and all who sleep or eat in the house must wash their clothing.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who lies down in the house shall wash his clothes; and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes.
- KJV And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.
- BSB And anyone who sleeps in the house or eats in it must wash his clothes.
- NKJV And he who lies down in the house shall wash his clothes, and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes.
- NASB Likewise, whoever lies down in the house shall wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes.
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
Whoever sleeps or eats in the contaminated house must wash his clothes. It matters because closer contact with the defiled dwelling required deliberate cleansing.
Overview
Lying down or eating in the house, acts of fuller engagement with it, demanded washing of one's clothes to remove the contracted uncleanness. The graded response matches the degree of contact. This careful attention to washing reflects the seriousness of defilement and anticipates the cleansing imagery fulfilled in Christ, who washes his people clean (Titus 3:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Lev 14:8–9“He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days.
- Lev 11:25Whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.
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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 14:47 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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