1    2   The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and said: When any man has a discoloration on the skin of his body, a pustule or inflammation, and it may develop into the sores of a malignant skin-disease, he shall be brought to the priest, either to Aaron or to one of his sons. 3   The priest shall examine the sore on the skin; if the hairs on the sore have turned white and it appears to be deeper than the skin, it shall be considered the sore of a malignant skin-disease, and the priest, after examination, shall pronounce him ritually unclean. 4   But if the inflammation on his skin is white and seems no deeper than the skin, and the hairs have not turned white, the priest shall isolate the affected person for seven days. 5   If, when he examines him on the seventh day, the sore remains as it was and has not spread in the skin, he shall keep him in isolation for another seven days. 6   When the priest examines him again on the seventh day, if the sore has faded and has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him ritually clean. It is only a scab; the man shall wash his clothes and so be clean. 7   But if the scab spreads on the skin after he has been to the priest to be pronounced ritually clean, the man shall show himself a second time to the priest. 8   The priest shall examine him again, and if it continues to spread, he shall pronounce him ritually unclean; it is a malignant skin-disease.

9   When anyone has the sores of a malignant skin-disease, he shall be brought to the priest, and the priest shall examine him. 10   If there is a

Laws of purification and atonement white mark on the skin, turning the hairs white, and an ulceration appears in the mark, 11   it is a chronic skin-disease on the body, and the priest shall pronounce him ritually unclean; there is no need for isolation because he is unclean already. 12   If the skin-disease breaks out and covers the affected person from head to foot as far as the priest can see, the priest shall examine him, 13   and if he finds the condition spread all over the body, he shall pronounce him ritually clean. It has all gone white; he is clean. 14   But from the moment when raw flesh appears, the man shall be considered unclean. 15   When the priest sees it, he shall pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is to be considered unclean; it is a malignant skin-disease. 16   On the other hand, when the raw flesh heals and turns white, 17   the man shall go to the priest, who shall examine him, and if the sores have gone white, he shall pronounce him clean. He is ritually clean.

18    19   When a fester appears on the skin and heals up, but is followed by a white mark or reddish-white inflammation on the site of the fester, the man shall show himself to the priest. 20   The priest shall examine him; if it seems to be beneath the skin and the hairs have turned white, the priest shall pronounce him ritually unclean. It is a malignant skin-disease which has broken out on the site of the fester. 21   But if the priest on examination finds that it has no white hairs, is not beneath the skin and has faded, he shall isolate him for seven days. 22   If the affection has spread at all in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; for it is a malignant skin-disease. ^note 23   But if the inflammation is no worse and has not spread, it is only the scar of the fester, and the priest shall pronounce him ritually clean.

24   Again, in the case of a burn on the skin, if the raw spot left by the burn becomes a reddish-white or white inflammation, 25   the priest shall examine it. If the hairs on the inflammation have turned white and it is deeper than the skin, it is a malignant skin-disease which has broken out at the site of the burn. The priest shall pronounce the man ritually unclean; it is a malignant skin-disease. 26   But if the priest on examination finds that there is no white hair on the inflammation and it is not beneath the skin and has faded, he shall keep him in isolation for seven days. 27   When the priest examines him on the seventh day, if the inflammation has spread at all in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a malignant skin-disease. 28   But if the inflammation is no worse, has not spread and has faded, it is only a mark from the burn. The priest shall pronounce him ritually clean because it is the scar of the burn.

29    30   When a man, or woman, has a sore on the head or chin, the priest shall examine it; and if it seems deeper than the skin and the hair is

Laws of purification and atonement yellow and sparse, the priest shall pronounce him ritually unclean; it is a scurf, a malignant skin-disease of the head or chin. 31   But when the priest sees the sore, if it appears to be no deeper than the skin and yet there is no yellow ^note hair on the place, the priest shall isolate the affected person for seven days. 32   He shall examine the sore on the seventh day: if the scurf has not spread and there are no yellow hairs on it and it seems no deeper than the skin, 33   the man shall get himself shaved except for the scurfy part, and the priest shall keep him in isolation for another seven days. 34   The priest shall examine it again on the seventh day, and if the scurf has not spread on the skin and appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean. The man shall wash his clothes and so be ritually clean. 35   But if the scurf spreads at all in the skin after the man has been pronounced clean, 36   the priest shall examine him again. If it has spread in the skin, the priest need not even look for yellow hair; the man is unclean. 37   If, however, the scurf remains as it was but black hair has begun to grow on it, it has healed. The man is ritually clean and the priest shall pronounce him so.

38   When a man, or woman, has inflamed patches on the skin and they are white, the priest shall examine them. 39   If they are white and fading, it is dull-white leprosy that has broken out on the skin. The man is ritually clean.

40   When a man's hair falls out from his head, he is bald behind but not ritually unclean. 41   If the hair falls out from the front of the scalp, he is bald on the forehead but clean. 42   But if on the bald patch behind or on the forehead there is a reddish-white sore, it is a malignant skin-disease breaking out on those parts. 43   The priest shall examine him, and if the discoloured sore on the bald patch behind or on the forehead is reddish-white, similar in appearance to a malignant skin-disease on the body, the man is suffering from such a disease; 44   he is ritually unclean and the priest must not fail to pronounce him so. The symptoms are in this case on his head.

45   One who suffers from a malignant skin-disease shall wear his clothes torn, leave his hair dishevelled, conceal his upper lip, and cry, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ 46   So long as the sore persists, he shall be considered ritually unclean. The man is unclean: he shall live apart and must stay outside the settlement.

47   When there is a stain of mould, whether in a garment of wool or linen, 48   or in the warp or weft of linen or wool, or in a skin or anything made of skin; 49   if the stain is greenish or reddish in the garment or skin, or in the warp or weft, or in anything made of skin, it is a stain of mould which must be shown to the priest. 50   The priest shall examine it and put the stained material aside for seven days. 51   On the seventh day he shall

Laws of purification and atonement examine it again. If the stain has spread in the garment, warp, weft, or skin, whatever the use of the skin, the stain is a rotting mould: it is ritually unclean. 52   He shall burn the garment or the warp or weft, whether wool or linen, or anything of skin which is stained; because it is a rotting mould, it must be destroyed by fire. 53   But if the priest sees that the stain has not spread in the garment, warp or weft, or anything made of skin, 54   he shall give orders for the stained material to be washed, and then he shall put it aside for another seven days. 55   After it has been washed the priest shall examine the stain; if it has not changed its appearance, although it has not spread, it is unclean and you shall destroy it by fire, whether the rot is on the right side or the wrong. 56   If the priest examines it and finds the stain faded after being washed, he shall tear it out of the garment, skin, warp, or weft. 57   If, however, the stain reappears in the garment, warp or weft, or in anything of skin, it is breaking out afresh and you shall destroy by fire whatever is stained. 58   If you wash the garment, warp, weft, or anything of skin and the stain disappears, it shall be washed a second time and then it shall be ritually clean.

59   This is the law concerning stain of mould in a garment of wool or linen, in warp or weft, or in anything made of skin; by it they shall be pronounced clean or unclean.

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