But if the skin disease breaks out all over his skin so that it covers all the skin of the infected person from head to foot, as far as the priest can see,
Parallel translations
- WEB “If the leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the infected person from his head even to his feet, as far as it appears to the priest;
- KJV And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priest looketh;
- NKJV “And if leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the one who has the sore, from his head to his foot, wherever the priest looks,
- NASB If the leprosy breaks out farther on the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the person who has the infection from his head even to his feet, as far as the priest can see,
- NLT “Now suppose the disease has spread all over the person’s skin, covering the body from head to foot.
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
If the disease covers the whole body from head to foot, the priest examines it. A total covering is a distinct case requiring special judgment.
Overview
When the disease breaks out over the entire skin, covering the person from head to foot, the priest assesses it. This unusual case is treated differently from a localized, spreading sore. The surprising ruling that follows highlights the wisdom of God's law in distinguishing cases that look severe but are, in fact, different in nature.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Job 40:4“Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth.
- 1 Kgs 8:38then may whatever prayer or petition Your people Israel make—each knowing his own afflictions and spreading out his hands toward this temple—
- Isa 64:6Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.
- Rom 7:14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
- 1 Jn 1:8–10If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- Job 42:6Therefore I retract my words, and I repent in dust and ashes.”
- John 16:8–9And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 13:12 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.