Weekly Torah Readings: Tazria
(from One New Man Bible translated by William Morford)
Tazria
Circumcision and Purification
12.1. And the LORD* spoke to Moses saying, 2. “Speak to the children of Israel saying, If a woman has conceived seed and borne a male, then she will be unclean seven days according to the days of the separation for her infirmity will she be unclean. 3. And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin will be circumcised. 4. And she will then continue in the blood of her purifying thirty-three days. (Luke 1:59) She will touch no hallowed thing or come into the Tabernacle, until the days of her purifying are fulfilled. 5. But if she bears a female, then she will be unclean two weeks, as in her separation and she will continue in the blood of her purifying sixty-six days.
6. And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son or for a daughter, she will bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtle-dove for a sin offering, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to the priest 7. and he will offer it before the LORD* and make atonement for her, and she will be cleansed from the issue of her blood.
“This is the instruction for her who has borne a male or a female. 8. And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she will bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering and the other for a sin offering: and the priest will make atonement for her and she will be clean.”
Leprosy
13.1. And the LORD* spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, 2. “When a man will have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot and it is the plague of leprosy in the skin of his flesh, then he will be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests. 3. And the priest will look on the plague in the skin of the flesh and when the hair in the plague is turned white and the plague in sight is deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy, and the priest will look on him and pronounce him unclean. 4. If the bright spot is white in the skin of his flesh and in sight is not deeper than the skin and the hair of it is not turned white, then the priest will shut up him that has the plague seven days. 5. And the priest will look on him the seventh day and, behold, if the plague in his sight is at a stay, the plague has not spread in the skin, then the priest will shut him up seven days more, 6. and the priest will look on him again the seventh day and, behold, if the plague is somewhat dark, the plague has not spread in the skin, the priest will pronounce him clean. It is a scab and he will wash his clothes and be clean. 7. But if the scab spreads much abroad in the skin, after he has been seen by the priest for his cleansing, he will be seen by the priest again, 8. and if the priest sees that, behold, the scab spreads in the skin, then the priest will pronounce him unclean: it is leprosy.
13:9. “When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he will be brought to the priest 10. and the priest will see him and, behold, if the rising is white in the skin and it has turned the hair white and there is quick raw flesh in the rising, 11. it is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh and the priest will pronounce him unclean, and will not shut him up for he is unclean. 12. And if leprosy breaks out abroad in the skin and the leprosy covers all his skin that has the plague from his head even to his foot, wherever the priest looks, 13. then the priest will consider and, behold, if the leprosy has covered all his flesh, he will pronounce him clean that has the plague: it is all turned white, he is clean. 14. But when raw flesh appears in him, he will be unclean. 15. And the priest will see the raw flesh and pronounce him to be unclean, for the raw flesh is unclean: it is leprosy. 16. Orif the raw flesh turns again and is changed to white, he will come to the priest 17. and the priest will see him and, behold, if the plague is turned to white, then the priest will pronounce him clean that has the plague: he is clean.
13:18. “The flesh also in which there was a boil even in its skin and is healed, 19. and in the place of the boil there is a white rising or a bright spot, white and somewhat reddish and it is shown to the priest, 20. and if when the priest sees it, behold, it is in sight lower than the skin and the hair of it has turned white, the priest will pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil. 21. But if the priest looks at it and, behold, there are no white hairs in it and it is not lower than the skin, but is somewhat dark, then the priest will shut him up seven days 22. and if it spreads much abroad in the skin, then the priest will pronounce him unclean: it is a plague. 23. But if the bright spot stays in its place and does not spread, it is a burning boil and the priest will pronounce him clean.
13:24. “Or if there is any flesh in the skin of which there is a hot burning and the quick flesh that burns has a white bright spot, somewhat reddish or white, 25. then the priest will look at it and, behold, the hair in the bright spot has turned white and it is in sight deeper than the skin, it is leprosy broken out of the burning, then the priest will pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy. 26. But if the priest looks at it and, behold, there is no white hair in the bright spot and it is not lower than the other skin, but is somewhat dark, then the priest will shut him up seven days 27. and the priest will look upon him the seventh day, and if it is spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest will pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy. 28. And if the bright spot stays in its place and does not spread in the skin, but it is somewhat dark, it is a rising of the burning and the priest will pronounce him clean, for it is an inflammation of the burning. 29. If a man or woman has a plague on the head or the beard, 30. then the priest will see the plague and, behold, if it is in sight deeper than the skin and there is a thin, yellow hair in it, then the priest will pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scab, even leprosy upon the head or beard. 31. And if the priest looks on the plague of the scab and, behold, it is not in sight deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, then the priest will shut up him that has the plague of the seal seven days, 32. and on the seventh day the priest will look at the plague and, behold, the scab has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and the scab is not in sight deeper than the skin, 33. he will shave himself, but he will not shave the scab, and the priest will shut up him who has the scab seven more days, 34. and on the seventh day the priest will look at the scab and, behold, the scab has not spread in the skin, nor is in sight deeper than the skin, then the priest will pronounce him clean, and he will wash his clothes and be clean. 35. But if the scab spreads much in the skin after his cleansing, 36. then the priest will look on him and, behold, if the scab has spread in the skin, the priest will not seek for yellow hair; he is unclean. 37. But if the scab stays the same and there is black hair grown up in it, the scab is healed. He is clean, and the priest will pronounce him clean.
13:38. “If a man also or a woman has in the skin of their flesh bright spots, even white bright spots, 39. then the priest will look and, behold, the bright spots in the skin of their flesh are darkish white, it is a freckled spot that grows in the skin. He is clean.
13:40. “And the man whose hair has fallen off his head, he is bald, yet he is clean. 41. And he that has his hair fallen off from the part of his head toward his face, he is forehead bald, yet he is clean. 42. And if there is in the bald head or bald forehead, a reddish-white sore, it is leprosy having sprung up in his bald head or his bald forehead. 43. Then the priest will look upon it and, behold, the rising of the sore is reddish white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, as the leprosy appears in the skin of the flesh, 44. he is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest will pronounce him utterly unclean, his plague is in his head.
13:45. “And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes will be torn and his head bare and he will put a covering upon his upper lip and will cry, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ 46. He will be defiled all the days in which the plague will be in him, he is unclean: he will dwell alone, his habitation will be outside the camp.
13:47. “The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it is a woolen garment or a linen garment, 48. whether it is in the warp or woof of linen or of woolen, whether in a skin or in anything made of skin 49. and if the plague is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the skin, either in the warp or in the woof, or in anything of skin; it is a plague of leprosy and will be shown to the priest, 50. and the priest will look upon the plague and shut up the one who has the plague seven days, 51. and he will look at the plague on the seventh day. If the plague has spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof or in a skin or in any work that is made of skin, the plague is a malignant leprosy; it is unclean. 52. He will therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woolen or in linen, or anything of skin, in which the plague is, for it is a malignant leprosy: it will be burned in the fire. 53. And if the priest will look and, behold, the plague has not spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in anything of skin, 54. then the priest will command that they wash it in which the plague is and he will shut it up seven days more, 55. and the priest will look on the plague after it is washed and, behold, the plague has not changed its color and the plague has not spread, it is unclean, you will burn it in the fire; it is unclean whether it is inside or outside. 56. And if the priest looks and, behold, the plague is somewhat dark after the washing of it, then he will tear it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp or out of the woof, 57. and if it still appears in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in anything of skin, it is a spreading plague: you will burn that in which the plague is with fire. 58. And the garment, either warp or woof, or whatever thing of skin it is, which you will wash, if the plague has departed from them, then it will be washed the second time and will be clean.
13:59. “This is the teaching of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woolen or linen, either in the warp or woof, or in anything of skin, to pronounce it clean or to pronounce it unclean.”
Next week’s Torah readings: M’tsora