Leviticus14
English Standard Version
Tap any underlined word for the original Hebrew or Greek.
1 The Lord to , ,
2 This shall be the of the for the of his . He shall be to the ,
3 and the shall the , and the shall . Then, the of is in the ,
4 the shall them to for him who is to be and and and .
5 And the shall them to of the in an over .
6 He shall the with the and the and the , and them and the in the of the that was over the .
7 And he shall it on him who is to be of the . Then he shall pronounce him and shall let the into the .
8 And he who is to be shall his and off all his and himself in , and he shall be . And that he may come the , but his .
9 And on the he shall his from his , his , and his . He shall his , and then he shall his and his in , and he shall be .
10 And on the he shall , and a , and a of of an ephah of with , and of .
11 And the who him shall the who is to be and these things the Lord, at the of the of .
12 And the shall of the and it for a , along with the of , and them for a the Lord.
13 And he shall the in the where they the and the , in the of the . For the guilt , like the sin , belongs to the ; it is .
14 The shall some of the of the , and the shall it on the of the of him who is to be and on the of his and on the of his .
15 Then the shall some of the of and it into the of his
16 and his in the that is in his and some with his the Lord.
17 And some of the that in his the shall on the of the of him who is to be and on the of his and on the of his , on top of the of the .
18 And the of the that is in the he shall on the of him who is to be . Then the shall for him the Lord.
19 The shall the , to for him who is to be from his . And he shall the .
20 And the shall the and the on the . Thus the shall for him, and he shall be .
21 But he is and so , then he shall male for a to be , to for him, of an ephah of with for a , and a of ;
22 also or , he . The shall be a and the a .
23 And on the he shall them for his to the , to the of the of , the Lord.
24 And the shall the of the and the of , and the shall them for a the Lord.
25 And he shall the of the . And the shall some of the of the and it on the of the of him who is to be , and on the of his and on the of his .
26 And the shall some of the into the of his hand,
27 and shall with his some of the that is in his the Lord.
28 And the shall some of the that is in his on the of the of him who is to be and on the of his and on the of his , in the where the of the was put.
29 And the of the that is in the he shall on the of him who is to be , to for him the Lord.
30 And he shall , of the or , he ,
31 for a and the for a , along with a . And the shall the Lord for him who is being .
32 This is the for him in whom is a of , the offerings for his .
33 The Lord to and , ,
34 When you into the of , which I you for a , and I a of in a in the of your ,
35 then he the shall and the , There to me to be some case of in my .
36 Then the shall that they the before the to the , lest all that is in the be . And the shall to the .
37 And he shall the . And the is in the of the with or , and if it to be the surface,
38 then the shall of the to the of the and the .
39 And the shall on the , and . the has in the of the ,
40 then the shall that they the in is the and them into an the .
41 And he shall have the inside of the all , and the that they they shall in an the .
42 Then they shall and them in the of those , and he shall and the .
43 If the in the , he has the and the and it,
44 then the shall and . And if the has in the , it is a in the ; it is .
45 And he shall break the , its and and all the of the , and he shall them of the to an .
46 Moreover, the it is up shall be until the ,
47 and in the shall his , and whoever in the shall his .
48 But the and , and if the has not in the the was , then the shall the , for the is .
49 And for the of the he shall small , with and and ,
50 and shall of the in an over
51 and shall the and the and the , along with the , and them in the of the that was and in the and the .
52 Thus he shall the with the of the and with the and with the and with the and and .
53 And he shall the of the into the . So he shall for the , and it shall be .
54 This is the for any of : for an ,
55 for in a or in a ,
56 and for a or an or a ,
57 to it is and it is . This is the for .
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Leviticus 14Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Leviticus 14. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Of declaring the leper to be clean. (1–9). The sacrifices to be offered by him. (10–32). The leprosy in a house. (33–53). Summary of the law concerning leprosy. (54–57).
vv1-9
The priests could not cleanse the lepers; but when the Lord removed the plague, various rules were to be observed in admitting them again to the ordinances of God, and the society of his people. They represent many duties and exercises of truly repenting sinners, and the duties of ministers respecting them. If we apply this to the spiritual leprosy of sin, it intimates that when we withdraw from those who walk disorderly, we must not count them as enemies, but admonish them as brethren. And also that when God by his grace has brought to repentance, they ought with tenderness and joy, and sincere affection, to be received again. Care should always be taken that sinners may not be encouraged, nor penitents discouraged. If it were found that the leprosy was healed, the priest must declare it with the particular solemnities here described. The two birds, one killed, and the other dipped in the blood of the bird that was killed, and then let loose, may signify Christ shedding his blood for sinners, and rising and ascending into heaven. The priest having pronounced the leper clean from the disease, he must make himself clean from all remains of it. Thus those who have comfort of the remission of their sins, must with care and caution cleanse themselves from sins; for every one that has this hope in him, will be concerned to purify himself.
vv10-32
The cleansed leper was to be presented to the Lord, with his offerings. When God has restored us to enjoy public worship again, after sickness, distance, or otherwise, we should testify our thanksgiving by our diligent use of the liberty. And both we and our offerings must be presented before the Lord, by the Priest that made us clean, even our Lord Jesus. Beside the usual rites of the trespass-offering, some of the blood, and some of the oil, was to be put upon him that was to be cleansed. Wherever the blood of Christ is applied for justification, the oil of the Spirit is applied for sanctification; these two cannot be separated. We have here the gracious provision the law made for poor lepers. The poor are as welcome to God's altar as the rich. But though a meaner sacrifice was accepted from the poor, yet the same ceremony was used for the rich; their souls are as precious, and Christ and his gospel are the same to both. Even for the poor one lamb was necessary. No sinner could be saved, had it not been for the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God with his blood.
vv33-53
The leprosy in a house is unaccountable to us, as well as the leprosy in a garment; but now sin, where that reigns in a house, is a plague there, as it is in a heart. Masters of families should be aware, and afraid of the first appearance of sin in their families, and put it away, whatever it is. If the leprosy is got into the house, the infected part must be taken out. If it remain in the house, the whole must be pulled down. The owner had better be without a dwelling, than live in one that was infected. The leprosy of sin ruins families and churches. Thus sin is so interwoven with the human body, that it must be taken down by death.
Key Words
דָבַר: perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
תּוֹרָה: a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch
צָרַע: to scourge, i.e. (intransitive and figurative) to be stricken with leprosy
יוֹם: a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)
טׇהֳרָה: ceremonial purification; moral purity
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
כֹּהֵן: literally one officiating, a priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman)
יָצָא: to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proxim.
Cross References
Leviticus 14Explicitly links cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop to the sprinkling and cleansing ceremonies under the law.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Direct parallel placing sacrificial blood on the right ear, thumb, and toe, matching Aaron's consecration ritual.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Explicitly details the wealthy purification rites that are now adapted for the poor in parallel fashion.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Jesus commands the healed leper to show himself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded.
Supported by JFB
Luke's account of Jesus directing a healed leper to complete the Levitical rites of purification.
Supported by JFB
Applies blood to the right ear, thumb, and great toe for the consecration of the priests.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Sparing ritual of blood on ear, thumb, and toe matches Aaron's priestly consecration sequence.
Supported by Matthew Henry, John Calvin
Hebrews 9:19 references the covenant ceremony using water, scarlet wool, and hyssop to sprinkle for purification.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Establishes that the leper dwelt outside the camp, necessitating the priest to go forth to him.
Supported by Matthew Poole
David's plea for spiritual purging using hyssop, pointing directly back to Levitical purification ceremonies.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identical ceremonial process used for cleansing an infected house, confirming the ritual's unity.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Elisha commands Naaman the leper to wash in Jordan seven times, reflecting the Levitical sprinkling count.
Supported by JFB
Specifies putting oil directly on top of the trespass offering blood, uniting atonement and sanctification.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Establishes standard concession of two turtledoves/pigeons for individuals unable to afford a lamb.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Parallels the compassionate allowance for poor mothers bringing turtledoves or pigeons instead of lambs.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Jesus directs the cleansed leper to offer the gift Moses commanded as a testimony.
Supported by JFB
Fulfilled in the offering of Mary and Joseph, demonstrating Christ's birth under poverty provisions.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Defines the 'fretting leprosy' (malignant disease) in a garment, parallel to its outbreak in a house.
David requests purgation with hyssop, directly echoing the ritual materials used to cleanse the leprous house.
Provides the detailed, parallel diagnostic laws for evaluating leprosy in garments.
Mark's gospel record of Jesus commanding the healed leper to undergo the priest's inspection.
Supported by Matthew Poole
First use of hyssop for sprinkling blood, establishing its covenantal role in purification.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The sevenfold sprinkling of blood before the veil, illustrating total ritual cleansing.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The standard rich person's purification offering being modified for the poor person's situation.
Supported by John Calvin, JFB
The curse of God entering and consuming the stones and timber of a sinful house.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Contrasts the curse of the Lord in the wicked's house with blessing the righteous habitation.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The same materials (cedar wood, hyssop, scarlet) are commanded for burning the red heifer.
Establishes the priestly duty of distinguishing holy from unholy, clean from unclean, summarizing this law.
Ezekiel reinforces the priestly instruction of discerning between the clean and the unclean.
Uses the same items (birds, cedar, scarlet, hyssop) to cleanse a leprous house.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Reinforces the ritual order: the oil of sanctification must cover the blood of justification.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Summarizes the law's special adaptation for the leper whose hand is unable to afford standard items.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Instruction to empty the house / flee Babylon to avoid contamination and sharing in judgments.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The priestly precedent of shutting up the suspect article for seven days to observe.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The curse entering a wicked house to consume its timber and stones resembles house leprosy's destruction.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Elisha commands Naaman to wash seven times for complete healing, echoing the sevenfold sprinkling.
Supported by JFB