红母牛的灰
1耶和华对摩西和亚伦说： 2“要吩咐以色列人遵行我颁布的以下律法条例。
“以色列人要牵来一头毫无残疾、从未负过轭的红母牛。 3你们要把牛交给以利亚撒祭司，然后牵到营外，当着他的面把牛宰了。 4以利亚撒祭司要用指头蘸牛血，向会幕前面弹七次。 5然后，要当着他的面焚烧红母牛，牛的皮、肉、血和粪都要烧掉。 6祭司要把香柏木、牛膝草、朱红色线扔进烧牛的火里。 7之后，祭司要洗衣沐浴，才能回营，但要等到傍晚才能洁净。 8负责烧牛的人也要洗衣、沐浴，并且要等到傍晚才能洁净。 9要由洁净的人把红母牛灰收起来，放在营外洁净的地方，用于给以色列会众制作除秽水，作除罪之用。 10收起牛灰的人也要洗净衣服，等到傍晚才能洁净。以色列人和寄居的外族人都要永远遵行这定例。
11“碰过尸体的人，七天不洁净。 12他要在第三天和第七天用除秽水自洁，才能洁净，否则就不能洁净。 13若有人碰过尸体却不自洁，他就玷污了耶和华的圣幕，要将他从以色列人中铲除，因为除秽水没有洒在他身上，污秽还留在他身上。 14若有人死在帐篷里，当时走进帐篷的或在场的人都七天不洁净。 15帐篷里没有盖的敞口器皿都不洁净。 16人若在野外碰过被杀或自然死亡之人的尸体，或碰过死人的骸骨或坟墓，就七天不洁净。 17要拿些除罪用的红母牛灰，放在器皿里，倒上清水， 18然后由洁净的人拿牛膝草蘸这水洒在帐篷及里面所有的人和器具上，也要洒在碰过骸骨、坟墓、被杀者尸体或自然死亡者尸体的人身上。 19要由洁净的人在第三天和第七天把水洒在不洁净的人身上。到第七天，接受洁净礼的人要洗衣、沐浴，等到傍晚才能洁净。 20若有人沾了污秽却没有用除秽水自洁，他就不洁净，要将他从会众中铲除，因为他玷污了耶和华的圣所。 21你们要永远遵行这定例。洒除秽水的人要洗净衣服。碰过除秽水的人要等到傍晚才能洁净。 22不洁净的人碰过的东西都不洁净，碰过这些东西的人傍晚之前都不洁净。”
The Special Water That Makes People “Clean”
1The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, 2“Here is what the law I have commanded requires. Tell the Israelites to bring you a young red cow. It must not have any flaws at all. It must never have pulled a load. 3Give it to Eleazar the priest. It must be taken outside the camp and killed in front of him. 4Then Eleazar the priest must put some of its blood on his finger. He must sprinkle the blood toward the front of the tent of meeting. He must do it seven times. 5While he watches, the young cow must be burned. Its hide, meat, blood and guts must be burned. 6The priest must get some cedar wood, branches of a hyssop plant, and bright red wool. He must throw them on the young cow as it burns. 7After that, the priest must wash his clothes. He must also take a bath. Then he can come into the camp. But he will be ‘unclean’ until evening. 8The man who burns the young cow must wash his clothes. He must also take a bath. He too will be ‘unclean’ until evening.
9“A man who is ‘clean’ will gather up the ashes of the young cow. He must put them in a place that is ‘clean.’ The place must be outside the camp. The ashes must be kept by the community of Israel. They will be added to the special water. The water will be used to make people pure from their sin. 10The man who gathers up the ashes of the young cow must wash his clothes. He too will be ‘unclean’ until evening. This law is for the Israelites. It is also for the outsiders living among them. The law will last for all time to come.
11“Anyone who touches a dead person’s body will be ‘unclean’ for seven days. 12They must make themselves pure and ‘clean’ with the special water. They must do it on the third day. They must also do it on the seventh day. Then they will be ‘clean.’ But suppose they do not make themselves pure and ‘clean’ on the third and seventh days. Then they will not be ‘clean.’ 13Anyone who touches a dead person’s body and does not make themselves pure and ‘clean’ makes my holy tent ‘unclean.’ They must be separated from Israel. The special water has not been sprinkled on them. So they are ‘unclean.’ And they remain ‘unclean.’
14“Here is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent. Anyone who enters the tent will be ‘unclean’ for seven days. Anyone in the tent will also be ‘unclean’ for seven days. 15And anything in it that is open and has no lid will be ‘unclean.’
16“Suppose someone is out in the country. And suppose they touch someone who has been killed by a sword. Or they touch someone who has died a natural death. Or they touch a human bone or a grave. Then anyone who touches any of those things will be ‘unclean’ for seven days.
17“Here is what I want you to do for someone who is ‘unclean.’ Put some ashes from the burned young cow into a jar. Pour fresh water on the ashes. 18Then a man who is ‘clean’ must dip branches of a hyssop plant in the water. He must sprinkle the tent with it. Everything that belongs to the tent must be sprinkled with it. The people in the tent must also be sprinkled. Anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave must be sprinkled. So must anyone who has touched someone who has been killed. And so must anyone who has touched someone who has died a natural death. 19The man who is ‘clean’ must sprinkle those who are ‘unclean.’ That must be done on the third and seventh days. On the seventh day those who are ‘unclean’ must be made pure and ‘clean.’ Those being made ‘clean’ must wash their clothes. They must take a bath. Then that evening they will be ‘clean.’ 20But what if those who are ‘unclean’ do not make themselves pure and ‘clean?’ Then they must be separated from the community. They have made my holy tent ‘unclean.’ The special water has not been sprinkled on them. They are ‘unclean.’ 21This law will apply to all those people for all time to come.
“The man who sprinkles the special water must also wash his clothes. Anyone who touches the water will be ‘unclean’ until evening. 22Anything that an ‘unclean’ person touches becomes ‘unclean.’ And anyone who touches it becomes ‘unclean’ until evening.”
