Numbers 19

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said,

And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

2 “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.

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:

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

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:

4 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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

7 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.

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

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

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

9 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.

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.

10 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.

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.

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

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

12 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.

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.

13 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.

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.

14 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.

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.

15 Every open container with no cover becomes unclean.

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

16 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.

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.

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

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.

18 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.

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:

19 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.

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.

20 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.

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.

21 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.

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.

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

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.