to a place where there are no people. And the man will set the goat free in the desert.
“Then Aaron must go into the tent of meeting. He must take off the linen clothes he put on before he entered the Most Holy Room. He must leave them there. He must take a bath in the holy area. And he must put on his regular clothes. Then he will come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself. He will also sacrifice the burnt offering for the people. That will pay for his own sin and the people’s sin. He will also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
“The man who sets free the goat that carries the people’s sins away must wash his clothes. He must take a bath. After that, he can come back into the camp. The bull and the goat for the sin offerings must be taken outside the camp. Their blood was brought into the Most Holy Room. It paid for sin. The hides, meat and guts of the animals must be burned up. The man who burns them must wash his clothes. He must take a bath. After that, he can come back into the camp.
“Here is a law for you that will last for all time to come. On the tenth day of the seventh month you must not eat anything. You must not do any work. It does not matter whether you are Israelites or outsiders. On that day your sin will be paid for. You will be made pure and clean. You will be clean from all your sins in my sight. That day is a sabbath for you. You must rest on it. You must not eat anything on that day. This is a law that will last for all time to come. The high priest must pay for sin. He must make everything pure and clean. He has been anointed and prepared to become the next high priest after his father. He must put on the sacred clothes that are made out of linen. He must make the Most Holy Room, the tent of meeting and the altar pure. And he must pay for the sin of the priests and all the members of the community.
“Here is a law for you that will last for all time to come. Once a year you must pay for all the sin of the Israelites.”
So it was done, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
