Numbers

Tells about the Israelites' 40 years in the desert, including their travels and the census of their tribes.

Chapter 19

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

*And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

2 This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:

*This is what the LORD's law says: Tell the people of Israel to get you a perfect red cow with no flaws or blemishes, and it must have never been used for work with a yoke.

3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:

*Give her to Eleazar the priest, who will take her outside the camp. Then someone must kill her in front of him.

4 And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:

*Eleazar the priest will use his finger to take some blood and splash it seven times in front of the meeting place for the people.

5 And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:

*And someone will burn the cow while they watch; they will burn its skin, meat, blood, and waste.

6 And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.

*The priest will get cedar wood, hyssop, and red material, then put them in the middle of the burning cow.

7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.

*Then the priest will clean his clothes and wash his body in water. Afterward, he can enter the camp, but he will be unclean until evening.

8 And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.

*If someone burns her (referring to a sacrifice), they must wash their clothes and body in water. They will be unclean until the evening.

9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.

*A clean person should collect the ashes from a burned heifer, then store them outside the camp in a clean spot. This mixture will be used by the children of Israel as a way to separate and purify themselves from sin.

10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.

*And whoever collects the ashes from the burnt heifer must clean their clothes and remain unclean until evening. This rule applies to both the people of Israel and the strangers living with them, as a permanent law.

11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.

*Touching a dead person's body makes you unclean for seven days.

12 He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.

*On the third day, he will cleanse himself using it, and on the seventh day, he will be clean. But if he doesn't cleanse himself on the third day, then the seventh day he won't be clean.

13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.

*Anyone who touches a dead body without cleaning themselves after, makes the Lord's home impure. That person will be removed from Israel because they didn't use purifying water; they remain unclean.

14 This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.

*This rule says: If someone dies inside a tent, everyone who enters the tent and everything inside it will be unclean for seven days.

15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.

*Any open container without a cover is considered unclean.

16 And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

*Whoever touches a person killed by a sword in an open field, a dead body, a human bone, or a tomb, will be unclean for seven days.

17 And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:

*For someone unclean, they should use the ashes from a burned purifying heifer along with water in a container to cleanse sin.

18 And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:

*And someone clean should use hyssop, dipped in water, to sprinkle on the tent, all items inside, people there, and anyone who touched a bone, a dead body, or a grave.

19 And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.

*On the third day, the clean person should sprinkle the unclean person. On the seventh day, the unclean person must clean themselves by washing clothes, bathing, and being clean by evening.

20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.

*Anyone who is impure and doesn't cleanse themselves will be removed from the group. They have polluted the Lord's holy place, and they haven't used the purifying water; they remain unclean.

21 And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.

*It will always be a rule for them: whoever splashes the separating water must wash their clothes, and anyone who touches the separating water will be unclean until evening.

22 And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.

*Whatever an impure person touches becomes impure, and the one who touches it also becomes impure until evening.

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