Numbers 19

1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:2 “This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke.3 Give it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting.5 While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines.6 The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer.7 After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening.

8 The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.
9 “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin.

10 The man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening. This will be a lasting ordinance both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.
11 “Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days.12 They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean.

13 If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile the Lord ’s tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them.
14 “This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days,

15 and every open container without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.

16 “Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.
17 “For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them.18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death.19 The man who is clean is to sprinkle those who are unclean on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them. Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and that evening they will be clean.20 But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean.

21 This is a lasting ordinance for them.
“The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening.

22 Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.”

Numbers 19

The Red Heifer Ritual

1 s The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron:2 “This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded: ‘Instructt the Israelites to bringt you a redt heifers without blemish, which has no defectt and has never carried a yoke.3 You must give it to Eleazar the priest so that he can take it outside the camp, and it must be slaughtered before him.s4 Eleazar the priest is to taket some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of the blood seven timess directly in front of the tent of meeting.5 Then the heifer must be burnedt in his sight – its skin, its flesh, its blood, and its offal is to be burned.t6 And the priest must take cedar wood, hyssop,s and scarlet wool and throw them into the midst of the fire where the heifer is burning.s7 Then the priest must washt his clothes and bathe himselft in water, and afterward he may comet into the camp, but the priest will be ceremonially unclean until evening.

8 The one who burns its must wash his clothes in water and bathe himself in water. He will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
9 “‘Then a man who is ceremonially clean must gather up the ashes of the red heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be keptt for the community of the Israelites for use in the water of purificationt – it is a purification for sin.s

10 The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer must wash his clothes and be ceremonially unclean until evening. This will be a permanent ordinance both for the Israelites and the resident foreigner who lives among them.

Purification from Uncleanness

11 “‘Whoever touchest the corpset of any persont will be ceremonially uncleant seven days.12 He must purify himselft with water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and the seventh day, then he will not be clean.

13 Anyone who touches the corpse of any dead person and does not purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. And that person must be cut off from Israel,s because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him. He will be unclean; his uncleanness remains on him.
14 “‘This is the law: When a man diest in a tent, anyone who comes into the tent and all who are in the tent will be ceremonially unclean seven days.15 And every open container that has no covering fastened on it is unclean.

16 And whoever touches the body of someone killed with a sword in the open fields,t or the body of someone who died of natural causes,t or a human bone, or a grave, will be unclean seven days.s
17 “‘For a ceremonially unclean person you must taket some of the ashes of the heifert burnt for purification from sin and pourt fresh runningt water over them in a vessel.18 Then a ceremonially clean person must take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all its furnishings, and on the people who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, or one killed, or one who died, or a grave.19 And the clean person must sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he must purify him,t and then he must wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and he will be clean in the evening.

20 But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person must be cut off from among the community, because he has polluted the sanctuary of the Lord; the water of purification was not sprinkled on him, so he is unclean.
21 “‘So this will be a perpetual ordinance for them: The one who sprinklest the water of purification must wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening.s

22 And whatever the unclean person touches will be unclean, and the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.’”