Liber Numeri 19
1 Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen et Aaron, dicens:
Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
2 Ista est religio victimæ, quam constituit Dominus. Præcipe filiis Israel, ut adducant ad te vaccam rufam ætatis integræ, in qua nulla sit macula, nec portaverit iugum:
“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 tradetisque eam Eleazaro sacerdoti. qui eductam extra castram, immolabit in conspectu omnium:
Give it to Eleazar, the priest. He must take it outside the camp and slaughter it [and drain the blood in a basin].
4 et tingens digitum in sanguine eius, asperget contra fores tabernaculi septem vicibus,
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 comburetque eam cunctis videntibus, tam pelle et carnibus eius quam sanguine et fimo flammæ traditis.
Then, while Eleazar watches, the cow must be burned completely—its hide, its meat, [the rest of] its blood, and even its dung.
6 Lignum quoque cedrinum, et hyssopum, coccumque bis tinctum sacerdos mittet in flammam, quæ vaccam vorat.
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 Et tunc demum, lotis vestibus et corpore suo, ingredietur in castra, commaculatusque erit usque ad vesperum.
“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 Sed et ille, qui combusserit eam, lavabit vestimenta sua, et corpus, et immundus erit usque ad vesperum.
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 Colliget autem vir mundus cineres vaccæ, et effundet eos extra castra in loco purissimo, ut sint multitudini filiorum Israel in custodiam, et in aquam aspersionis: quia pro peccato vacca combusta est.
“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 Cumque laverit qui vaccæ portaverat cineres, vestimenta sua, immundus erit usque ad vesperum. Habebunt hoc filii Israel et advenæ, qui habitant inter eos, sanctum iure perpetuo.
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 Qui tetigerit cadaver hominis, et propter hoc septem diebus fuerit immundus:
“All those who touch a corpse will be unacceptable to me for seven days.
12 aspergetur ex hac aqua die tertio et septimo, et sic mundabitur. Si die tertio aspersus non fuerit, septimo non poterit emundari.
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 Omnis qui tetigerit humanæ animæ morticinum, et aspersus hac commistione non fuerit, polluet tabernaculum Domini, et peribit ex Israel: quia aqua expiationis non est aspersus, immundus erit, et manebit spurcitia eius super eum.
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 Ista est lex hominis qui moritur in tabernaculo: Omnes qui ingrediuntur tentorium illius, et universa vasa quæ ibi sunt, polluta erunt septem diebus.
“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 Vas, quod non habuerit operculum, nec ligaturam desuper, immundum erit.
Any jars that are inside that tent that are not covered are not permitted to be used.
16 Si quis in agro tetigerit cadaver occisi hominis, aut per se mortui, sive os illius, vel sepulchrum, immundus erit septem diebus.
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 Tollentque de cineribus combustionis atque peccati, et mittent aquas vivas super eos in vas.
“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 in quibus cum homo mundus tinxerit hyssopum, asperget ex eo omne tentorium, et cunctam supellectilem, et homines huiuscemodi contagione pollutos:
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 atque hoc modo mundus lustrabit immundum tertio et septimo die. expiatusque die septimo, lavabit et se et vestimenta sua, et immundus erit usque ad vesperum.
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 Si quis hoc ritu non fuerit expiatus, peribit anima illius de medio Ecclesiæ: quia sanctuarium Domini polluit, et non est aqua lustrationis aspersus.
“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 erit hoc præceptum legitimum sempiternum. Ipse quoque qui aspergit aquas, lavabit vestimenta sua: Omnis qui tetigerit aquas expiationis, immundus erit usque ad vesperum.
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 Quidquid tetigerit immundus, immundum faciet: et anima, quæ horum quippiam tetigerit, immunda erit usque ad vesperum.
“If someone touches a thing or a person that has become unacceptable to me, that person will remain unacceptable to me until that evening.”
