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Leviticus 15:2-18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Leviticus 15:2-18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
2 [a]Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any man has a genital discharge, he is thereby unclean.(A) 3 Such is his uncleanness from this discharge, whether his body[b] drains freely with the discharge or is blocked up from the discharge. His uncleanness is on him all the days that his body discharges or is blocked up from his discharge; this is his uncleanness. 4 Any bed on which the man with the discharge lies is unclean, and any article on which he sits is unclean. 5 Anyone who touches his bed shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 6 Whoever sits on an article on which the man with the discharge was sitting shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 7 Whoever touches the body of the man with the discharge shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 8 If the man with the discharge spits on a clean person, the latter shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 9 Any saddle on which the man with the discharge rides is unclean. 10 Whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until evening; whoever carries any such thing shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.(B) 11 Anyone whom the man with the discharge touches with his unrinsed hands shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 12 Earthenware touched by the man with the discharge shall be broken; and every wooden article shall be rinsed with water.
13 When a man with a discharge becomes clean[c] of his discharge, he shall count seven days(C) for his purification. Then he shall wash his garments and bathe his body in fresh water, and so he will be clean. 14 On the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons,(D) and going before the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, he shall give them to the priest, 15 who shall offer them up, the one as a purification offering and the other as a burnt offering. Thus shall the priest make atonement before the Lord for the man because of his discharge.
16 [d]When a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until evening.(E) 17 Any piece of cloth or leather with semen on it shall be washed with water and be unclean until evening.
18 If a man has sexual relations with a woman, they shall both bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 15:2–3 The uncleanness here is perhaps a discharge of pus because of urethritis (often but not solely associated with gonorrhea).
- 15:3 Body: here a euphemism in the Hebrew for “penis.”
- 15:13 Becomes clean: i.e., when his discharge ceases. The rite that follows is for purification, not a cure; see note on 14:1–32.
- 15:16–18 Menstrual blood, semen, and other impurities in Lv 11–15 are considered “impure” either because they are force of life whose “loss” represents death or because, as uniquely human conditions, they are symbolically incompatible with the deity and the divine abode, the sanctuary. Lv 15:16 refers to a spontaneous nocturnal emission, and either because this marks life and death boundaries or because of its uniquely human (versus divine) character, any contact with it renders the object or person ritually unclean. Thus, in 15:18 it is not the marital act itself that is polluting, but only semen.
Leviticus 15:2-18
New International Version
Leviticus 15:2-18
New International Version
2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any man has an unusual bodily discharge,(A) such a discharge is unclean. 3 Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. This is how his discharge will bring about uncleanness:
4 “‘Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean. 5 Anyone who touches his bed must wash their clothes(B) and bathe with water,(C) and they will be unclean till evening.(D) 6 Whoever sits on anything that the man with a discharge sat on must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
7 “‘Whoever touches the man(E) who has a discharge(F) must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
8 “‘If the man with the discharge spits(G) on anyone who is clean, they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
9 “‘Everything the man sits on when riding will be unclean, 10 and whoever touches any of the things that were under him will be unclean till evening; whoever picks up those things(H) must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
11 “‘Anyone the man with a discharge touches without rinsing his hands with water must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
12 “‘A clay pot(I) that the man touches must be broken, and any wooden article(J) is to be rinsed with water.
13 “‘When a man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count off seven days(K) for his ceremonial cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself with fresh water, and he will be clean.(L) 14 On the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons(M) and come before the Lord to the entrance to the tent of meeting and give them to the priest. 15 The priest is to sacrifice them, the one for a sin offering[a](N) and the other for a burnt offering.(O) In this way he will make atonement before the Lord for the man because of his discharge.(P)
16 “‘When a man has an emission of semen,(Q) he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening.(R) 17 Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening. 18 When a man has sexual relations with a woman and there is an emission of semen,(S) both of them must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 15:15 Or purification offering; also in verse 30
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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