Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
Parallel translations
- KJV And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
- BSB and anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
- NKJV Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.
- NASB Anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
- NLT If any of you touch her bed, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening.
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
Anyone touching her bed must wash, bathe, and be unclean until evening. Contact with the defiled bed conveys impurity.
Overview
Touching the woman's bed requires the standard washing and waiting until evening. The repetition mirrors the earlier laws for men, reinforcing consistency and seriousness. These rituals continually pressed upon Israel the need for purity to dwell with God, ultimately granted through Christ's cleansing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Isa 22:14Yahweh of Armies revealed himself in my ears, “Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you until you die,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.
- 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.
- Heb 9:26or else he must have suffered often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages, he has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
- Lev 15:5–6Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
- 2 Cor 7:1Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 15:21 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.