Leviticus 19

Leviticus 18

Leviticus 18

Forbidden Sexual Practices

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. I am the Lord your God. ³ So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. ⁴ You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the Lord your God.⁵ If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the Lord.

⁶ “You must never have sexual relations with a close relative, for I am the Lord.

⁷ “Do not violate your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her.

⁸ “Do not have sexual relations with any of your father’s wives, for this would violate your father.

⁹ “Do not have sexual relations with your sister or half sister, whether she is your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born into your household or someone else’s.

¹⁰ “Do not have sexual relations with your granddaughter, whether she is your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for this would violate yourself.

¹¹ “Do not have sexual relations with your stepsister, the daughter of any of your father’s wives, for she is your sister.

¹² “Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister, for she is your father’s close relative.

¹³ “Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s close relative.

¹⁴ “Do not violate your uncle, your father’s brother, by having sexual relations with his wife, for she is your aunt.

¹⁵ “Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife, so you must not have sexual relations with her.

¹⁶ “Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife, for this would violate your brother.

¹⁷ “Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. And do not take^[a] her granddaughter, whether her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, and have sexual relations with her. They are close relatives, and this would be a wicked act.

¹⁸ “While your wife is living, do not marry her sister and have sexual relations with her, for they would be rivals.

¹⁹ “Do not have sexual relations with a woman during her period of menstrual impurity.

²⁰ “Do not defile yourself by having sexual intercourse with your neighbor’s wife.

²¹ “Do not permit any of your children to be offered as a sacrifice to Molech, for you must not bring shame on the name of your God. I am the Lord.

²² “Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin.

²³ “A man must not defile himself by having sex with an animal. And a woman must not offer herself to a male animal to have intercourse with it. This is a perverse act.

²⁴ “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for the people I am driving out before you have defiled themselves in all these ways. ²⁵ Because the entire land has become defiled, I am punishing the people who live there. I will cause the land to vomit them out. ²⁶ You must obey all my decrees and regulations. You must not commit any of these detestable sins. This applies both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you.

²⁷ “All these detestable activities are practiced by the people of the land where I am taking you, and this is how the land has become defiled. ²⁸ So do not defile the land and give it a reason to vomit you out, as it will vomit out the people who live there now. ²⁹ Whoever commits any of these detestable sins will be cut off from the community of Israel. ³⁰ So obey my instructions, and do not defile yourselves by committing any of these detestable practices that were committed by the people who lived in the land before you. I am the Lord your God.”

Leviticus 16

Leviticus 16  The Day of Atonement

1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons, who died after they entered the Lord’s presence and burned the wrong kind of fire before him. ² The Lord said to Moses, “Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover.

³ “When Aaron enters the sanctuary area, he must follow these instructions fully. He must bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. ⁴ He must put on his linen tunic and the linen undergarments worn next to his body. He must tie the linen sash around his waist and put the linen turban on his head. These are sacred garments, so he must bathe himself in water before he puts them on. ⁵ Aaron must take from the community of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

⁶ “Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the Lord.^[a] 7 Then he must take the two male goats and present them to the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle.^[b] 8 He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the Lord and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel. ⁹ Aaron will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the Lord. ¹⁰ The other goat, the scapegoat chosen by lot to be sent away, will be kept alive, standing before the Lord. When it is sent away to Azazel in the wilderness, the people will be purified and made right with the Lord.^[c]

¹¹ “Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the Lord. After he has slaughtered the bull as a sin offering, ¹² he will fill an incense burner with burning coals from the altar that stands before the Lord. Then he will take two handfuls of fragrant powdered incense and will carry the burner and the incense behind the inner curtain. ¹³ There in the Lord’s presence he will put the incense on the burning coals so that a cloud of incense will rise over the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant.^[d] If he follows these instructions, he will not die. ¹⁴ Then he must take some of the blood of the bull, dip his finger in it, and sprinkle it on the east side of the atonement cover. He must sprinkle blood seven times with his finger in front of the atonement cover.

¹⁵ “Then Aaron must slaughter the first goat as a sin offering for the people and carry its blood behind the inner curtain. There he will sprinkle the goat’s blood over the atonement cover and in front of it, just as he did with the bull’s blood. ¹⁶ Through this process, he will purify^[e] the Most Holy Place, and he will do the same for the entire Tabernacle, because of the defiling sin and rebellion of the Israelites. ¹⁷ No one else is allowed inside the Tabernacle when Aaron enters it for the purification ceremony in the Most Holy Place. No one may enter until he comes out again after purifying himself, his family, and all the congregation of Israel, making them right with the Lord.

¹⁸ “Then Aaron will come out to purify the altar that stands before the Lord. He will do this by taking some of the blood from the bull and the goat and putting it on each of the horns of the altar. ¹⁹ Then he must sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times over the altar. In this way, he will cleanse it from Israel’s defilement and make it holy.

²⁰ “When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the altar, he must present the live goat. ²¹ He will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness. ²² As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land.

²³ “When Aaron goes back into the Tabernacle, he must take off the linen garments he was wearing when he entered the Most Holy Place, and he must leave the garments there.²⁴ Then he must bathe himself with water in a sacred place, put on his regular garments, and go out to sacrifice a burnt offering for himself and a burnt offering for the people. Through this process, he will purify himself and the people, making them right with the Lord. ²⁵ He must then burn all the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

²⁶ “The man chosen to drive the scapegoat into the wilderness of Azazel must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Then he may return to the camp.

²⁷ “The bull and the goat presented as sin offerings, whose blood Aaron takes into the Most Holy Place for the purification ceremony, will be carried outside the camp. The animals’ hides, internal organs, and dung are all to be burned. ²⁸ The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water before returning to the camp.

²⁹ “On the tenth day of the appointed month in early autumn,^[f] you must deny yourselves.^[g]Neither native-born Israelites nor foreigners living among you may do any kind of work. This is a permanent law for you. ³⁰ On that day offerings of purification will be made for you,^[h] and you will be purified in the Lord’s presence from all your sins. ³¹ It will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. This is a permanent law for you. ³² In future generations, the purification^[i] ceremony will be performed by the priest who has been anointed and ordained to serve as high priest in place of his ancestor Aaron. He will put on the holy linen garments ³³ and purify the Most Holy Place, the Tabernacle, the altar, the priests, and the entire congregation. ³⁴ This is a permanent law for you, to purify the people of Israel from their sins, making them right with the Lord once each year.”

Moses followed all these instructions exactly as the Lord had commanded him.

Bible Sabbath Fellowship Friday February 2nd, 2018 @ 10pm est

Host Paul Nison and 9 other guest fellowship and discuss Torah related topics.

If you would like to be on the panel email me at the website http://www.TorahLifeMinistries.org contact tab.

The Torah Portion for this week
Torah Portion # 17 Yitro (Exodus 18:1-20:26)
https://youtu.be/tDlouWQfP-o

Leviticus 15

Leviticus 15 

Bodily Discharges

1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.

“Any man who has a bodily discharge is ceremonially unclean. ³ This defilement is caused by his discharge, whether the discharge continues or stops. In either case the man is unclean.⁴ Any bed on which the man with the discharge lies and anything on which he sits will be ceremonially unclean. ⁵ So if you touch the man’s bed, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. ⁶ If you sit where the man with the discharge has sat, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. ⁷ If you touch the man with the discharge, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. ⁸ If the man spits on you, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. ⁹ Any saddle blanket on which the man rides will be ceremonially unclean. ¹⁰ If you touch anything that was under the man, you will be unclean until evening. You must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. ¹¹ If the man touches you without first rinsing his hands, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening.¹² Any clay pot the man touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil he touches must be rinsed with water.

¹³ “When the man with the discharge is healed, he must count off seven days for the period of purification. Then he must wash his clothes and bathe himself in fresh water, and he will be ceremonially clean. ¹⁴ On the eighth day he must get two turtledoves or two young pigeons and come before the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle^[a] and give his offerings to the priest. ¹⁵ The priest will offer one bird for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. Through this process, the priest will purify^[b] the man before the Lord for his discharge.

¹⁶ “Whenever a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his entire body in water, and he will remain ceremonially unclean until the next evening.^[c] 17 Any clothing or leather with semen on it must be washed in water, and it will remain unclean until evening. ¹⁸ After a man and a woman have sexual intercourse, they must each bathe in water, and they will remain unclean until the next evening.

¹⁹ “Whenever a woman has her menstrual period, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days. Anyone who touches her during that time will be unclean until evening. ²⁰ Anything on which the woman lies or sits during the time of her period will be unclean. ²¹ If any of you touch her bed, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. ²² If you touch any object she has sat on, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening. ²³ This includes her bed or any other object she has sat on; you will be unclean until evening if you touch it. ²⁴ If a man has sexual intercourse with her and her blood touches him, her menstrual impurity will be transmitted to him. He will remain unclean for seven days, and any bed on which he lies will be unclean.

²⁵ “If a woman has a flow of blood for many days that is unrelated to her menstrual period, or if the blood continues beyond the normal period, she is ceremonially unclean. As during her menstrual period, the woman will be unclean as long as the discharge continues. ²⁶ Any bed she lies on and any object she sits on during that time will be unclean, just as during her normal menstrual period. ²⁷ If any of you touch these things, you will be ceremonially unclean. You must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening.

²⁸ “When the woman’s bleeding stops, she must count off seven days. Then she will be ceremonially clean. ²⁹ On the eighth day she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons and present them to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle. ³⁰ The priest will offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. Through this process, the priest will purify her before the Lord for the ceremonial impurity caused by her bleeding.

³¹ “This is how you will guard the people of Israel from ceremonial uncleanness. Otherwise they would die, for their impurity would defile my Tabernacle that stands among them.³² These are the instructions for dealing with anyone who has a bodily discharge—a man who is unclean because of an emission of semen ³³ or a woman during her menstrual period. It applies to any man or woman who has a bodily discharge, and to a man who has sexual intercourse with a woman who is ceremonially unclean.”

Leviticus 14

Leviticus 14 

Cleansing From Defiling Skin Diseases

1 The Lord said to Moses, ² “These are the regulations for any diseased person at the time of their ceremonial cleansing, when they are brought to the priest: ³ The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them. If they have been healed of their defiling skin disease,^[a]4 the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to be cleansed. ⁵ Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. ⁶ He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. ⁷ Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the defiling disease, and then pronounce them clean. After that, he is to release the live bird in the open fields.

⁸ “The person to be cleansed must wash their clothes, shave off all their hair and bathe with water; then they will be ceremonially clean. After this they may come into the camp, but they must stay outside their tent for seven days. ⁹ On the seventh day they must shave off all their hair; they must shave their head, their beard, their eyebrows and the rest of their hair. They must wash their clothes and bathe themselves with water, and they will be clean.

¹⁰ “On the eighth day they must bring two male lambs and one ewe lamb a year old, each without defect, along with three-tenths of an ephah^[b] of the finest flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, and one log^[c] of oil. ¹¹ The priest who pronounces them clean shall presentboth the one to be cleansed and their offerings before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

¹² “Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering, along with the log of oil; he shall wave them before the Lord as a wave offering. ¹³ He is to slaughter the lamb in the sanctuary area where the sin offering^[d] and the burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy. ¹⁴ 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, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. ¹⁵ The priest shall then take some of the log of oil, pour it in the palm of his own left hand, ¹⁶ dip his right forefinger into the oil in his palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of it before the Lordseven times. ¹⁷ The priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. ¹⁸ The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed and make atonement for them before the Lord.

¹⁹ “Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from their uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering ²⁰ and offer it on the altar, together with the grain offering, and make atonement for them, and they will be clean.

²¹ “If, however, they are poor and cannot afford these, they must take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for them, together with a tenth of an ephah^[e] of the finest flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, a log of oil, ²² and two doves or two young pigeons, such as they can afford, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.

²³ “On the eighth day they must bring them for their cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting, before the Lord. ²⁴ The priest is to take the lamb for the guilt offering,together with the log of oil, and wave them before the Lord as a wave offering. ²⁵ He shall slaughter the lamb for the guilt offering and 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 their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. ²⁶ The priest is to pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand,²⁷ and with his right forefinger sprinkle some of the oil from his palm seven times before the Lord. ²⁸ Some of the oil in his palm he is to put on the same places he put the blood of the guilt offering—on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. ²⁹ The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for them before the Lord.³⁰ Then he shall sacrifice the doves or the young pigeons, such as the person can afford,³¹ one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed.”

³² These are the regulations for anyone who has a defiling skin disease and who cannot afford the regular offerings for their cleansing.

Cleansing From Defiling Molds

³³ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ³⁴ “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a spreading mold in a house in that land, ³⁵ the owner of the house must go and tell the priest, ‘I have seen something that looks like a defiling mold in my house.’ ³⁶ The priest is to order the house to be emptied before he goes in to examine the mold, so that nothing in the house will be pronounced unclean. After this the priest is to go in and inspect the house. ³⁷ He is to examine the mold on the walls, and if it has greenish or reddish depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall,³⁸ the priest shall go out the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days. ³⁹ On the seventh day the priest shall return to inspect the house. If the mold has spread on the walls,⁴⁰ he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town. ⁴¹ He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town. ⁴² Then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house.

⁴³ “If the defiling mold reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered, ⁴⁴ the priest is to go and examine it and, if the mold has spread in the house, it is a persistent defiling mold; the house is unclean. ⁴⁵ It must be torn down—its stones, timbers and all the plaster—and taken out of the town to an unclean place.

⁴⁶ “Anyone who goes into the house while it is closed up will be unclean till evening.⁴⁷ Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash their clothes.

⁴⁸ “But if the priest comes to examine it and the mold has not spread after the house has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the defiling mold is gone. ⁴⁹ To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop. ⁵⁰ He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. ⁵¹ Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. ⁵² He shall purify the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn.⁵³ Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.”

⁵⁴ These are the regulations for any defiling skin disease, for a sore, ⁵⁵ for defiling molds in fabric or in a house, ⁵⁶ and for a swelling, a rash or a shiny spot, ⁵⁷ to determine when something is clean or unclean.

These are the regulations for defiling skin diseases and defiling molds.

Leviticus 13

Leviticus 13 

Serious Skin Diseases

1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² “If anyone has a swelling or a rash or discolored skin that might develop into a serious skin disease,^[a] that person must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons.^[b] 3 The priest will examine the affected area of the skin. If the hair in the affected area has turned white and the problem appears to be more than skin-deep, it is a serious skin disease, and the priest who examines it must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean.

⁴ “But if the affected area of the skin is only a white discoloration and does not appear to be more than skin-deep, and if the hair on the spot has not turned white, the priest will quarantine the person for seven days. ⁵ On the seventh day the priest will make another examination. If he finds the affected area has not changed and the problem has not spread on the skin, the priest will quarantine the person for seven more days. ⁶ On the seventh day the priest will make another examination. If he finds the affected area has faded and has not spread, the priest will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. It was only a rash. The person’s clothing must be washed, and the person will be ceremonially clean. ⁷ But if the rash continues to spread after the person has been examined by the priest and has been pronounced clean, the infected person must return to be examined again. ⁸ If the priest finds that the rash has spread, he must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean, for it is indeed a skin disease.

⁹ “Anyone who develops a serious skin disease must go to the priest for an examination. ¹⁰ If the priest finds a white swelling on the skin, and some hair on the spot has turned white, and there is an open sore in the affected area, ¹¹ it is a chronic skin disease, and the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean. In such cases the person need not be quarantined, for it is obvious that the skin is defiled by the disease.

¹² “Now suppose the disease has spread all over the person’s skin, covering the body from head to foot. ¹³ When the priest examines the infected person and finds that the disease covers the entire body, he will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. Since the skin has turned completely white, the person is clean. ¹⁴ But if any open sores appear, the infected person will be pronounced ceremonially unclean. ¹⁵ The priest must make this pronouncement as soon as he sees an open sore, since open sores indicate the presence of a skin disease. ¹⁶ However, if the open sores heal and turn white like the rest of the skin, the person must return to the priest ¹⁷ for another examination. If the affected areas have indeed turned white, the priest will then pronounce the person ceremonially clean by declaring, ‘You are clean!’

¹⁸ “If anyone has a boil on the skin that has started to heal, ¹⁹ but a white swelling or a reddish white spot develops in its place, that person must go to the priest to be examined.²⁰ If the priest examines it and finds it to be more than skin-deep, and if the hair in the affected area has turned white, the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean. The boil has become a serious skin disease. ²¹ But if the priest finds no white hair on the affected area and the problem appears to be no more than skin-deep and has faded, the priest must quarantine the person for seven days. ²² If during that time the affected area spreads on the skin, the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean, because it is a serious disease. ²³ But if the area grows no larger and does not spread, it is merely the scar from the boil, and the priest will pronounce the person ceremonially clean.

²⁴ “If anyone has suffered a burn on the skin and the burned area changes color, becoming either reddish white or shiny white, ²⁵ the priest must examine it. If he finds that the hair in the affected area has turned white and the problem appears to be more than skin-deep, a skin disease has broken out in the burn. The priest must then pronounce the person ceremonially unclean, for it is clearly a serious skin disease. ²⁶ But if the priest finds no white hair on the affected area and the problem appears to be no more than skin-deep and has faded, the priest must quarantine the infected person for seven days. ²⁷ On the seventh day the priest must examine the person again. If the affected area has spread on the skin, the priest must pronounce that person ceremonially unclean, for it is clearly a serious skin disease. ²⁸ But if the affected area has not changed or spread on the skin and has faded, it is simply a swelling from the burn. The priest will then pronounce the person ceremonially clean, for it is only the scar from the burn.

²⁹ “If anyone, either a man or woman, has a sore on the head or chin, ³⁰ the priest must examine it. If he finds it is more than skin-deep and has fine yellow hair on it, the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean. It is a scabby sore of the head or chin. ³¹ If the priest examines the scabby sore and finds that it is only skin-deep but there is no black hair on it, he must quarantine the person for seven days. ³² On the seventh day the priest must examine the sore again. If he finds that the scabby sore has not spread, and there is no yellow hair on it, and it appears to be only skin-deep, ³³ the person must shave off all hair except the hair on the affected area. Then the priest must quarantine the person for another seven days. ³⁴ On the seventh day he will examine the sore again. If it has not spread and appears to be no more than skin-deep, the priest will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. The person’s clothing must be washed, and the person will be ceremonially clean.³⁵ But if the scabby sore begins to spread after the person is pronounced clean, ³⁶ the priest must do another examination. If he finds that the sore has spread, the priest does not need to look for yellow hair. The infected person is ceremonially unclean. ³⁷ But if the color of the scabby sore does not change and black hair has grown on it, it has healed. The priest will then pronounce the person ceremonially clean.

³⁸ “If anyone, either a man or woman, has shiny white patches on the skin, ³⁹ the priest must examine the affected area. If he finds that the shiny patches are only pale white, this is a harmless skin rash, and the person is ceremonially clean.

⁴⁰ “If a man loses his hair and his head becomes bald, he is still ceremonially clean. ⁴¹ And if he loses hair on his forehead, he simply has a bald forehead; he is still clean. ⁴² However, if a reddish white sore appears on the bald area on top of his head or on his forehead, this is a skin disease. ⁴³ The priest must examine him, and if he finds swelling around the reddish white sore anywhere on the man’s head and it looks like a skin disease, ⁴⁴ the man is indeed infected with a skin disease and is unclean. The priest must pronounce him ceremonially unclean because of the sore on his head.

⁴⁵ “Those who suffer from a serious skin disease must tear their clothing and leave their hair uncombed.^[c] They must cover their mouth and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ ⁴⁶ As long as the serious disease lasts, they will be ceremonially unclean. They must live in isolation in their place outside the camp.

Treatment of Contaminated Clothing

⁴⁷ “Now suppose mildew^[d] contaminates some woolen or linen clothing, ⁴⁸ woolen or linen fabric, the hide of an animal, or anything made of leather. ⁴⁹ If the contaminated area in the clothing, the animal hide, the fabric, or the leather article has turned greenish or reddish, it is contaminated with mildew and must be shown to the priest. ⁵⁰ After examining the affected spot, the priest will put the article in quarantine for seven days. ⁵¹ On the seventh day the priest must inspect it again. If the contaminated area has spread, the clothing or fabric or leather is clearly contaminated by a serious mildew and is ceremonially unclean. ⁵² The priest must burn the item—the clothing, the woolen or linen fabric, or piece of leather—for it has been contaminated by a serious mildew. It must be completely destroyed by fire.

⁵³ “But if the priest examines it and finds that the contaminated area has not spread in the clothing, the fabric, or the leather, ⁵⁴ the priest will order the object to be washed and then quarantined for seven more days. ⁵⁵ Then the priest must examine the object again. If he finds that the contaminated area has not changed color after being washed, even if it did not spread, the object is defiled. It must be completely burned up, whether the contaminated spot^[e] is on the inside or outside. ⁵⁶ But if the priest examines it and finds that the contaminated area has faded after being washed, he must cut the spot from the clothing, the fabric, or the leather. ⁵⁷ If the spot later reappears on the clothing, the fabric, or the leather article, the mildew is clearly spreading, and the contaminated object must be burned up.⁵⁸ But if the spot disappears from the clothing, the fabric, or the leather article after it has been washed, it must be washed again; then it will be ceremonially clean.

⁵⁹ “These are the instructions for dealing with mildew that contaminates woolen or linen clothing or fabric or anything made of leather. This is how the priest will determine whether these items are ceremonially clean or unclean.”

Leviticus 11

Leviticus 10

Leviticus 10 

The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

1 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. ² So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord.

³ Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said,

And Aaron was silent.

⁴ Then Moses called for Mishael and Elzaphan, Aaron’s cousins, the sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel. He said to them, “Come forward and carry away the bodies of your relatives from in front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.” ⁵ So they came forward and picked them up by their garments and carried them out of the camp, just as Moses had commanded.

⁶ Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not show grief by leaving your hair uncombed^[a] or by tearing your clothes. If you do, you will die, and the Lord’s anger will strike the whole community of Israel. However, the rest of the Israelites, your relatives, may mourn because of the Lord’s fiery destruction of Nadab and Abihu. ⁷ But you must not leave the entrance of the Tabernacle^[b] or you will die, for you have been anointed with the Lord’s anointing oil.” So they did as Moses commanded.

Instructions for Priestly Conduct

⁸ Then the Lord said to Aaron, ⁹ “You and your descendants must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink before going into the Tabernacle. If you do, you will die. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation. ¹⁰ You must distinguish between what is sacred and what is common, between what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean. ¹¹ And you must teach the Israelites all the decrees that the Lordhas given them through Moses.”

¹² Then Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take what is left of the grain offering after a portion has been presented as a special gift to the Lord, and eat it beside the altar. Make sure it contains no yeast, for it is most holy. ¹³ You must eat it in a sacred place, for it has been given to you and your descendants as your portion of the special gifts presented to the Lord. These are the commands I have been given. ¹⁴ But the breast and thigh that were lifted up as a special offering may be eaten in any place that is ceremonially clean. These parts have been given to you and your descendants as your portion of the peace offerings presented by the people of Israel. ¹⁵ You must lift up the thigh and breast as a special offering to the Lord, along with the fat of the special gifts. These parts will belong to you and your descendants as your permanent right, just as the Lord has commanded.”

¹⁶ Moses then asked them what had happened to the goat of the sin offering. When he discovered it had been burned up, he became very angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons. ¹⁷ “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the sacred area?” he demanded. “It is a holy offering! The Lord has given it to you to remove the guilt of the community and to purify the people, making them right with the Lord.^[c] 18 Since the animal’s blood was not brought into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the meat in the sacred area as I ordered you.”

¹⁹ Then Aaron answered Moses, “Today my sons presented both their sin offering and their burnt offering to the Lord. And yet this tragedy has happened to me. If I had eaten the people’s sin offering on such a tragic day as this, would the Lord have been pleased?” ²⁰ And when Moses heard this, he was satisfied.

Leviticus 9

Leviticus 9 The Priests Begin Their Work

1 After the ordination ceremony, on the eighth day, Moses called together Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. ² He said to Aaron, “Take a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without defects, and present them to the Lord. ³ Then tell the Israelites, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and take a calf and a lamb, both a year old and without defects, for a burnt offering. ⁴ Also take a bull^[a] and a ram for a peace offering and flour moistened with olive oil for a grain offering. Present all these offerings to the Lordbecause the Lord will appear to you today.’”

⁵ So the people presented all these things at the entrance of the Tabernacle,^[b] just as Moses had commanded. Then the whole community came forward and stood before the Lord. ⁶ And Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do so that the glory of the Lordmay appear to you.”

⁷ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering to purify yourself and the people. Then present the offerings of the people to purify them, making them right with the Lord,^[c] just as he has commanded.”

⁸ So Aaron went to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself. ⁹ His sons brought him the blood, and he dipped his finger in it and put it on the horns of the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. ¹⁰ Then he burned on the altar the fat, the kidneys, and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ¹¹ The meat and the hide, however, he burned outside the camp.

¹² Next Aaron slaughtered the animal for the burnt offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he splattered it against all sides of the altar. ¹³ Then they handed him each piece of the burnt offering, including the head, and he burned them on the altar. ¹⁴ Then he washed the internal organs and the legs and burned them on the altar along with the rest of the burnt offering.

¹⁵ Next Aaron presented the offerings of the people. He slaughtered the people’s goat and presented it as an offering for their sin, just as he had first done with the offering for his own sin. ¹⁶ Then he presented the burnt offering and sacrificed it in the prescribed way. ¹⁷ He also presented the grain offering, burning a handful of the flour mixture on the altar, in addition to the regular burnt offering for the morning.

¹⁸ Then Aaron slaughtered the bull and the ram for the people’s peace offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he splattered it against all sides of the altar. ¹⁹ Then he took the fat of the bull and the ram—the fat of the broad tail and from around the internal organs—along with the kidneys and the long lobes of the livers. ²⁰ He placed these fat portions on top of the breasts of these animals and burned them on the altar. ²¹ Aaron then lifted up the breasts and right thighs as a special offering to the Lord, just as Moses had commanded.

²² After that, Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them. Then, after presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering, he stepped down from the altar. ²³ Then Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle, and when they came back out, they blessed the people again, and the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community.²⁴ Fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground.