Leviticus 5:2-4
New Catholic Bible
2 Or if anyone touches any unclean thing, whether it be the carcass of an unclean animal or the carcass of unclean cattle or the carcass of any unclean creeping thing, even if he did not know it, he shall be unclean and be held guilty. 3 Or if he touches human uncleanness,[a] of whatever type of uncleanness one might touch and become unclean, and he did not know it, when he comes to know of it he shall be guilty. 4 Or if someone rashly lets an oath slip from his lips, to do evil or to do good, in anything by which a person who swears a rash oath, and he does not realize it, when he comes to know it, he shall be guilty for any one of these thing s.
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- Leviticus 5:3 Human uncleanness: a large part of Israelite ritual is based on the notions of pure and impure that affected the fitness of the person to enter the sanctuary for worship.
They are cultic rather than ethical determinations. In the New Testament, Jesus’ interpretation of cleanliness went beyond the rigidity imposed by the Pharisees on exterior performance to address the person’s interior disposition.
Leviticus 5:2-4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
2 or if someone, without being aware of it, touches any unclean thing, such as the carcass of an unclean wild animal, or an unclean domestic animal, or an unclean swarming creature,[a] and thus is unclean and guilty;(A) 3 or if someone, without being aware of it, touches some human uncleanness,(B) whatever kind of uncleanness this may be, and then subsequently becomes aware of guilt; 4 or if someone, without being aware of it, rashly utters an oath with bad or good intent,(C) whatever kind of oath this may be, and then subsequently becomes aware of guilt in regard to any of these matters—
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- 5:2 Swarming creature: a rather imprecise categorization that includes various small creatures in the seas, such as fish that go about in large groups or swarms (Gn 1:20; Lv 11:10); or, similarly, various winged insects that mass in the skies (Lv 11:20; Dt 14:19); and, finally, various small creatures that move in swarms on land, whether crawlers, quadrupeds, or of the multilegged variety (Lv 11:41–42). According to 11:29–30, even various rodents and lizards can be included in this category.
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