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and whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening.
Leviticus 11:25 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.
  • KJV And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
  • ESV and whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.
  • NKJV whoever carries part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening:
  • NASB and whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.
  • NLT If you pick up their carcasses, you must wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Carrying any part of such a carcass requires washing one's clothes and remaining unclean until evening. Greater contact with death calls for cleansing.

Overview

Carrying a carcass, a more involved contact, adds the requirement of washing clothes. The escalating measures show that defilement must be dealt with, not ignored. The washing with water foreshadows the cleansing God provides, ultimately the washing of regeneration and the cleansing of conscience through the blood of Christ (Titus 3:5; Hebrews 10:22).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 25

  • Num 31:24On the seventh day you are to wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may enter the camp.”
  • Lev 15:5Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
  • Lev 14:8The one being cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. Afterward, he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days.
  • Lev 11:40Whoever eats from the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening, and anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.
  • Num 19:10The man who has gathered up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he will be ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the foreigner residing among them.
  • Lev 16:28The one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and afterward he may reenter the camp.
  • Lev 11:28and anyone who picks up a carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening. They are unclean for you.
  • John 13:8“Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him. Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.”
  • Zech 13:1“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
  • Lev 15:7–11Whoever touches the body of the man with a discharge must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
  • Exod 19:14When Moses came down from the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.
  • Num 19:8The one who burned the heifer must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he too will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
  • Lev 14:47And anyone who sleeps in the house or eats in it must wash his clothes.
  • Num 19:21–22This is a permanent statute for the people: The one who sprinkles the water of purification must wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening.
  • Heb 9:10They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform.
  • Heb 10:22let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
  • Ps 51:2Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
  • Ps 51:7Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
  • 1 Pet 3:21And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
  • Num 19:19The man who is ceremonially clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and that evening he will be clean.
  • Acts 22:16And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’
  • Exod 19:10Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes
  • Lev 15:13When the man has been cleansed from his discharge, he must count off seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe himself in fresh water, and he shall be clean.
  • 1 Jn 1:7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
  • Rev 7:14“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Leviticus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Leviticus 11:25YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LeviticusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.

How Leviticus 11:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.