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whoever carries part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening:
Leviticus 11:25 · New King James Version
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.
  • BSB and whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will 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 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 31:24You shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. Afterward you shall come into the camp.”
  • Lev 15:5Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
  • Lev 14:8“He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days.
  • Lev 11:40He who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.
  • Num 19:10He who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. It shall be to the children of Israel, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them, for a statute forever.
  • Lev 16:28He who burns them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.
  • Lev 11:28He who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. They are unclean to you.
  • John 13:8Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me.”
  • Zech 13:1“In that day there will be a spring opened to David’s house and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
  • Lev 15:7–11“‘He who touches the body of him who has the discharge shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
  • Exod 19:14Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.
  • Num 19:8He who burns her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the evening.
  • Lev 14:47He who lies down in the house shall wash his clothes; and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes.
  • Num 19:21–22It shall be a perpetual statute to them. He who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening.
  • Heb 9:10being only (with meats and drinks and various washings) fleshly ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation.
  • Heb 10:22let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed with pure water,
  • Ps 51:2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. 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 3:21This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you — not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
  • Num 19:19The clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day. On the seventh day, he shall purify him. He shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at evening.
  • Acts 22:16Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’
  • Exod 19:10Yahweh said to Moses, “Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments,
  • Lev 15:13“‘When he who has a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes; and he shall bathe his flesh in running water, and 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 Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
  • Rev 7:14I told him, “My lord, you know.” He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb’s blood.

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.