If the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, that person must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘If he who has the discharge spits on him who is clean, then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
- KJV And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
- NKJV If he who has the discharge spits on him who is clean, then he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.
- NASB Or if the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, he too shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
- NLT If the man spits on you, 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
If the unclean man spits on a clean person, that person becomes unclean and must wash and bathe. Even saliva transmits ceremonial defilement.
Overview
Spittle from the afflicted man defiles a clean person, requiring the usual cleansing. The breadth of these regulations showed how thoroughly impurity could pervade ordinary interactions. They magnified the holiness of God and the need for purification, while pointing forward to the One whose touch and word bring cleansing rather than defilement.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Jude 1:4For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
- Isa 1:16Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
- Titus 1:9–10He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.
- Gal 1:8–9But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse!
- 1 Tim 4:1–3Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
- 2 Pet 2:1–3Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
- Jas 4:8Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 15:8 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
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.