Numbers 19

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said,

2 This [is] the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein [is] no blemish, [and] upon which never came yoke:

“This is a statute, a law which I am commanding you: Say to the people of Israel that they must bring to you a red heifer without flaw or blemish, and which has never carried a yoke.

3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and [one] shall slay her before his face:

Give the heifer to Eleazar the priest. He must bring it outside the camp, and someone must kill it in front of him.

4 And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:

Eleazar the priest must take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting.

5 And [one] shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:

Another priest must burn the heifer in his sight. He must burn its hide, flesh, and its blood with its dung.

6 And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast [it] into the midst of the burning of the heifer.

The priest must take cedarwood, hyssop, and scarlet wool, and throw it all into the middle of the burning heifer.

7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.

Then he must wash his clothes and bathe in water. Then he may come into the camp, where he will remain unclean until the evening.

8 And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.

The one who has burned the heifer must wash his clothes in water and bathe in water. He will remain unclean until the evening.

9 And a man [that is] clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay [them] up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it [is] a purification for sin.

Someone who is clean must gather up the heifer's ashes and put them outside the camp in a clean place. These ashes must be kept for the community of the people of Israel. They will mix the ashes with water for purification from sin, since the ashes were from a sin offering.

10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.

The one who gathered the heifer's ashes must wash his clothes. He will remain unclean until the evening. This will be a permanent law for the people of Israel and the foreigners who stay with them.

11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.

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

12 He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.

Such a person must purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day. Then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself the third day, then he will not be clean on the seventh day.

13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness [is] yet upon him.

Whoever touches a dead person, the body of a man who has died, and does not purify himself—this person defiles Yahweh's tabernacle. That person must be cut off from Israel because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him. He will remain unclean; his uncleanness will remain on him.

14 This [is] the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that [is] in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.

This is the law for when someone dies in a tent. Everyone who goes into the tent and everyone who is already in the tent will be unclean for seven days.

15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, [is] unclean.

Every open container with no cover becomes unclean.

16 And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

Similarly, anyone outside a tent who touches someone who has been killed with a sword, any other dead body, a human bone, or a grave—that person will be unclean for seven days.

17 And for an unclean [person] they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:

Do this for the unclean person: Take some ashes from the burnt sin offering and mix them in a jar with fresh water.

18 And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip [it] in the water, and sprinkle [it] upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:

Someone who is clean must then take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the containers inside the tent, on the persons who were there, and on anyone who touched the bone, the one who was killed, the one who died, or the grave.

19 And the clean [person] shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.

On the third day and on the seventh day, the clean person must sprinkle the unclean person. On the seventh day the unclean person must purify himself. He must wash his clothes and bathe in water. At evening he will become clean.

20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he [is] unclean.

But anyone who remains unclean, who refuses to purify himself—that person will be cut off from the community, because he has defiled Yahweh's sanctuary. The water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him; he remains unclean.

21 And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.

This will be an ongoing law concerning these situations. The one who sprinkles the water for impurity must wash his clothes. The one who touches the water for impurity will become unclean until evening.

22 And whatsoever the unclean [person] toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth [it] shall be unclean until even.

Whatever the unclean person touches will become unclean. The person who touches it will become unclean until evening.”