then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house and shut up the house seven days.
Parallel translations
- WEB then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days.
- KJV Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days:
- BSB the priest shall go outside the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days.
- NKJV then the priest shall go out of the house, to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days.
- NASB the priest shall come out of the house, to the doorway, and quarantine the house for seven days.
- NLT the priest will step outside the door and put the house in quarantine for seven days.
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
The priest leaves the house and shuts it up for seven days. It matters because patient quarantine allowed time to discern whether the contamination was active and spreading.
Overview
Closing the house for a week mirrors the quarantine used for persons and garments, providing time to observe the plague's behavior. This deliberate waiting guards against hasty judgment. The pattern of watchful patience reflects God's careful justice, which tests and discerns rather than condemning or clearing on first appearance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Lev 13:50The priest shall examine the plague, and isolate the plague seven days.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 14:38 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
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