³⁷ Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And the altar shall be most holy. ^(A)Whatever touches the altar must be holy.

³ Say to them: ‘Whoever of all your descendants throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the Lord, ^(A)while he has ^[a]uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the Lord.

⁴ ‘Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a ^(B)leper or has ^(C)a discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings ^(D)until he is clean. And ^(E)whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or ^(F)a man who has had an emission of semen, ⁵ or ^(G)whoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made unclean, or ^(H)any person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be— ⁶ the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he ^(I)washes his body with water. ⁷ And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because ^(J)it is his food.

¹⁵ And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then ^(A)the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; ^(B)but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.

“^(C)These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.

¹¹ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Now, ^(A)ask the priests concerning the law, saying, ¹² “If one carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and with the edge he touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?” ’ ”

Then the priests answered and said, “No.”

¹³ And Haggai said, “If one who is ^(B)unclean because of a dead body touches any of these, will it be unclean?”

So the priests answered and said, “It shall be unclean.”