Leviticus 13:1-8

Expanded Bible

Rules About Skin Diseases

13 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² “Someone might have on ·his skin [^Lthe skin of his body; ^Cand so throughout the passage] a swelling or a ·rash [eruption] or a bright spot. If the sore looks like ·a harmful skin disease [^Tleprosy; the term does not refer to modern leprosy (Hansen’s disease), but to various skin disorders], the person must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of Aaron’s sons, the priests. ³ The priest must ·look at [examine] the sore on the person’s skin. If the hair in the sore has become white, and the sore seems deeper than the person’s skin, it is a harmful skin disease [13:2]. When he has finished ·looking at [examining] the person, the priest must announce that the person is unclean [^Cin a ritual sense; the principle of “wholeness” was disturbed by running sores or by a skin disease that partially covered the body; see 13:12–13].

⁴ “If there is a white spot on a person’s skin, but the spot does not seem deeper than the skin, and if the hair from the spot has not turned white, the priest must ·separate [confine; quarantine] that person from other people for seven days. ⁵ On the seventh day the priest must ·look at [examine] the person again. If he sees that the sore has not changed and it has not spread on the skin, the priest must keep the person ·separated [confined; quarantined] for seven more days. ⁶ On the seventh day the priest must ·look at [examine] the person again. If the sore has faded and has not spread on the skin, the priest must announce that the person is clean [^Cin a ritual sense]. The sore is only a ·rash [eruption]. The person must wash his clothes, and he will become clean again.

⁷ “But if the ·rash [eruption] spreads again after the priest has announced him clean [^Cin a ritual sense], the person must come again to the priest. ⁸ The priest must ·look at [examine] him, and if the ·rash [eruption] has spread on the skin, the priest must announce that the person is unclean; it is a harmful skin disease [13:2].