
19:1-10
1
And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto 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:
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:
God said to Moses and Aaron,
Say to the Israelites,
This is the ordinance that I command:
Bring an unblemished, spotless red heifer which has never been
under the yoke. [1]
Eleazar will kill it.
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:
He will take its blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times in front of the tabernacle. [2]
5
And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her
dung, shall he burn:
Burn the heifer, with her skin, flesh, blood, and dung.
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 take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet and cast it onto the burning heifer.
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.
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.
Then he will wash his clothes, bathe his flesh, and 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.
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 forever.
A man who is clean will gather the ashes and put them in a clean place.
These ashes will be used to make a water of separation, a purification for sin.
The clean man who gathered the ashes must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.
This is a statute forever.
Touching dead bodies, open containers, etc.

19:11-22
11
He that toucheth the
dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.
Whoever touches a dead body is unclean for 7 days. [3]
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.
If he purifies himself on the third day, he will be clean on the seventh day.
But if he doesn't, 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.
Whoever touches a dead body (of a man that is dead) and doesn't purify himself will be cut off from Israel.
Because the water of separation wasn't sprinkled on him. His uncleanness is upon him.
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 is the law: When a man dies in a tent, everyone who comes in the tent and everything in the tent is unclean
for seven days.
15
And every open vessel,
which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.
Every open container is unclean. [4]
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 dead soldier, dead body, bone of a man, or a grave is 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:
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:
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.
To get clean, an unclean person must:
Take the ashes of the burnt heifer and mix it with running water in a vessel.
Then a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent, the vessels,
and persons that were in the tent, and upon the person that touched the bone, dead body, or grave.
And the clean person shall sprinkle it on the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day.
On the seventh day, the unclean person must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and will be clean in the evening.
[5]
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.
But if the man that is unclean doesn't purify himself according to the above procedure, he is 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.
This is a perpetual statute.
22
And whatsoever the
unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it
shall be unclean until even.
Whoever touches an unclean person is unclean until the evening.
Notes
- A red heifer without spot (v.2)
Some Christians believe that
when a red heifer is born, the temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem and Armageddon will soon follow.
- Take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle ... seven times. (v.4)
God's instructions for putting blood on fingers, sprinkling it around, and then burning
the dung of sacrificial animals.
This is something that everyone needs to know about. (That's why it's in the Bible!).
- He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. (v.11)
Bad news for undertakers.
- Every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean. (v.15)
Don't you just hate it when people leave the lid off containers?
- 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. (v.15)
Well that sounds simple enough!
- Make holy water from the ashes of a spotless red cow.
- And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 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.... 19:1-10
- Follow this procedure to get clean after touching a dead body, bone, grave, unclean person, or water of separation.
- He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean.... 19:11-22
- Slate Blogs the Bible by David Plotz
- Do Jews Have Heaven and Hell?