Leviticus 13

Skin Disease: Swelling, Scab, or Bright Spot

1The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2“When a person has on the skin of the body a swelling, a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes a diseased condition on the skin, that person shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests. 3The priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin. If the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the appearance of the diseased area is deeper than the skin, it is a serious skin disease. The priest shall examine the person and pronounce that person unclean. 4But if the bright spot is white on the skin and does not appear deeper than the skin, and the hair has not turned white, the priest shall isolate the affected person for seven days. 5The priest shall examine the person on the seventh day. If in his eyes the diseased area has stayed the same and has not spread on the skin, the priest shall isolate the person for seven more days. 6The priest shall examine the person again on the seventh day. If the diseased area has faded and has not spread on the skin, the priest shall pronounce the person clean; it is a scab. The person shall wash their clothes and be clean. 7But if the scab spreads on the skin after the person has shown themselves to the priest for cleansing, that person shall appear again before the priest. 8The priest shall examine the person, and if the scab has spread on the skin, the priest shall pronounce the person unclean. It is a serious skin disease.

Chronic Skin Disease

9When a serious skin disease is on a person, that person shall be brought to the priest. 10The priest shall examine the person. If there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling, 11it is a chronic skin disease in the skin of the body. The priest shall pronounce the person unclean; he shall not isolate the person, for that person is already unclean. 12If the disease breaks out widely on the skin and covers all the skin of the affected person from head to foot, as far as the priest can see, 13then the priest shall examine the person. If the disease has covered the whole body, the priest shall pronounce the affected person clean; it has all turned white, and the person is clean. 14But whenever raw flesh appears, the person shall be unclean. 15The priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce the person unclean. The raw flesh is unclean; it is a serious skin disease. 16But if the raw flesh changes again and turns white, the person shall come to the priest. 17The priest shall examine the person. If the diseased area has turned white, the priest shall pronounce the affected person clean; that person is clean.

Disease in a Healed Boil

18When the skin of the body has a boil and it heals, 19and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a reddish-white bright spot, it shall be shown to the priest. 20The priest shall examine it. If it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, the priest shall pronounce the person unclean. It is a serious skin disease that has broken out in the boil. 21But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in it, it is not deeper than the skin, and it has faded, the priest shall isolate the person for seven days. 22If it spreads on the skin, the priest shall pronounce the person unclean. It is a diseased condition. 23But if the bright spot stays in its place and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil, and the priest shall pronounce the person clean.

Disease in a Burn

24Or when the skin of the body has a burn from fire and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a reddish-white or white bright spot, 25the priest shall examine it. If the hair in the bright spot has turned white and it appears deeper than the skin, it is a serious skin disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest shall pronounce the person unclean; it is a serious skin disease. 26But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the bright spot, it is not deeper than the skin, and it has faded, the priest shall isolate the person for seven days. 27The priest shall examine the person on the seventh day. If it has spread on the skin, the priest shall pronounce the person unclean; it is a serious skin disease. 28But if the bright spot stays in its place, has not spread on the skin, and has faded, it is the swelling from the burn. The priest shall pronounce the person clean, for it is the scar of the burn.

Disease on the Head or Beard

29When a man or woman has a diseased area on the head or beard, 30the priest shall examine the diseased area. If it appears deeper than the skin and there is thin yellow hair in it, the priest shall pronounce the person unclean. It is an itch, a serious disease of the head or beard. 31But if the priest examines the diseased itch and it does not appear deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall isolate the affected person for seven days. 32On the seventh day the priest shall examine the diseased area. If the itch has not spread, there is no yellow hair in it, and the itch does not appear deeper than the skin, 33the person shall shave, but not shave the itch. The priest shall isolate the person with the itch for seven more days. 34On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch. If the itch has not spread on the skin and does not appear deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce the person clean. The person shall wash their clothes and be clean. 35But if the itch spreads on the skin after the person is pronounced clean, 36the priest shall examine the person. If the itch has spread on the skin, the priest need not look for yellow hair; the person is unclean. 37But if in the priest’s eyes the itch has stayed the same and black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed. The person is clean, and the priest shall pronounce the person clean.

Harmless White Spots and Baldness

38When a man or woman has bright spots on the skin of the body, white bright spots, 39the priest shall examine them. If the bright spots on the skin are dull white, it is a harmless eruption that has broken out on the skin; the person is clean. 40If a man loses the hair of his head, he is bald; he is clean. 41If he loses the hair from the front of his head, he has a bald forehead; he is clean. 42But if there is a reddish-white diseased area on the bald head or bald forehead, it is a serious skin disease breaking out on the bald head or forehead. 43The priest shall examine him. If the swelling of the diseased area is reddish-white on his bald head or forehead, resembling a serious skin disease on the body, 44he has a serious skin disease; he is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; the disease is on his head.

The Person Pronounced Unclean

45The person with the serious skin disease shall wear torn clothes, let the hair of the head hang loose, cover the upper lip, and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46All the days the diseased condition remains, the person shall be unclean. That person is unclean and shall live alone; the dwelling shall be outside the camp.

Diseased Conditions in Garments

47When a diseased condition appears in a garment, whether a wool garment or a linen garment, 48in warp or woof of linen or wool, or in leather or anything made of leather, 49if the affected area in the garment, leather, warp, woof, or any article of leather is greenish or reddish, it is a diseased condition and shall be shown to the priest. 50The priest shall examine the affected area and isolate the article for seven days. 51On the seventh day he shall examine the affected area. If it has spread in the garment, warp, woof, or leather, whatever the leather is used for, it is a destructive diseased condition; it is unclean. 52He shall burn the garment, whether warp or woof, wool or linen, or any leather article in which the disease appears, for it is destructive. It shall be burned with fire.

53But if the priest examines it and the affected area has not spread in the garment, warp, woof, or any leather article, 54the priest shall command that the affected article be washed, and he shall isolate it for seven more days. 55After it has been washed, the priest shall examine the affected area. If the appearance has not changed, even though it has not spread, it is unclean. You shall burn it with fire; it is a corroded spot, whether on the inside or outside. 56But if the priest examines it and the affected area has faded after being washed, he shall tear it out of the garment, leather, warp, or woof. 57If it appears again in the garment, warp, woof, or any leather article, it is spreading. You shall burn with fire whatever has the affected area. 58But the garment, warp, woof, or any leather article that you wash, if the affected area disappears from it, shall be washed a second time and shall be clean. 59This is the law for a diseased condition in a wool or linen garment, in warp or woof, or in any leather article, for pronouncing it clean or unclean.