Laws about Leprosy
1 The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 “If anyone has a swelling, an eruption, or bright spot on his skin, and it looks like the disease of leprosy; then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests.
3 The priest shall examine the skin disease. If the hair in the disease has turned white, and the appearance of the disease is more than skin deep, it is the disease of leprosy; so the priest shall examine him and pronounce him unclean.
4 If the bright spot on the skin is white and appears to be more than skin deep, and the hair has not turned white, then the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days. 5 The priest shall examine him on the seventh day. If, in his estimation, the disease has stopped and the skin disease has not spread, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days. 6 The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day. If the disease has faded and has not spread to other skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. It is a scab. He shall wash his clothes and be clean.
7 But if the scab spreads to other skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall show himself to the priest again. 8 The priest shall examine him, and if the scab has spread to other skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy.
9 When the disease of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought to the priest, 10 and the priest shall examine him. If there is a white swelling in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling, 11 it is a chronic case of leprosy in the skin, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He shall not isolate him, for he is already unclean.
12 If the leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the infected person from his head to his feet, as far as it appears to the priest, 13 then the priest shall examine him. If the leprosy has covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease. If it has all turned white, he is clean. 14 But whenever raw flesh appears in him, he shall be unclean. 15 The priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him unclean. The raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy. 16 Or if the raw flesh turns again and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest. 17 The priest shall examine him. If the disease has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him clean of the disease. He is clean.
18 When the body has a boil on its skin, and it has healed, 19 and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a bright reddish-white spot, then it shall be shown to the priest. 20 And if, when the priest examines it, he determines that it is more than skin deep, and the hair within the skin infection has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a disease of leprosy, broken out of the boil.
21 But if the priest examines it, and there are no white hairs in it, and it is not more than skin deep, but it is somewhat darkened, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days. 22 If it spreads to other skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a disease. 23 But if the bright spot stays in its place and has not spread, it is the scar from the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
24 Or when the body has a burn from fire on its skin, and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white or white, 25 then the priest shall examine it, and if the hair in the bright spot has turned white, and its appearance is more than skin deep, it is leprosy that has broken out in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the disease of leprosy.
26 But if the priest examines it, and there is no white hair in the bright spot, and it is not more than skin deep, but has faded, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days. 27 The priest shall examine him on the seventh day. If it has spread to other skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the disease of leprosy. 28 If the bright spot is confined to one area and has not spread to other skin, but is faded, it is the swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is the scar from the burn.
29 When a man or woman has a disease on the head or chin, 30 then the priest shall examine the disease, and if its appearance is more than skin deep, and the hair in it is yellow and thin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is an infection of the scab. It is leprosy of the head or of the chin. 31 If the priest examines the scab, and its appearance is not more than skin deep, and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall isolate the person with the scab infection for seven days. 32 On the seventh day the priest shall examine the disease, and if the itch has not spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the appearance of the itch is not deeper than the skin, 33 then he shall be shaved, but he shall not shave the scab. Then the priest shall isolate the one who has the scab for seven more days.
34 On the seventh day, the priest shall examine the scab, and if the scab has not spread to other skin, and its appearance is not more than skin deep, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be clean. 35 But if the scab spreads to other skin after his cleansing, 36 then the priest shall examine him, and if the scab has spread to other skin, the priest need not look for the yellow hair. He is unclean. 37 But if in his estimation, the scab is stopped, and black hair has grown in it, then the scab is healed. He is clean. The priest shall pronounce him clean.
38 When a man or a woman has dark, shiny white spots on the skin, 39 then the priest shall examine them. If the spots on the skin are a dull white, it is a harmless rash that has broken out in the skin. He is clean.
40 If a man’s hair has fallen from his head, he is bald. He is clean. 41 If his hair has fallen off from the front part of his head, he has a bald forehead. He is clean. 42 But if a reddish-white disease is on the bald head or the bald forehead, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead. 43 Then the priest shall examine him. If the swelling of the disease is reddish-white in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprosy on the skin, 44 he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean. His disease is on his head.
45 The leper in whom the disease is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 All the days in which the disease is in him he shall be unclean. He is unclean and shall dwell alone. His dwelling shall be outside of the camp.”
Mildewed Clothing
47 “The garment also that the disease of leprosy is in, whether it is a woolen garment or a linen garment, 48 whether it is in warp or woof, of linen or of wool, whether in leather or in anything made of leather; 49 if the disease is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather or in the warp or in the woof or in anything made of leather, it is the disease of leprosy and shall be shown to the priest. 50 The priest shall examine the disease and isolate the disease for seven days. 51 He shall examine the disease on the seventh day. If the disease has spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof or in the skin, whatever use the skin is used for, the disease is a destructive mildew. It is unclean. 52 He shall burn the garment, whether the warp or the woof, in wool or in linen, or anything of leather, in which the disease is, for it is a destructive mildew. It shall be burned in the fire.
53 If the priest examines it, and the disease has not spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof or in anything of skin, 54 then the priest shall command that they wash the item that the disease is in, and he shall isolate it seven more days. 55 Then the priest shall examine it after the disease is washed, and if the disease has not changed its color, and the disease has not spread, it is unclean. You shall burn it in the fire. It is a mildewed spot, whether the bareness is inside or outside.
56 If the priest looks, and the disease has faded after it is washed, then he shall tear it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof; 57 and if it reappears in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything of skin, it is spreading. You shall burn with fire that in which the disease is. 58 The garment, either the warp, or the woof, or whatever thing of skin it is, which you shall wash, if the disease has departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and it will be clean.
59 This is the law of the disease of mildew in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp, or the woof, or in anything of skin, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.”