And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Parallel translations
- WEB Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
- BSB and anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
- ESV And whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the 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 quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 22:14And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
- Rev 7:14And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
- Heb 9:26For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
- Lev 15:5–6And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
- 2 Cor 7:1Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
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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 15:21 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.