21“But if he is poor and his means are insufficient, then he is to take one male lamb for a guilt offering as a wave offering to make atonement for him, and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and a log of oil, 22and two turtledoves or two young pigeons which are within his means, the one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. 23“Then the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, at the doorway of the tent of meeting, before the LORD. 24“The priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall offer them for a wave offering before the LORD. 25“Next he shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering; and the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 26“The priest shall also pour some of the oil into his left palm; 27and with his right-hand finger the priest shall sprinkle some of the oil that is in his left palm seven times before the LORD. 28“The priest shall then put some of the oil that is in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the guilt offering. 29“Moreover, the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s palm he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement on his behalf before the LORD. 30“He shall then offer one of the turtledoves or young pigeons, which are within his means. 31“He shall offer what he can afford, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the one to be cleansed. 32“This is the law for him in whom there is an infection of leprosy, whose means are limited for his cleansing.”

Cleansing a Leprous House

      33The LORD further spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying:

      34“When you enter the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a mark of leprosy on a house in the land of your possession, 35then the one who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘Something like a mark of leprosy has become visible to me in the house.’ 36“The priest shall then command that they empty the house before the priest goes in to look at the mark, so that everything in the house need not become unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to look at the house. 37“So he shall look at the mark, and if the mark on the walls of the house has greenish or reddish depressions and appears deeper than the surface, 38then the priest shall come out of the house, to the doorway, and quarantine the house for seven days. 39“The priest shall return on the seventh day and make an inspection. If the mark has indeed spread in the walls of the house, 40then the priest shall order them to tear out the stones with the mark in them and throw them away at an unclean place outside the city. 41“He shall have the house scraped all around inside, and they shall dump the plaster that they scrape off at an unclean place outside the city. 42“Then they shall take other stones and replace those stones, and he shall take other plaster and replaster the house.

      43“If, however, the mark breaks out again in the house after he has torn out the stones and scraped the house, and after it has been replastered, 44then the priest shall come in and make an inspection. If he sees that the mark has indeed spread in the house, it is a malignant mark in the house; it is unclean. 45“He shall therefore tear down the house, its stones, and its timbers, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall take them outside the city to an unclean place. 46“Moreover, whoever goes into the house during the time that he has quarantined it, becomes unclean until evening. 47“Likewise, whoever lies down in the house shall wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes.

      48“If, on the other hand, the priest comes in and makes an inspection and the mark has not indeed spread in the house after the house has been replastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean because the mark has not reappeared. 49“To cleanse the house then, he shall take two birds and cedar wood and a scarlet string and hyssop, 50and he shall slaughter the one bird in an earthenware vessel over running water. 51“Then he shall take the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet string, with the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird as well as in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52“He shall thus cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the running water, along with the live bird and with the cedar wood and with the hyssop and with the scarlet string. 53“However, he shall let the live bird go free outside the city into the open field. So he shall make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.”

      54This is the law for any mark of leprosy—even for a scale, 55and for the leprous garment or house, 56and for a swelling, and for a scab, and for a bright spot— 57to teach when they are unclean and when they are clean. This is the law of leprosy.

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"The priest shall next offer the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Then afterward, he shall slaughter the burnt offering.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
The priest will also sacrifice the offering for sin to make peace with the LORD for the one who is being cleansed from his impurity. After that, he will slaughter the burnt offering.

King James Bible
And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering:

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he shall pray for him before the Lord, and shall offer the sacrifice for sin: then shall he immolate the holocaust,

Darby Bible Translation
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.

English Revised Version
And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement for him that is to be cleansed because of his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering:

Webster's Bible Translation
And the priest shall offer the sin-offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt-offering.

World English Bible
"The priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed because of his uncleanness: and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering;

Young's Literal Translation
'And the priest hath made the sin-offering, and hath made atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness, and afterwards he doth slaughter the burnt-offering;

Cross References

Leviticus 14:12 "Then the priest shall take the one male lamb and bring it for a guilt offering, with the log of oil, and present them as a wave offering before the LORD.

Leviticus 14:14 "The priest shall then take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.

Leviticus 15:15 and the priest shall offer them, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the LORD because of his discharge.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

Verses 10-20

Observe, I. To complete the purification of the leper, on the eighth day, after the former solemnity performed without the camp, and, as it should seem, before he returned to his own habitation, he was to attend at the door of the tabernacle, and was there to be presented to the Lord, with his offering, v. 11. Observe here, 1. That the mercies of God oblige us to present ourselves to him, Rom. 12:1. 2. When God has restored us to the liberty of ordinances again, after restraint by sickness, distance, or otherwise, we should take the first opportunity of testifying our respect to God, and our affection to his sanctuary, by a diligent improvement of the liberty we are restored to. When Christ had healed the impotent man, he soon after found him in the temple, Jn. 5:14. When Hezekiah asks, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord? he means, "What is the sign that I shall recover?" intimating that if God restored him his health, so that he should be able to go abroad, the house of the Lord should be the first place he would go to. 3. When we present ourselves before the Lord we must present our offerings, devoting to God with ourselves all we have and can do. 4. Both we and our offerings must be presented before the Lord by the priest that made us clean, even our Lord Jesus, else neither we nor they can be accepted.

II. Three lambs the cleansed leper was to bring, with a meat-offering, and a log of oil, which was about half a pint. Now, 1. Most of the ceremony peculiar to this case was about the trespass-offering, the lamb for which was offered first, v. 12. And, besides the usual rites with which the trespass-offering was offered, some of the blood was to be put upon the ear, and thumb, and great toe, of the leper that was to be cleansed (v. 14), the very same ceremony that was used in the consecration of the priests, ch. 8:23, 24. It was a mortification to them to see the same purification necessary for them that was for a leper. The Jews say that the leper stood without the gate of the tabernacle and the priest within, and thus the ceremony was performed through the gate, signifying that now he was admitted with other Israelites to attend in the courts of the Lord's house again, and was as welcome as ever; though he had been a leper, and though perhaps the name might stick by him as long as he lived (as we read of one who probably was cleansed by our Lord Jesus, who yet afterwards is called Simon the leper, Mt. 26:6), yet he was as freely admitted as ever to communion with God and man. After the blood of the offering had been put with the priest's finger upon the extremities of the body, to include the whole, some of the oil that he brought, which was first waved and then sprinkled before the Lord, was in like manner put in the same places upon the blood. "The blood" (says the learned bishop Patrick) "seems to have been a token of forgiveness, the oil of healing," for God first forgiveth our iniquities and then healeth our diseases, Ps. 103:3. See Isa. 38:17. Wherever the blood of Christ is applied for justification the oil of the Spirit is applied for sanctification; for these two are inseparable and both necessary to our acceptance with God. Nor shall our former leprosy, if it be healed by repentance, be any bar to these glorious privileges. Cleansed lepers are as welcome to the blood and the oil as consecrated priests. Such were some of you, but you are washed. When the leper was sprinkled the water must have blood in it (v. 5), when he was anointed the oil must have blood under it, to signify that all the graces and comforts of the Spirit, all his purifying dignifying influences, are owing to the death of Christ: it is by his blood alone that we are sanctified. 2. Besides this there must be a sin-offering and a burnt-offering, a lamb for each, v. 19, 20. By each of these offerings, it is said, the priests shall make atonement for him. (1.) His moral guilt shall be removed; the sin for which the leprosy was sent shall be pardoned, and all the sins he had been guilty of in his afflicted state. Note, The removal of any outward trouble is then doubly comfortable to us when at the same time God gives us some assurance of the forgiveness of our sins. If we receive the atonement, we have reason to rejoice, Rom. 5:11. (2.) His ceremonial pollution shall be removed, which had kept him from the participation of the holy things. And this is called making an atonement for him, because our restoration to the privileges of God's children, typified hereby, is owing purely to the great propitiation. When the atonement is made for him he shall be clean, both to his own satisfaction and to his reputation among his neighbours; he shall retrieve both his credit and his comfort, and both these true penitents become entitled to, both ease and honour, by their interest in the atonement. The burnt-offering, besides the atonement that was made by it, was a thankful acknowledgment of God's mercy to him: and the more immediate the hand of God was both in the sickness and in the cure the more reason he had thus to give glory to him, and thus, as our Saviour speaks (Mk. 1:44), to offer for his cleansing all those things which Moses commanded for a testimony unto them.

Calvin's Commentary

1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

1. Et loquuntus est Jehova ad Mosen, dicendo:

2. This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:

2. Hace erit lex leprosi die pugationis suae, nempe adducetur ad sacerdtem.

3. And the priest shall go forth out of the camp: and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;

3. Et egredietur sacerdos foras extra castra, dg inspiciet sacerdos: et su sanata fuerit lepra a leproso;

4. Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar-wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:

4. Tunc praecipiet scerdos ut tollantur ei qui mundatur dae aves vivae, mundae, et lignum cedrinum, et coccus vermiculi, et hyssopus.

5. And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:

5. Et praecipiet sacerdos ut mactetur avis una super vas fictile super aquas vivas.

6. As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar-wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:

6. Avem vivam tollet, et lignum cedrinum, et cuccum vermiculi, et hyssopum: et tinget illa, et avem vivam in sanguine avis mactatae super aquas vivas.

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.

7. Et sparget super eum qui mundatur a lepra septem vicibus, mundabitque emu: et emitet avem vivam in superficiem agri.

8. And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.

8. Et lavabit qui emundatur vestimenta sua, et radet omnem ilum suum, lavabitque se aqua, et mundus erit: postea ingredietur castra, habitabitque extra tabernaculum suum septem diebus.

9. But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head, and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his cloathes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.

9. Die autem septimo radet omnem pilum suum, caput suum, et barbam suam, et supercilia oculorum suorum, atque omnem reliquum pilum summ radet: lavbit quoque vestimenta sua, postquam laverit carnem suam aqua, et purificabit se.

10. And on the eighth day he shall take two he-lambs without blemish, and one ewe-lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth-deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.

10. Die autem octavo tallet duos agnos immaculatos, et agnam unam anniculam immaculatam, et tres decimas mixturae minha mixta oleao, et sextarium unum olei.

11. And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:

11. Statuetque sacerdos qui mundat virum mundandum, et illa coram Jehova ad ostium tabernaculi conventionis.

12. And the priest shall take one he-lamb, and offer him for a trespass-offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord:

12. Tolletque sacerdos agnum unum quem offert in sacrificium pro delicto, et sextarium olei, et agitabit ea agitatione coram Jehova.

13. And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin-offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin-offering is the priest's, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy:

13. Mactabitque agmnu in loco in quo mactare solet oblationem pro peccato, et holocaustum nempe in loco sanctitatis: quia sicut hostia pro peccato, ita oblatio pro delicto, est sacerdotis, sanctitas sanctitatum est.

14. And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall 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 upon the great toe of his right foot:

14. Accipietque sacerdos de sanguine oblationis pro delicto, et ponet super tenerum auris mundandi dextrae, et super pollicem manus ejus dextrae, et super pollicem pedis ejus dextri.

15. And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand:

15. Accipiet praeterea sacerdos de sextario olei, et fundet in manum suam sinistram.

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 the Lord:

16. Tingetque ipse digitum suum dextrum in oleum quod est in manu sua sinistra, spargetque de oleo digito suo septem vicibus coram Jehova.

17. And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering:

17. De residuo vero olei quod in manu sua ponet sacerdos super tenerum auris mundandi dextrae, et super pollicem manus ejus dextrae, et super pollicem pedis ejus dextri, ultra sanguinem oblationis pro delicto.

18. And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord.

18. Quod autem superest de oleo quod est in manu ejus, ponet super caput mundandi: expiabitque eum sacerdos coram Jehova.

19. And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering:

19. Faciet item sacerdos oblationem pro peccato, emundabitque mundandum ab immunditia sua, et postea mactabit holocaustum.

20. And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

20. Et ascendere faciet sacerdos holocaustum et minham super altare expiabitque eum sacerdos, et mundus erit.

21. And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth-deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil;

21. Si autem pauper fuerit, et manus ejus non possit assequi, tum accipiet agnum unum in hostiam pro delicto in elevationem ad expiandum illum, et decimam partem similae unam permistam oleo pro minha, sextariumque olei.

22. And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.

22. Duos praeterea turtures, aut duos filios columbae, quodcunque apprehendere poterit manus ejus: eritque unus in hostiam pro pecccato, et alter pro holocausto.

23. And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord.

23. Afferetque ea octavo die purificationis suae ad sacerdotem, ad ostium tabernaculi conventionis coram Jehova.

24. And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord:

24. Suscipietque sacerdos agnum oblationis pro delicto, et sextarium olei, atque agitabit ea sacerdos elevationem coram Jehova.

25. And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some 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 upon the great toe of his right foot:

25. Mactabitque agnum oblationis pro delicto, ac tollet sacerdos de sanguine oblationis pro delicto, ponetque super tenerum auris mundandi dextrin, et super pollicem manus ejus dextrae, et super pollicem pedis ejus dextri.

26. And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand:

26. De oleo quoque fundet sacerdos in manum suam sinistram.

27. And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord:

27. Spargetque sacerdos digito suo dextro de oleo quod est in manu sua sinistra septem vicibus coram Jehova.

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 upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering:

28. Ponet quoque sacerdos de oleo quod est in manu sua super tenerum auris emundandi dextrae, et super pollicem manus ejus dextrae, et super pollicem pedis ejus dextri, in loco sanguinis oblationis pro delicto.

29. And the rest 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 an atonement for him before the Lord.

29. Quod autem superest de oleo quod est in manu sacerdotis, ponet super caput emundandi ad emun-dandum illum coram Jehova.

30. And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get;

30. Faciet item unum de turturibus, vel ex pullis columbarum, ex iis quae apprehenderit manus ejus.

31. Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other. for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the Lord.

31. Quod inquam apprehenderit manus ejus, faciet unum pro peccato, et alterum in holocaustum cum minha, emundabitque sacerdos mundaudum coram Jehova.

32. This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.

32. Ita est lex ejus in quo fuerat plaga leprae, cujus manus non poterat apprehendere mundationem sui.

33. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

33. Et loquutus est Jehova ad Mosen et Aharon, dicendo:

34. When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;

34. Quum ingressi fueritis terram Chanaan, quam ego do vobis in possessionem, et posuero plagam leprae in domo terrae possessionis vestrae:

35. And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house:

35. Veniet ille cujus erit domus, renuuntiabitque sacerdoti, dicendo,. Tanquam plaga leprae visa est mihi in domo.

36. Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house:

36. Tunc praecipiet sacerdos, et expurgabunt domum antequam ingrediatur sacerdos, ut dispiciat plagam, ne polluatur quicquam quod sit in ea domo: et postea ingredietur sacerdos ad contemplandam domum

37. And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall;

37. Tunc considerabit plagam ipsam: et siquidem in plaga quae est in parietibus domus, fuerint nigredines, flavedines, vel rubedines: et aspectus eorum fuerit depressior reliquo pariete:

38. Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days:

38. Egredietur sacerdos e domo ad ostium domus, et claudet domum septem diebus.

39. And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house;

39. Postea revertetur sacerdos die septimo, et contemplabitur: et siquidem creverit plaga in parietibus domus,

40. Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city:

40. Tunc praecipiet sacerdos, et eruent lapides in quibus fuerit plaga illa, projicientque illos extra civitatem in locum immundum:

41. And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:

41. Domum autem radere jubebit intrinsecus per circuitum, et effundent pulveremquem abraserint extra civitatem in locum immundum.

42. And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other morter, and shall plaister the house.

42. Et accipient lapides altos quos reponent loco lapidum illorum, et latum aliud capient, et complanabunt domum.

43. And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered;

43. Quod si reversa fuerit plaga, et effloreat in illa domo postquam erui fecit lapides, et abradi domum, et posteaquam obducta fuit:

44. Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean.

44. Tunc ingredietur sacerdos, et considerabit: et siquidem creverit plaga in domo, lepra corrodens est ipsa in domo, immunda est.

45. And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.

45. Destruetque domum, et lapides ejus, et ligna ejus, atque universum lutum domus, educetque extra civitatem in locum immundum.

46. Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even.

46. Qui autem ingressus fuerit domum illam omnibus diebus quibus jusserit earn claudi, immundus erit usque ad vesperam.

47. And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.

47. Et qui dormierit in ea domo, lavabit vestimenta sua: quique comederit in domo, lavabit vestimenta sua.

48. And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.

48. Si autem ingrediendo ingressus fuerit sacerdos: contemplatusque viderit non crevisse plagam in ipsa domo, postquam ipsa obducta fuit: mundam judicabit sacerdos domum, quia sanata sit plaga illa.

49. And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:

49. Tollet itaque ad purificandam domum duos passeres, et lignum cedrinum, et coccum vermiculi, ct hyssopum.

50. And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water:

50. Mactabitque passerera unum super vas fictile, super aquas vivas.

51. And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times:

51. Capietque lignum cedrinum, et hyssopum, et coccum vermiculi, et passerem vivum, et tinget illa in sanguine passeris mactati, et in aqua vivente: aspergetque domum septem vicibus.

52. And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet:

52. Purificabitque domum illam sanguine passeris, et aqua viva, et passere vivo, lignoque cedrino, et hyssopo, et cocco vermiculi.

53. But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.

53. Postea dimittet passerem vivum extra civitatem super faciem agri, purgabitque domum, et munda erit.

54. This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall,

54. Ista est lex omnis plagae leprae, et maculae nigrae,

55. And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house,

55. Et leprae vestis, et domus,

56. And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot:

56. Et tumoris, et scabiei, et candentis maculae:

57. To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.

57. Ad docendum quid agendum, quo die immundus et quo die mundus declarandus est.

2 This shall be the law of the leper. Moses now treats of the manner in which those who were cured of leprosy were to be cleansed and restored. Thus far he had shewn whom the priest was to admit into the holy congregation, and account to be clean; he now prescribes the rite of expiation, whereby the people might learn how greatly God abominates the uncleanness, which He commands to be purified by a solemn propitiation; and also that he who is healed may acknowledge that he is rescued from death by God's special blessing, and may in future be more diligent in seeking to be pure. For there were two parts in the sacrifice here demanded-purification and thanksgiving. But we must ever keep in view the object which I have stated in the last chapter, that the Israelites were instructed by this ceremony to serve God in chastity and purity, and to keep far away from those defilements, whereby religion would be profaned. Since, then, leprosy was a kind of pollution, God was unwilling that those who were cured of it should be received into the holy congregation, [13] except after the offering of a sacrifice; as if the priest reconciled them after excommunication. It will now be well to discuss the points which are worthy of consideration. The office of cleansing is imposed on the priest; yet he is at the same time forbidden to cleanse any except those who were already pure and clean. In this, on the one hand, God claims for Himself the honor of the cure, lest men should assume it; and also establishes the discipline which He would have to reign in His Church. To make the matter clearer, it belongs to God only to forgive sins; what, then, remains to man, except to be the witness and herald of the grace which He confers? God's minister can, therefore, absolve none whom God has not before absolved. In sum, absolution is not in the power or will of man: the minister only sustains an inferior part, to endorse God's judgment, or rather to proclaim God's sentence. Hence that remarkable expression of Isaiah, "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions, O Israel, and none but me." [14] (Isaiah 43:25.) In which sense, too, God everywhere promises by the prophets that the people shall be clean, when He shall have cleansed them. Meanwhile, however, this does not prevent those who are called to the office of teaching from purging the uncleanness of the people in a certain peculiar way. For, since faith alone purifies the heart, in so far as it receives the testimony which God proffers by the mouth of man, the minister who testifies that we are reconciled to God, is justly reckoned to take away our pollution. This expiation is still in force, though the ceremony has long ceased to be in use. But, since the spiritual healing, which we receive by faith, proceeds from the mere grace of God, the ministry of man does not at all detract from His glory. Let us, then, remember that these two things are perfectly consistent with each other, that God is the sole author of our purity; and yet that the method, which He uses for our justification, must not on that account be neglected. And this is properly referred to discipline, that whosoever has been once cast out of the holy congregation by public authority, must not be received again except upon professing penitence and a new life. We must observe, too, that this jurisdiction was given to the priests not only on the ground that they represented Christ, but also in respect to the ministry, which we have in common with them.

3 And the priest shall go forth. This is the examination, which was more fully treated of in the last chapter, without which it was not lawful to receive him who had been once rejected. The priest's command, which is mentioned immediately afterwards, I refer to the Levites, some one of whom probably accompanied the priest to prepare the sacrifice, that thus the priests might only discharge the principal duty. The sum of the rite respecting the two birds tends to this, that the cleansing from leprosy was a kind of resurrection Two birds were placed before their eyes; the liberty of one was purchased by the blood of the other; because the former was not let go until it had been first dipped in the blood and the water; and thus the matter of sprinkling was prepared for the man's purification. The sevenfold repetition was intended to impress more deeply on men's memories a continual meditation on God's grace; for we know that by this number perfection is often expressed in Scripture. With the same object, he who had been cured shaved his hair, and washed in water. Yet he did not return home on the first day, but on the eighth. Meantime, on the seventh day he shaved his beard, and his eyebrows, and all the hair of his head; he washed himself and his garments, and then proceeded to the sacrifice. So difficult is it to accustom men to a serious acknowledgment of the two points, to hold their vice in detestation, and worthily to estimate the grace of God whereby they are delivered.

10. And on the eighth. As infants on the eighth day after they were cleansed from the uncleanness which they had brought from the womb, were grafted into the Church, and made members of it; so now the eighth day is prescribed for the restoration of those who, in the cure that they have received, are as it were born again; for they are accounted dead whom the leprosy had banished from the holy congregation. A sacrifice is therefore appointed which may renew the circumcision that had been in some measure effaced. Now, the meaning of all the things here mentioned is not clear to myself, and I would not have my readers too curious respecting them. Some may be probably accounted for; the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot, were sprinkled with the blood of the offering, because the leper was restored to the ordinary habits and customs of life, so as to have freedom of walk and action, and free conversational intercourse; for in the ear there is a mutual correspondence between speaking and hearing. The head is anointed, or cleansed with the oil, that nothing impure should remain in his whole body [15] God spare the poor and lowly, and does not compel them to offer the two lambs, lest they should be burdened beyond their means; whence it appears, that sacrifices are not estimated according to their intrinsic value, but according to the pious feeling which disposes each on liberally to offer in proportion to what is given him.

34. When ye be come into the land. Another sort of leprosy is here treated of, as to which we may not unreasonably rejoice that it is now unknown to us. But, as God had honored that people with extraordinary privileges, so it was consistent that their ingratitude should be punished by more severe penalties, if they defiled the gifts in which they excelled. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that punishments were inflicted upon them, which it fills us with surprise and horror to hear of. It was a sad sight to behold the leprosy invading the human body; but there was something portentous to perceive it affecting their houses also, and driving out the owners and their families; for if they wittingly and voluntarily remained there, the contagion spread to themselves and all their furniture. But, since God marked with public ignominy those whose houses were struck with leprosy, He commands them to confess their guilt, and not only when the evil had made much advance, but when any suspicion of it had begun to exist. It appears, too, from the Law, that some were but lightly chastised: for, if after the priest's inspection, in seven days the plague did not increase on the scraped walls, the possessor returned to his house. God punished others more severely, and it was necessary that the building should be utterly destroyed, because the pollution was incurable. But, although these were tokens of God's wrath, yet, inexpiating the uncleanness, He exercised His people in the study of purity; for it was just as if He drove away from approaching His sanctuary those who came from an unclean house. The sense, then, was that. they should each of them diligently endeavor to keep their houses pure, and chaste, and free from every stain. But if, through God's mercy, the plague ceased, a sacrifice of thanksgiving was to be offered, as for the human beings (who had been healed.) The next chapter, in which general pollutions and their purifications are not treated of, but only one kind of pollution is glanced at, which has reference to fleshly lust, would perhaps be suitably introduced under the Seventh Commandment; but it will presently appear from the context that it must be brought under this head.

Footnotes:

[13] "Rentrassent au rang de ses enfans;" should be restored to the rank of His children. -- Fr.

[14] The words in italics seem to be added paraphrastically by C.

[15] Addition in French, "mais d'esplucher tout par le menu, je ne l'oserois entrependre, et ne voundrois;" but I dare not, and would not undertake to explain the whole in detail.

Footnotes:

[12] Heading added from Fr., "De la purgation des lepreux."

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Alphabetical: After afterward and atonement be burnt cleansed for from he his is make next offer offering one priest sacrifice shall sin slaughter that the Then to uncleanness

Bible Browser

The First Stage in the Leper's Cleansing
'And the Lord spake unto 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 forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; 4. Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar-wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: 5. And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Appendix xv. The Location of Sychar, and the Date of Our Lord's visit to Samaria.
1. The Location of Sychar. Although modern writers are now mostly agreed on this subject, it may be well briefly to put before our readers the facts of the case. Till comparitively lately, the Sychar of St. John iv. was generally as representing the ancient Shechem. The first difficulty here was the name, since Shechem, or even Sichem, could scarcely be identified with Sychar, which is undoubtedly the correct reading. Accordingly, the latter term was represented as one of oppobrium, and derived from …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Jesus Sets Out from Judæa for Galilee.
Subdivision B. At Jacob's Well, and at Sychar. ^D John IV. 5-42. ^d 5 So he cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 and Jacob's well was there. [Commentators long made the mistake of supposing that Shechem, now called Nablous, was the town here called Sychar. Sheckem lies a mile and a half west of Jacob's well, while the real Sychar, now called 'Askar, lies scarcely half a mile north of the well. It was a small town, loosely called …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus Heals a Leper and Creates Much Excitement.
^A Matt.VIII. 2-4; ^B Mark I. 40-45; ^C Luke V. 12-16. ^c 12 And it came to pass, while he was in one of the cities [it was a city of Galilee, but as it was not named, it is idle to conjecture which city it was], behold, ^b there cometh { ^a came} ^b to him a leper [There is much discussion as to what is here meant by leprosy. Two diseases now go by that name; viz., psoriasis and elephantiasis. There are also three varieties of psoriasis, namely, white, black and red. There are also three varieties …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

John's First Testimony to Jesus.
(Bethany Beyond Jordan, February, a.d. 27.) ^D John I. 19-34. ^d 19 And this is the witness of John [John had been sent to testify, "and" this is the matter of his testimony], when the Jews [The term "Jews" is used seventy times by John to describe the ruling classes of Judæa] sent unto him [In thus sending an embassy they honored John more than they ever honored Christ. They looked upon John as a priest and Judæan, but upon Jesus as a carpenter and Galilæan. It is probable that …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

John the Baptist's Person and Preaching.
(in the Wilderness of Judæa, and on the Banks of the Jordan, Occupying Several Months, Probably a.d. 25 or 26.) ^A Matt. III. 1-12; ^B Mark I. 1-8; ^C Luke III. 1-18. ^b 1 The beginning of the gospel [John begins his Gospel from eternity, where the Word is found coexistent with God. Matthew begins with Jesus, the humanly generated son of Abraham and David, born in the days of Herod the king. Luke begins with the birth of John the Baptist, the Messiah's herald; and Mark begins with the ministry …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Leviticus
The emphasis which modern criticism has very properly laid on the prophetic books and the prophetic element generally in the Old Testament, has had the effect of somewhat diverting popular attention from the priestly contributions to the literature and religion of Israel. From this neglect Leviticus has suffered most. Yet for many reasons it is worthy of close attention; it is the deliberate expression of the priestly mind of Israel at its best, and it thus forms a welcome foil to the unattractive …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament