“Now suppose mildew contaminates some woolen or linen clothing,
Parallel translations
- WEB “The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it is a woolen garment, or a linen garment;
- KJV The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;
- BSB If any fabric is contaminated with mildew—any wool or linen garment,
- NKJV “Also, if a garment has a leprous plague in it, whether it is a woolen garment or a linen garment,
- NASB “When a garment has a mark of leprosy in it, whether it is a wool garment or a linen garment,
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
The law now turns to a 'leprous' contamination found in garments of wool or linen. It matters because God's concern for purity extended even to the objects of daily life, not only to persons.
Overview
The same Hebrew term used for skin disease covers a spreading rot or mildew in fabric, showing that defilement could attach to a person's possessions as well as his body. By regulating clothing, God taught Israel that holiness touched every sphere of ordinary living. The thoroughness of this concern points to the comprehensive cleansing the gospel brings, renewing all that sin has corrupted.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Jude 1:23and some save, snatching them out of the fire with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.
- Col 3:3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
- Ezek 16:16You took some of your garments, and made for yourselves high places decked with various colors, and played the prostitute on them. This shall not come, neither shall it be.
- Isa 64:6For we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteousness is like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
- Eph 4:22that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man, that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit;
- Rom 13:12The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.
- Isa 59:6Their webs won’t become garments. They won’t cover themselves with their works. Their works are works of iniquity, and acts of violence are in their hands.
- Isa 3:16–24Moreover Yahweh said, “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks and flirting eyes, walking to trip as they go, jingling ornaments on their feet;
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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 13:47 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.