On the seventh day the priest is to return and inspect the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls,
Parallel translations
- WEB The priest shall come again on the seventh day, and look. If the plague has spread in the walls of the house,
- KJV And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house;
- ESV And the priest shall come again on the seventh day, and look. If the disease has spread in the walls of the house,
- NKJV And the priest shall come again on the seventh day and look; and indeed if the plague has spread on the walls of the house,
- NASB Then the priest shall return on the seventh day and make an inspection. If the spot has indeed spread on the walls of the house,
- NLT On the seventh day the priest must return for another inspection. If he finds that the mildew on the walls of the house has spread,
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
On the seventh day the priest returns to see whether the plague has spread in the walls. It matters because spreading would confirm the contamination as active and dangerous.
Overview
The priest re-examines the house after seven days, watching for the decisive sign of spreading. As with skin and garments, growth marks the corruption as malignant. This recurring test underscores that active, spreading defilement, like sin, cannot be ignored but must be confronted decisively.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Lev 13:7–8But if the rash spreads further on his skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he must present himself again to the priest.
- Lev 13:22If it spreads any further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is an infection.
- Lev 13:36the priest is to examine him, and if the scaly outbreak has spread on the skin, the priest need not look for yellow hair; the person is unclean.
- Lev 13:27On the seventh day the priest is to reexamine him, and if it has spread further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a diseased infection.
- Lev 13:51On the seventh day the priest shall reexamine it, and if the mildew has spread in the fabric, weave, knit, or leather, then regardless of how it is used, it is a harmful mildew; the article is unclean.
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 14:39 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.