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,
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;
- BSB On the seventh day the priest is to return and inspect the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls,
- 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,
- 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 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 scab spreads on the skin, after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall show himself to the priest again.
- Lev 13:22If it spreads in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a plague.
- Lev 13:36then the priest shall examine him; and behold, if the itch has spread in the skin, the priest shall not look for the yellow hair; he is unclean.
- Lev 13:27The priest shall examine him on the seventh day. If it has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy.
- Lev 13:51He shall examine the plague on the seventh day. If the plague has spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in the skin, whatever use the skin is used for, the plague is a destructive mildew. It is unclean.
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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 14:39 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
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