Numbers 19

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

2 This is the observance of the victim, which the Lord hath ordained. Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee a red cow of full age, in which there is no blemish, and which hath not carried the yoke:

“This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red heifer that has no defect and has never been placed under a yoke.

3 And you shall deliver her to Eleazar the priest, who shall bring her forth without the camp, and shall immolate her in the sight of all:

Give it to Eleazar the priest, and he will have it brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.

4 And dipping his finger in her blood, shall sprinkle it over against the door of the tabernacle seven times,

Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting.

5 And shall burn her in the sight of all, delivering up to the fire her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, and her dung.

Then the heifer must be burned in his sight. Its hide, its flesh, and its blood are to be burned, along with its dung.

6 The priest shall also take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet twice dyed, and cast it into the flame, with which the cow is consumed.

The priest is to take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer.

7 And then after washing his garments, and body, he shall enter into the camp, and shall be unclean until the evening.

Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean until evening.

8 He also that hath burned her, shall wash his garments, and his body, and shall be unclean until the evening.

The one who burned the heifer must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he too will be ceremonially unclean until evening.

9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the cow, and shall pour them forth without the camp in a most clean place, that they may be reserved for the multitude of the children of Israel, and for a water of aspersion: because the cow was burnt for sin.

Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept by the congregation of Israel for preparing the water of purification; this is for purification from sin.

10 And when he that carried the ashes of the cow, hath washed his garments, he shall be unclean until the evening. The children of Israel, and the strangers that dwell among them, shall observe this for a holy thing by a perpetual ordinance.

The man who has gathered up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he will be ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the foreigner residing among them.

11 He that toucheth the corpse of a man, and is therefore unclean seven days,

Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days.

12 Shall be sprinkled with this water on the third day, and on the seventh, and so shall be cleansed. If he were not sprinkled on the third day, he cannot be cleansed on the seventh.

He must purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean.

13 Every one that toucheth the corpse of a man, and is not sprinkled with mixture, shall profane the tabernacle of the Lord, and shall perish out of Israel: because he was not sprinkled with the water of expiation, he shall be unclean, and his uncleanness shall remain upon him.

Anyone who touches a human corpse and fails to purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person must be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean, because the water of purification has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.

14 This is the law of a mall that dieth in a tent: All that go into his tent and all the vessels that are there, shall be unclean seven days.

This is the law when a person dies in a tent: Everyone who enters the tent and everyone already in the tent will be unclean for seven days,

15 The vessel that hath no cover, nor binding over it, shall be unclean.

and any open container without a lid fastened on it is unclean.

16 If any man in the field touch the corpse of a man that was slain, or that died of himself, or his bone, or his grave, he shall be unclean seven days.

Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

17 And they shall take of the ashes of the burning and of the sin offering, and shall pour living waters upon them into a vessel.

For the purification of the unclean person, take some of the ashes of the burnt sin offering, put them in a jar, and pour fresh water over them.

18 And a man that is clean shall dip hyssop in them, and shall sprinkle therewith all the tent, and all the furniture, and the men that are defiled with touching any such thing:

Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, or a person who has died or been slain.

19 And in this manner he that is clean shall purify the unclean on the third and on the seventh day. And being expiated the seventh day, he shall wash both himself and his garments, and be unclean until the evening.

The man who is ceremonially clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and that evening he will be clean.

20 If any man be not expiated after this rite, his soul shall perish out of the midst of the church: because he hath profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, and was not sprinkled with the water of purification.

But if a person who is unclean does not purify himself, he will be cut off from the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.

21 This precept shall be an ordinance for ever. He also that sprinkled the water, shall wash his garments. Every one that shall touch the waters of expiation, shall be unclean until the evening.

This is a permanent statute for the people: The one who sprinkles the water of purification must wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening.

22 Whatsoever a person toucheth who is unclean, he shall make it unclean: and the person that toucheth any of these things, shall be unclean until the evening.

Anything the unclean person touches will become unclean, and anyone who touches it will be unclean until evening.”