Laws concerning Skin Diseases

1The LORD gave Moses and Aaron these regulations. 2If anyone has a sore on his skin or a boil or an inflammation which could develop into a dreaded skin disease, he shall be brought to the Aaronite priest. 3The priest shall examine the sore, and if the hairs in it have turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the surrounding skin, it is a dreaded skin disease, and the priest shall pronounce the person unclean. 4But if the sore is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin round it and the hairs have not turned white, the priest shall isolate the person for seven days. 5The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if in his opinion the sore looks the same and has not spread, he shall isolate him for another seven days. 6The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the sore has faded and has not spread, he shall pronounce him ritually clean; it is only a sore. The person shall wash his clothes and be ritually clean. 7But if the sore spreads after the priest has examined him and pronounced him clean, he must appear before the priest again. 8The priest will examine him again, and if it has spread, he shall pronounce him unclean; it is a dreaded skin disease.

9If anyone has a dreaded skin disease, he shall be brought to the priest, 10who will examine him. If there is a white sore on his skin which turns the hairs white and is full of pus, 11it is a chronic skin disease. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; there is no need to isolate him, because he is obviously unclean. 12If the skin disease spreads and covers the person from head to foot, 13the priest shall examine him again. If he finds that it actually has covered the whole body, he shall pronounce the person ritually clean. If his whole skin has turned white, he is ritually clean. 14But from the moment an open sore appears, he is unclean. 15The priest shall examine him again, and if he sees an open sore, he shall pronounce him unclean. An open sore means a dreaded skin disease, and the person is unclean. 16But when the sore heals and becomes white again, the person shall go to the priest, 17who will examine him again. If the sore has turned white, he is ritually clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

18If anyone has a boil that has healed 19and if afterwards a white swelling or a reddish-white spot appears where the boil was, he shall go to the priest. 20The priest shall examine him, and if the spot seems to be deeper than the surrounding skin and the hairs in it have turned white, he shall pronounce him unclean. It is a dreaded skin disease that has started in the boil. 21But if the priest examines it and finds that the hairs in it have not turned white and that it is not deeper than the surrounding skin, but is light in colour, the priest shall isolate him for seven days. 22If the spot spreads, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he is diseased. 23But if it remains unchanged and does not spread, it is only the scar left from the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him ritually clean.

24In the case of a person who has been burnt, if the raw flesh becomes white or reddish-white, 25the priest shall examine him. If the hairs in the spot have turned white and it appears deeper than the surrounding skin, it is a dreaded skin disease that has started in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. 26But if the hairs in it have not turned white and it is not deeper than the surrounding skin, but is light in colour, the priest shall isolate him for seven days. 27The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if it is spreading, it is a dreaded skin disease, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. 28But if the spot remains unchanged and does not spread and is light in colour, it is not a dreaded skin disease. The priest shall pronounce him ritually clean, because it is only a scar from the burn.

29When a man or a woman has a sore on the head or the chin, 30the priest shall examine it. If it seems to be deeper than the surrounding skin and the hairs in it are yellowish and thin, it is a dreaded skin disease, and he shall pronounce the person unclean. 31If, when the priest examines him, the sore does not appear to be deeper than the surrounding skin, but there are still no healthy hairs in it, he shall isolate him for seven days. 32The priest shall examine the sore again on the seventh day, and if it has not spread and there are no yellowish hairs in it and it does not seem to be deeper than the surrounding skin, 33the person shall shave the head except the area round the sore. The priest shall then isolate him for another seven days. 34On the seventh day the priest shall again examine the sore, and if it has not spread and does not seem to be deeper than the surrounding skin, he shall pronounce him ritually clean. The person shall wash his clothes, and he will be clean. 35But if the sore spreads after he has been pronounced clean, 36the priest shall examine him again. If the sore has spread, he need not look for yellowish hairs; the person is obviously unclean. 37But if in the priest's opinion the sore has not spread and healthy hairs are growing in it, the sore has healed, and the priest shall pronounce him ritually clean.

38When a man or a woman has white spots on the skin, 39the priest shall examine that person. If the spots are dull white, it is only a blemish that has broken out on the skin; the person is ritually clean.

40-41If a man loses his hair at the back or the front of his head, this does not make him unclean. 42But if a reddish-white sore appears on the bald spot, it is a dreaded skin disease. 43The priest shall examine him, and if there is a reddish-white sore, 44the priest shall pronounce him unclean, because of the dreaded skin disease on his head.

45A person who has a dreaded skin disease must wear torn clothes, leave his hair uncombed, cover the lower part of his face, and call out, “Unclean, unclean!” 46He remains unclean as long as he has the disease, and he must live outside the camp, away from others.

Laws concerning Mildew

47When there is mildew13.47 mildew: The Hebrew word for “dreaded skin disease” and “mildew” is the same. on clothing, whether wool or linen, 48or on any piece of linen or wool cloth or on leather or anything made of leather, 49if it is greenish or reddish, it is a spreading mildew and must be shown to the priest. 50The priest shall examine it and put the object away for seven days. 51He shall examine it again on the seventh day, and if the mildew has spread, the object is unclean. 52The priest shall burn it, because it is a spreading mildew which must be destroyed by fire.

53But if, when he examines it, the priest finds that the mildew has not spread on the object, 54he shall order it to be washed and put away for another seven days. 55Then he shall examine it, and if the mildew has not changed colour, even though it has not spread, it is still unclean; you must burn the object, whether the rot is on the front or the back. 56But if, when the priest examines it again, the mildew has faded, he shall tear it out of the clothing or leather. 57Then, if the mildew reappears, it is spreading again, and the owner shall burn the object. 58If he washes the object and the spot disappears, he shall wash it again, and it will be ritually clean.

59This, then, is the law about mildew on clothing, whether it is wool or linen, or on linen or wool cloth or on anything made of leather; this is how the decision is made as to whether it is ritually clean or unclean.