When a woman is cleansed of her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘But if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.
- KJV But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.
- NKJV ‘But if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.
- NASB When she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off for herself seven days; and afterward she will be clean.
- NLT “When the woman’s bleeding stops, she must count off seven days. Then she will be ceremonially clean.
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
When the abnormal flow stops, she counts seven days and is then clean. Recovery is followed by a set period before cleansing.
Overview
Once the discharge ceases, the woman counts seven days to reach cleanness, paralleling the man's process. The fixed period marked a deliberate transition from impurity to renewed fellowship. This ordered cleansing anticipates the sure and complete restoration God grants to those He purifies in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Lev 15:13–15When the man has been cleansed from his discharge, he must count off seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe himself in fresh water, and he shall be clean.
- Gal 3:13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
- Gal 4:4But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
- Eph 1:6–7to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
- 1 Cor 6:11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
- 1 Cor 1:30It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
- Matt 1:21She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
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 15:28 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.