Limitless Word
When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;
Leviticus 14:34 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB “When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in the land of your possession,
  • BSB “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a contamination of mildew into a house in that land,
  • NKJV “When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give you as a possession, and I put the leprous plague in a house in the land of your possession,
  • NASB “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I put a spot of leprosy on a house in the land of your possession,
  • NLT “When you arrive in Canaan, the land I am giving you as your own possession, I may contaminate some of the houses in your land with mildew.

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

When Israel enters Canaan, God says he may put a spreading mildew in a house in their possession. It matters because even household defilement falls under God's sovereign hand and gracious provision of a remedy.

Overview

God speaks of a time when Israel will possess the land he gives, and acknowledges that he himself may permit such a plague in a house. The reminder that the land is God's gift frames these laws within his covenant grace. Even the appearance of defilement is under God's sovereign control, and he provides the means to deal with it, pointing to his ultimate cleansing of his people's whole dwelling.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 24

  • Gen 17:8And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
  • Deut 32:49Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:
  • Lev 23:10Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
  • Deut 12:8–10Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.
  • Isa 45:7I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
  • Gen 13:17Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
  • Num 32:22And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.
  • Num 35:10Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
  • Num 32:32We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours.
  • Deut 7:1–2When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
  • Gen 12:7And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
  • Amos 3:6Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
  • Deut 7:15And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
  • Deut 12:1These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.
  • Exod 15:26And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
  • Lev 25:2Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD.
  • 1 Sam 2:6The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
  • Amos 6:11For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.
  • Prov 3:33The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
  • Deut 26:1And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;
  • Josh 13:1Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.
  • Deut 19:1When the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;
  • Deut 27:3And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee.
  • Mic 6:9The LORD’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 14:34YouTube · 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 14:34 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.