The one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and afterward he may reenter the camp.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who burns them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.
- KJV And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.
- NKJV Then he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.
- NASB Then the one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; and afterward he shall come into the camp.
- NLT The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water before returning to the camp.
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
The man who burns the carcasses must wash before re-entering the camp. Contact with the sin offering required cleansing.
Overview
As with the one who released the scapegoat, the man who burns the bodies must wash his clothes and bathe before returning. The repeated need for cleansing underscores the contaminating power of sin even at a distance. It heightens our appreciation of Christ, who bore sin's full weight outside the camp to make His people clean.
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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 16:28 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
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