Leviticus 13

Laws about Skin Diseasesⓘ

Examining a possible skin disease¹Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²“When someone has a swelling or rash or bright spot on his skin that may be an infectious skin disease,^a he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest.

³The priest is to examine the infection on his skin, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean.

⁴If, however, the spot on his skin is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days. ⁵On the seventh day the priest is to reexamine him, and if he sees that the infection is unchanged and has not spread on the skin, the priest must isolate him for another seven days. ⁶The priest will examine him again on the seventh day, and if the sore has faded and has not spread on the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is a rash. The person must wash his clothes and be clean.

⁷But if the rash spreads further on his skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he must present himself again to the priest. ⁸The priest will reexamine him, and if the rash has spread on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a skin disease.

Chronic disease and raw flesh⁹When anyone develops a skin disease, he must be brought to the priest. ¹⁰The priest will examine him, and if there is a white swelling on the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling, ¹¹it is a chronic skin disease and the priest must pronounce him unclean. He need not isolate him, for he is unclean.

¹²But if the skin disease breaks out all over his skin so that it covers all the skin of the infected person from head to foot, as far as the priest can see, ¹³the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has covered his entire body, he is to pronounce the infected person clean. Since it has all turned white, he is clean.

¹⁴But whenever raw flesh appears on someone, he will be unclean. ¹⁵When the priest sees the raw flesh, he must pronounce him unclean. The raw flesh is unclean; it is a skin disease. ¹⁶But if the raw flesh changes and turns white, he must go to the priest. ¹⁷The priest will reexamine him, and if the infection has turned white, the priest is to pronounce the infected person clean; then he is clean.

Skin problems after a boil¹⁸When a boil appears on someoneʼs skin and it heals, ¹⁹and a white swelling or a reddish-white spot develops where the boil was, he must present himself to the priest. ²⁰The priest shall examine it, and if it appears to be beneath the skin and the hair in it has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a diseased infection that has broken out in the boil.

²¹But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in it, and it is not beneath the skin and has faded, the priest shall isolate him for seven days. ²²If it spreads any further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is an infection. ²³But if the spot remains unchanged and does not spread, it is only the scar from the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

Skin problems after a burn²⁴When there is a burn on someoneʼs skin and the raw area of the burn becomes reddish-white or white, ²⁵the priest must examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and the spot appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a diseased infection.

²⁶But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the spot, and it is not beneath the skin but has faded, the priest shall isolate him for seven days. ²⁷On the seventh day the priest is to reexamine him, and if it has spread further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a diseased infection. ²⁸But if the spot is unchanged and has not spread on the skin but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest is to pronounce him clean; for it is only the scar from the burn.

Outbreaks on the head or beard²⁹If a man or woman has an infection on the head or chin, ³⁰the priest shall examine the infection, and if it appears to be deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a scaly outbreak, an infectious disease of the head or chin.

³¹But if the priest examines the scaly infection and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days. ³²On the seventh day the priest is to reexamine the infection, and if the scaly outbreak has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it, and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, ³³then the person must shave himself except for the scaly area. Then the priest shall isolate him for another seven days. ³⁴On the seventh day the priest shall examine the scaly outbreak, and if it has not spread on the skin and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, the priest is to pronounce him clean. He must wash his clothes, and he will be clean.

³⁵If, however, the scaly outbreak spreads further on the skin after his cleansing, ³⁶the priest is to examine him, and if the scaly outbreak has spread on the skin, the priest need not look for yellow hair; the person is unclean.

³⁷If, however, in his sight the scaly outbreak is unchanged and black hair has grown in it, then it has healed. He is clean, and the priest is to pronounce him clean.

Harmless rashes and baldness³⁸When a man or a woman has white spots on the skin, ³⁹the priest shall examine them, and if the spots are dull white, it is a harmless rash that has broken out on the skin; the person is clean.

⁴⁰Now if a man loses his hair and is bald, he is still clean. ⁴¹Or if his hairline recedes and he is bald on his forehead, he is still clean. ⁴²But if there is a reddish-white sore on the bald head or forehead, it is an infectious disease breaking out on it. ⁴³The priest is to examine him, and if the swelling of the infection on his bald head or forehead is reddish-white like a skin disease, ⁴⁴the man is diseased; he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean because of the infection on his head.

Living apart while unclean⁴⁵A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose,^b and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ ⁴⁶As long as he has the infection, he remains unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.

Laws about Mildewⓘ

Mildew in clothing and leather⁴⁷If any fabric is contaminated with mildew^c—any wool or linen garment, ⁴⁸any weave or knit of linen or wool, or any article of leather— ⁴⁹and if the mark in the fabric, leather, weave, knit, or leather article is green or red, then it is contaminated with mildew and must be shown to the priest. ⁵⁰And the priest is to examine the mildew and isolate the contaminated fabric for seven days.

⁵¹On the seventh day the priest shall reexamine it, and if the mildew has spread in the fabric, weave, knit, or leather, then regardless of how it is used, it is a harmful mildew; the article is unclean. ⁵²He is to burn the fabric, weave, or knit, whether the contaminated item is wool or linen or leather. Since the mildew is harmful, the article must be burned up.

When the mildew fades or returns⁵³But when the priest reexamines it, if the mildew has not spread in the fabric, weave, knit, or leather article, ⁵⁴the priest is to order the contaminated article to be washed and isolated for another seven days. ⁵⁵After it has been washed, the priest is to reexamine it, and if the mildewed article has not changed in appearance, it is unclean. Even though the mildew has not spread, you must burn it, whether the rot is on the front or back.

⁵⁶If the priest examines it and the mildew has faded after it has been washed, he must cut the contaminated section out of the fabric, leather, weave, or knit. ⁵⁷But if it reappears in the fabric, weave, or knit, or on any leather article, it is spreading. You must burn the contaminated article.

⁵⁸If the mildew disappears from the fabric, weave, or knit, or any leather article after washing, then it is to be washed again, and it will be clean.

⁵⁹This is the law concerning a mildew contamination in wool or linen fabric, weave, or knit, or any leather article, for pronouncing it clean or unclean.”