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Purification After Childbirth

12 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the Israelites,[b] saying, ‘When a woman becomes pregnant and she gives birth to a male,[c] then[d] she shall be unclean seven days—as in the time of her menstrual bleeding, she shall become unclean. And on the eighth day his foreskin’s flesh shall be circumcised. And for thirty-three days she shall stay in the blood of her cleansing; she must not touch any holy object, and she may not come to the sanctuary until the fulfilling of the days of her cleansing. But[e] if she gives birth to a female,[f] then[g] she shall be unclean for two weeks as in her menstruation, and for sixty-six days she shall stay through[h] the blood of her cleansing. And at the fulfilling of the days of her cleansing, whether for a son or for a daughter, she must bring to the priest at the tent of assembly’s entrance a yearling[i] male lamb as a burnt offering and young dove[j] or a turtledove as a sin offering. And the priest shall present it before[k] Yahweh, and he shall make atonement for her, so that[l] she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the regulation of childbearing[m] for the male[n] or for the female.[o] And if she cannot afford[p] a sheep,[q] then[r] she shall take two turtledoves or two young doves[s]—one as a burnt offering and one as a sin offering—and the priest shall make atonement for her, so that[t] she shall be clean.’”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 12:1 Or “And”
  2. Leviticus 12:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  3. Leviticus 12:2 Or “son”
  4. Leviticus 12:2 Or “and”
  5. Leviticus 12:5 Or “And”
  6. Leviticus 12:5 Or “daughter”
  7. Leviticus 12:5 Or “and”
  8. Leviticus 12:5 Or “at” or “on”
  9. Leviticus 12:6 Literally “a son of his year”
  10. Leviticus 12:6 Literally “son of a dove”
  11. Leviticus 12:7 Literally “to the faces of”
  12. Leviticus 12:7 Or “and”
  13. Leviticus 12:7 Literally “the childbearing”
  14. Leviticus 12:7 Or “son”
  15. Leviticus 12:7 Or “daughter”
  16. Leviticus 12:8 Literally “her hand does not find enough”
  17. Leviticus 12:8 Or “small livestock”
  18. Leviticus 12:8 Or “and”
  19. Leviticus 12:8 Literally “sons of a dove”
  20. Leviticus 12:8 Or “and”

Purification After Childbirth

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period.(A) On the eighth day(B) the boy is to be circumcised.(C) Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.

“‘When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over,(D) she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb(E) for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering.[a](F) He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood.

“‘These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons,(G) one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering.(H) In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.(I)’”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 12:6 Or purification offering; also in verse 8