Numbers 19

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

The Lord told Moses and Aaron,

2 This is the statute 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 legal regulation the Lord has ordered, saying, ‘Tell the Israelites to bring you a red cow without defects which has never been yoked.

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

Hand it over to Eleazar the priest, and he will take it outside the camp and have it slaughtered before him.

4 and Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times:

Eleazar the priest will put some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times towards the entrance 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:

Then the cow must be burned as he watches All of it is to be burned—its skin, meat, and blood, as well as its excrement.

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 shall throw cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson thread on the burning cow.

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 the priest shall wash his clothes and his body in water, and after that he may enter the camp, but 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 person who burned the cow shall also wash his clothes and his body in water, and he too 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 sin offering.

Then a man who is clean shall collect the ashes of the cow and keep them in a clean place outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelites to prepare the water of purification which is for purifying from sin.

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 man who collected the ashes of the cow shall also wash his clothes, and he will remain unclean until the evening. This is a permanent rule for the Israelites and for the foreigner that lives with them.

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

If you touch a dead body you will be unclean for seven days.

12 the same shall purify himself therewith 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.

You must purify yourself with the water of purification on the third day and on the seventh day, and then you will be clean. But if you don't purify yourself on the third and seventh days, you won't be clean.

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.

If you touch a dead body and don't purify yourself you make the Tabernacle of the Lord unclean and must be expelled from Israel. You are still unclean because the water of purification hasn't been sprinkled on you, and your uncleanness remains.

14 This is the law when a man dieth in a tent: every one that cometh into the tent, and every one that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.

The following regulation applies when a person dies in a tent. Everyone who comes 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.

Any open container there that doesn't have a closed lid is unclean.

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

If you're out in the open and you touch someone who has been killed by the sword or who has died naturally, or if you touch a human bone or a grave, then you'll be unclean for seven days.

17 And for the unclean they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the sin offering, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:

This is the process for the purification if you are unclean. Take some of the ashes of the burnt offering for purification, and put 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 the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave:

A man who is clean shall take some hyssop and dip it in the water. Then sprinkle the tent and everything inside it, and everybody who was there. He would also need to sprinkle you if you who touched a bone, or a grave, or someone who has died or has been killed.

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 him; and he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.

The man who is clean is to sprinkle you both on the third day and on the seventh day. After you are purified on the seventh day, you must wash your clothes and yourself in water, and that evening you'll be clean.

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

But if you don't purify yourself, you will be expelled from the Israelites, because you have made the Tabernacle of the Lord unclean. The water of purification hasn't been sprinkled on you, and you remain unclean.

21 And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them: and 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 is a permanent rule for the everyone. The man who sprinkles the water of purification must wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of purification will be unclean until the evening.

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

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