And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.
Parallel translations
- WEB He shall break down the house, its stones, and its timber, and all the house’s mortar. He shall carry them out of the city into an unclean place.
- BSB It must be torn down with its stones, its timbers, and all its plaster, and taken outside the city to an unclean place.
- NKJV And he shall break down the house, its stones, its timber, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall carry them outside the city to an unclean place.
- NASB The owner shall therefore tear down the house, its stones, its timbers, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall take them outside the city to an unclean place.
- NLT It must be torn down, and all its stones, timbers, and plaster must be carried out of town to the place designated as ceremonially unclean.
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 condemned house is torn down entirely, and its stones, timber, and mortar carried to an unclean place outside the city. It matters because hopelessly corrupted dwellings had to be completely destroyed.
Overview
The whole house is demolished and its materials removed to an unclean place, ensuring the spreading rot can infect nothing further. As with garments past remedy, total destruction is the only safe course. This complete removal of the irredeemable pictures God's final judgment on corruption, while magnifying the grace that cleanses and restores those who come to Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 2 Kgs 25:25–26But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.
- Rom 11:7–11What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
- 2 Kgs 25:4–12And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
- 2 Kgs 17:20–23And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
- 2 Kgs 10:27And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day.
- 2 Kgs 18:4He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.
- Matt 24:2And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
- Rev 11:2But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
- Jer 52:13And burned the house of the LORD, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire:
- Matt 22:7But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
- 1 Kgs 9:6–9But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:
- Ezek 5:4Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.
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 14:45 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.