במדבר 19

1 וידבר יהוה אל משה ואל אהרן לאמר

Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,

2 זאת חקת התורה אשר צוה יהוה לאמר דבר אל בני ישראל ויקחו אליך פרה אדמה תמימה אשר אין בה מום אשר לא עלה עליה על

“I am now giving to you another regulation. Tell the Israeli people to bring to you one reddish-brown cow that has no defects. It must be an animal that (has never been/no one has ever) used for plowing ground.

3 ונתתם אתה אל אלעזר הכהן והוציא אתה אל מחוץ למחנה ושחט אתה לפניו

Give it to Eleazar, the priest. He must take it outside the camp and slaughter it [and drain the blood in a basin].

4 ולקח אלעזר הכהן מדמה--באצבעו והזה אל נכח פני אהל מועד מדמה--שבע פעמים

He must dip one of his fingers in the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times [on the ground] near the Sacred Tent.

5 ושרף את הפרה לעיניו את ערה ואת בשרה ואת דמה על פרשה ישרף

Then, while Eleazar watches, the cow must be burned completely—its hide, its meat, [the rest of] its blood, and even its dung.

6 ולקח הכהן עץ ארז ואזוב--ושני תולעת והשליך אל תוך שרפת הפרה

Eliezer then must take a stick of cedar wood, a stalk of [a plant named] hyssop, and some scarlet/red yarn, and throw them into the fire where the cow is burning.

7 וכבס בגדיו הכהן ורחץ בשרו במים ואחר יבא אל המחנה וטמא הכהן עד הערב

“Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe. After doing that, he may return to the camp. But he will be unfit for doing any sacred work until that evening.

8 והשרף אתה--יכבס בגדיו במים ורחץ בשרו במים וטמא עד הערב

The man who burns the cow must also wash his clothes and bathe, and he will also be unacceptable to me until that evening.

9 ואסף איש טהור את אפר הפרה והניח מחוץ למחנה במקום טהור והיתה לעדת בני ישראל למשמרת למי נדה--חטאת הוא

“Then someone who has not become unacceptable to me must gather up the ashes of the cow and put them in a (sacred place/place that is acceptable to me) outside the camp. The ashes must be kept there for the people of Israel to [use when they] mix it with water for the ritual to remove the guilt of sin.

10 וכבס האסף את אפר הפרה את בגדיו וטמא עד הערב והיתה לבני ישראל ולגר הגר בתוכם--לחקת עולם

The man who gathers up the ashes of the cow must [also] wash his clothes, and he [also] will be unfit to do any more sacred work until that evening. That is a regulation that will never be changed. It must be obeyed by you Israeli people and by any foreigners who live among you.

11 הנגע במת לכל נפש אדם--וטמא שבעת ימים

“All those who touch a corpse will be unacceptable to me for seven days.

12 הוא יתחטא בו ביום השלישי וביום השביעי--יטהר ואם לא יתחטא ביום השלישי וביום השביעי--לא יטהר

On the third day and on the seventh day [after touching a corpse], in order to become acceptable to me again, [they must have sprinkled on them] some of that water for removing the guilt of their sin. If they do not do that on both of those days, they will continue to be unacceptable to me.

13 כל הנגע במת בנפש האדם אשר ימות ולא יתחטא את משכן יהוה טמא--ונכרתה הנפש ההוא מישראל כי מי נדה לא זרק עליו טמא יהיה--עוד טמאתו בו

All those who touch a corpse, and do not perform in the correct way the ritual to become acceptable to me again, defile Yahweh’s Sacred Tent. They will no longer be permitted to live among the Israeli people. The water to remove the guilt of sin was not sprinkled on them, so they continue to be unacceptable to me.

14 זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל כל הבא אל האהל וכל אשר באהל יטמא שבעת ימים

“There is another ritual that must be performed when someone dies inside a tent. All those who were inside that tent when that person died or who enter that tent will be unacceptable to me for seven days.

15 וכל כלי פתוח אשר אין צמיד פתיל עליו--טמא הוא

Any jars that are inside that tent that are not covered are not permitted to be used.

16 וכל אשר יגע על פני השדה בחלל חרב או במת או בעצם אדם או בקבר--יטמא שבעת ימים

If someone who is out in a field touches the corpse of someone who was murdered, or who died from natural causes, or if someone touches a bone from some human or touches a grave, that person will be unacceptable to me for seven days.

17 ולקחו לטמא מעפר שרפת החטאת ונתן עליו מים חיים אל כלי

“For someone like that to become acceptable to me again, some of the ashes from [the cow] that was burned must be taken and put in a jar. Then some fresh water must be poured over the ashes.

18 ולקח אזוב וטבל במים איש טהור והזה על האהל ועל כל הכלים ועל הנפשות אשר היו שם ועל הנגע בעצם או בחלל או במת או בקבר

Then someone who is still acceptable to me must take a stalk of [a plant named] hyssop and dip it into the water. Then that person must sprinkle some of the water on the tent where that person died, on the things that are in the tent, and on the people who were in the tent. He must also sprinkle some of that water on any person who touched a human bone or who touched a person who died, or who touched a grave.

19 והזה הטהר על הטמא ביום השלישי וביום השביעי וחטאו ביום השביעי וכבס בגדיו ורחץ במים וטהר בערב

On the third day and on the seventh day after that, the person who is acceptable to me must sprinkle some of that water on those who have become unacceptable to me. On the seventh day, the people who are performing that ritual to become acceptable to me again must wash their clothes and bathe. If they do that, on that evening they will become acceptable to me again.

20 ואיש אשר יטמא ולא יתחטא ונכרתה הנפש ההוא מתוך הקהל כי את מקדש יהוה טמא מי נדה לא זרק עליו--טמא הוא

“If those who have become unacceptable to me do not become acceptable to me again by doing this, they will no longer be permitted to live among the Israeli people, because they have defiled my Sacred Tent. They did not sprinkle on themselves the water that removes the guilt of their sins, so they remain unacceptable to me.

21 והיתה להם לחקת עולם ומזה מי הנדה יכבס בגדיו והנגע במי הנדה יטמא עד הערב

That is a law for the Israeli people that will never be changed. Those who sprinkle that water on themselves must then wash their clothes. And anyone who touches that water which removes guilt for sins will remain unacceptable to God until that evening.

22 וכל אשר יגע בו הטמא יטמא והנפש הנגעת תטמא עד הערב

“If someone touches a thing or a person that has become unacceptable to me, that person will remain unacceptable to me until that evening.”