Numbers 19

1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, and unto Aaron, saying,

The Lord told Moses and Aaron,

2 'This [is] a statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the sons of Israel, and they bring unto thee a red cow, a perfect one, in which there is no blemish, on which no yoke hath gone up;

“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 have given it unto Eleazar the priest, and he hath brought it out unto the outside of the camp, and hath slaughtered it before him.

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 hath taken of its blood with his finger, and hath sprinkled over-against the front of the tent of meeting of her blood 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] hath burnt the cow before his eyes; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, besides her dung, he doth 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 hath taken cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and hath cast unto the midst of the burning of the cow;

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

7 and the priest hath washed his garments, and hath bathed his flesh with water, and afterwards doth come in unto the camp, and the priest is unclean till the evening;

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 who is burning it doth wash his garments with water, and hath bathed his flesh with water, and is unclean till the evening.

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 clean man hath gathered the ashes of the cow, and hath placed at the outside of the camp, in a clean place, and it hath become to the company of the sons of Israel a charge for waters of separation — it [is] a [cleansing];

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 who is gathering the ashes of the heifer hath washed his garments, and is unclean till the evening; and it hath been to the sons of Israel, and to the sojourner who is sojourning in their midst, for a statute age-during.

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 who is coming against the dead body of any man — is unclean seven days;

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

12 he doth cleanse himself for it on the third day, and on the seventh day he is clean; and if he cleanse not himself on the third day, then on the seventh day he is not 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 Any one who is coming against the dead, against the body of man who dieth, and cleanseth not himself — the tabernacle of Jehovah he hath defiled, and that person hath been cut off from Israel, for water of separation is not sprinkled upon him; he is unclean; his uncleanness [is] still 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 who is coming in unto the tent, and all that [is] in the tent, is 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 of thread upon it is unclean.

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

16 'And every one who cometh, on the face of the field, against the pierced of a sword, or against the dead, or against a bone of man, or against a grave, is 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 they have taken for the unclean person of the ashes of the burning of the [cleansing], and he hath put upon it running water unto 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 hath taken hyssop, and hath dipped [it] in water, and hath sprinkled on the tent, and on all the vessels, and on the persons who have been there, and on him who is coming against a bone, or against one pierced, or against the dead, or against a 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 hath sprinkled [it] on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day, and hath cleansed him on the seventh day, and he hath washed his garments, and hath bathed with water, and hath been clean in the evening.

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 'And the man who is unclean, and doth not cleanse himself, even that person hath been cut off from the midst of the assembly; for the sanctuary of Jehovah he hath defiled; water of separation is not 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 hath been to them for a statute age-during, that he who is sprinkling the water of separation doth wash his garments, and he who is coming against the water of separation is unclean till the evening,

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 all against which the unclean person cometh is unclean, and the person who is coming against [it] is unclean till the evening.'

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