Any clay pot the man touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil he touches must be rinsed with water.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘The earthen vessel, which he who has the discharge touches, shall be broken; and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
- KJV And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
- BSB Any clay pot that the man with the discharge touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil must be rinsed with water.
- NKJV The vessel of earth that he who has the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
- NASB However, an earthenware vessel which the man with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every wooden vessel shall be rinsed in water.
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
An earthen vessel the unclean man touches must be broken, while a wooden one is rinsed. Porous clay could not be purified and so was destroyed.
Overview
Because earthenware absorbs impurity and cannot be cleansed, it must be smashed, whereas non-porous wood can be rinsed. This distinction taught that some defilement penetrates so deeply that only destruction suffices. It illustrates the seriousness of corruption and, by contrast, the wonder of the gospel, in which even what seems beyond cleansing is made new in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Lev 6:28But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken; and if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, it shall be scoured, and rinsed in water.
- Lev 11:32–33On whatever any of them falls when they are dead, it shall be unclean; whether it is any vessel of wood, or clothing, or skin, or sack, whatever vessel it is, with which any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it will be clean.
- Phil 3:21who will change the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working by which he is able even to subject all things to himself.
- Prov 1:21She calls at the head of noisy places. At the entrance of the city gates, she utters her words:
- Prov 3:21My son, let them not depart from your eyes. Keep sound wisdom and discretion:
- Prov 1:23Turn at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you. I will make known my words to you.
- Ps 2:9You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
- 2 Cor 5:1For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.
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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 15:12 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.