He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, and shall stay outside his tent seven days.
Parallel translations
- WEB “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.
- KJV And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.
- BSB The one being cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. Afterward, he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days.
- NASB The one to be cleansed shall then wash his clothes and shave off all his hair, and bathe in water and be clean. And afterward he may enter the camp, but he shall stay outside his tent for seven days.
- NLT “The persons being purified must then wash their clothes, shave off all their hair, and bathe themselves in water. Then they will be ceremonially clean and may return to the camp. However, they must remain outside their tents for seven days.
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 cleansed man washes his clothes, shaves his hair, bathes, and may enter the camp but waits seven days outside his tent. It matters because cleansing involved both decisive purification and a period of transition to full fellowship.
Overview
Washing, shaving, and bathing mark a thorough, fresh start for the restored man, who may now re-enter the camp yet not his own tent for a week. This staged return honors both the reality of his cleansing and the gravity of his former exclusion. The renewing washings picture the new life given to those cleansed in Christ, who are made fit to dwell again among God's people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Lev 11:25Whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.
- Num 8:7You shall do this to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of cleansing on them, let them shave their whole bodies with a razor, and let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves.
- 1 Pet 3:21This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you — not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
- Num 12:14–15Yahweh said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, shouldn’t she be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut up outside of the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again.”
- Rev 1:5–6and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood;
- Num 5:2–3“Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, and everyone who has an issue, and whoever is unclean by the dead.
- Lev 14:9It shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off. He shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his body in water, then he shall be clean.
- Exod 19:10Yahweh said to Moses, “Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments,
- Lev 15:5–8Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
- Lev 8:33–35You shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting seven days, until the days of your consecration are fulfilled: for he shall consecrate you seven days.
- Lev 13:5–6The priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and, behold, if in his eyes the plague is arrested, and the plague hasn’t spread in the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days.
- 2 Chr 26:21Uzziah the king was a leper to the day of his death, and lived in a separate house, being a leper; for he was cut off from Yahweh’s house. Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.
- Exod 19:14Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.
- Lev 14:20and the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meal offering on the altar. The priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
- Rev 7:14I told him, “My lord, you know.” He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb’s blood.
- Lev 8:6Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.
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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 14:8 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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