Leviticus 13:45
New International Version
“Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

New Living Translation
“Those who suffer from a serious skin disease must tear their clothing and leave their hair uncombed. They must cover their mouth and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

English Standard Version
“The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’

Berean Standard Bible
A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’

King James Bible
And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

New King James Version
“Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

New American Standard Bible
“As for the person who has the leprous infection, his clothes shall be torn and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

NASB 1995
“As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

NASB 1977
“As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

Legacy Standard Bible
“As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

Amplified Bible
“As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered (disheveled), and he shall cover his mustache and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

Christian Standard Bible
“The person who has a case of serious skin disease is to have his clothes torn and his hair hanging loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean! ’

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The person afflicted with an infectious skin disease is to have his clothes torn and his hair hanging loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’

American Standard Version
And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and the hair of his head shall go loose, and he shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

Contemporary English Version
If you ever have leprosy, you must tear your clothes, leave your hair uncombed, cover the lower part of your face, and go around shouting, "I'm unclean! I'm unclean!"

English Revised Version
And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and the hair of his head shall go loose, and he shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"People who come down with a skin disease must wear torn clothes and leave their hair uncombed. They must cover their upper lips and call out, 'Unclean, unclean!'

Good News Translation
If you have a dreaded skin disease, you must wear torn clothes, leave your hair uncombed, cover the lower part of your face, and call out, "Unclean, unclean!"

International Standard Version
The person with the infectious skin disease is to tear his garments and loosen his hair. He is to cover his mustache and shout out, 'Unclean! Unclean!'

Majority Standard Bible
A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ?Unclean, unclean!?

NET Bible
"As for the diseased person who has the infection, his clothes must be torn, the hair of his head must be unbound, he must cover his mustache, and he must call out 'Unclean! Unclean!'

New Heart English Bible
"The leper in whom the plague is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, 'Unclean. Unclean.'

Webster's Bible Translation
And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

World English Bible
“The leper in whom the plague is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
As for the leper in whom [is] the plague, his garments are torn, and his head is uncovered, and he covers over the upper lip, and he calls, Unclean! Unclean!

Young's Literal Translation
As to the leper in whom is the plague, his garments are rent, and his head is uncovered, and he covereth over the upper lip, and 'Unclean! unclean!' he calleth;

Smith's Literal Translation
And the leprous in whom the stroke, his garments shall be rent, and his head shall be uncovered, and upon the lips he shall be covered, and he shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Shall have his clothes hanging loose, his head bare, his mouth covered with a cloth, and he shall cry out that he is defiled and unclean.

Catholic Public Domain Version
shall have his clothes unstitched, his head bare, his mouth covered with a cloth, and he himself shall cry out that he is contaminated and filthy.

New American Bible
The garments of one afflicted with a scaly infection shall be rent and the hair disheveled, and the mustache covered. The individual shall cry out, “Unclean, unclean!”

New Revised Standard Version
The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, “Unclean, unclean.”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And he who has the plague, his clothes shall be rent and his head shaved, and he shall cover his lips and call himself unclean.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And whoever has leprosy and has a sore on him, his garments shall be torn up and his head shall be shaved, and he shall cover over his lips and he shall call himself unclean.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and the hair of his head shall go loose, and he shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry: 'Unclean, unclean.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the leper in whom the plague is, let his garments be ungirt, and his head uncovered; and let him have a covering put upon his mouth, and he shall be called unclean.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Laws about Skin Diseases
44the man is diseased; he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean because of the infection on his head. 45A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ 46As long as he has the infection, he remains unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.…

Cross References
Numbers 5:2-3
“Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, and anyone who is defiled by a dead body. / You must send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.”

2 Kings 7:3
Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate, and they said to one another, “Why just sit here until we die?

Luke 17:12-14
As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance / and raised their voices, shouting, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” / When Jesus saw them, He said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were on their way, they were cleansed.

Numbers 12:10-15
As the cloud lifted from above the Tent, suddenly Miriam became leprous, white as snow. Aaron turned toward her, saw that she was leprous, / and said to Moses, “My lord, please do not hold against us this sin we have so foolishly committed. / Please do not let her be like a stillborn infant whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” ...

2 Chronicles 26:20-21
When Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him and saw his leprous forehead, they rushed him out. Indeed, he himself hurried to get out, because the LORD had afflicted him. / So King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He lived in isolation, leprous and cut off from the house of the LORD, while his son Jotham had charge of the royal palace and governed the people of the land.

Matthew 8:2-4
Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” / Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. / Then Jesus instructed him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, as a testimony to them.”

Mark 1:40-44
Then a leper came to Jesus, begging on his knees: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” / Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” / And immediately the leprosy left him, and the man was cleansed. ...

Luke 5:12-14
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell facedown and begged Him, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” / Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. / “Do not tell anyone,” Jesus instructed him. “But go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

Isaiah 52:11
Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.

Lamentations 4:15
“Go away! Unclean!” men shouted at them. “Away, away! Do not touch us!” So they fled and wandered. Among the nations it was said, “They can stay here no longer.”

Matthew 10:8
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

Luke 17:17-19
“Were not all ten cleansed?” Jesus asked. “Where then are the other nine? / Was no one found except this foreigner to return and give glory to God?” / Then Jesus said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well!”

Isaiah 1:6
From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.

Ezekiel 24:17
Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”

Job 2:7-8
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. / And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.


Treasury of Scripture

And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bore, and he shall put a covering on his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

his clothes

Genesis 37:29
And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.

2 Samuel 13:19
And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.

Job 1:20
Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

and his head

Leviticus 10:6
And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.

Leviticus 21:10
And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;

put

Ezekiel 24:17,22
Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men…

Micah 3:7
Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.

Unclean

Job 42:6
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

Psalm 51:3,5
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me…

Isaiah 6:5
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

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Bare Clothes Cover Covered Covereth Covering Cry Crying Disease Face Garments Grief Hair Hang Head Infection Infectious Leper Loose Mouth Mustache Part Plague Rent Signs Sore Torn Unclean Uncovered Upper Wear
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Bare Clothes Cover Covered Covereth Covering Cry Crying Disease Face Garments Grief Hair Hang Head Infection Infectious Leper Loose Mouth Mustache Part Plague Rent Signs Sore Torn Unclean Uncovered Upper Wear
Leviticus 13
1. The laws whereby the priest is to be guided in discerning the leprosy.














A diseased person
The Hebrew term used here is "tzaraath," often translated as "leprosy," but it encompasses a variety of skin diseases. In the ancient context, these diseases were not only physical ailments but also carried significant social and spiritual implications. The diseased person was seen as ritually impure, which affected their ability to participate in community and worship.

must wear torn clothes
Tearing one's clothes was a traditional sign of mourning or distress in ancient Israel. This act symbolized the inner turmoil and the social separation the diseased person experienced. It was a visible sign to others of their condition, serving both as a warning and a call for compassion.

let his hair hang loose
In ancient Israelite culture, loose hair was often associated with mourning or disgrace. This instruction further emphasized the state of the diseased person, marking them as distinct from the community. It was a physical manifestation of their separation from the covenant community and a reminder of the need for purification.

cover his mouth
Covering the mouth was a sign of humility and submission, acknowledging one's unclean state. It also served a practical purpose, potentially limiting the spread of disease. Spiritually, it was a gesture of acknowledging one's impurity before God and others, a humbling act of confession.

and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’
This proclamation served as a public declaration of the person's condition, ensuring that others would keep their distance to avoid ritual impurity. It was a cry for help and a plea for mercy, highlighting the isolation and desperation of the afflicted. This practice underscores the importance of community awareness and responsibility in maintaining holiness and purity.

(45) His clothes shall be rent.--As leprosy was regarded as a visitation from God for sin committed by the person thus afflicted, the patient is to rend his garments like one mourning for the dead. (See Leviticus 21:10.) During the second Temple the administrators of the law exempted leprous women from rending their clothes, which was evidently owing to a feeling of decorum.

And his head bare.--Better, and his hair be dishevelled. This was another sign of mourning. (See Leviticus 10:6.) The legislators during the second Temple also exempted leprous women from letting their hair fall in the disorderly and wild manner over their heads and faces which was the custom for mourners to do.

And he shall put a covering upon his upper lip.--To veil the beard, which was the pride of the Oriental, was also a sign of mourning. (Comp. Ezekiel 24:17; Ezekiel 24:22; Micah 3:7.) This was generally done by throwing the skirt of the garment over the lower part of the chin. . . .

Verses 45, 46. - The cases for examination having been discussed, the law for the treatment of the man in whom leprosy has been proved to exist is pronounced. The leper in whom the plague is to be ex-eluded from the camp, lest others should contract defilement from him. He is for the same reason to cry, Unclean, unclean, lest any wayfarer should unwittingly come in contact with him; and his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, these being the signs of mourning for the dead. The bared or disheveled head (see chapter Leviticus 10:6) and the covered lip are incidentally mentioned as signs of mourning in Ezekiel 24:17, and the covered upper lip as a mark of shame in Micah 3:7. By the expression, He shall dwell alone, is meant he shall dwell apart from those who were clean. Of course, lepers would naturally associate with each other, and so we find that they actually did (Luke 17:12). As their presence was supposed to defile any place that they entered, they were punished in later times with forty stripes if they did not observe the restraints laid down for them. "They were, however, admitted to the synagogue, where a place was railed off for them, ten handbreadths high and four cubits wide, on condition of their entering the house of worship before the rest of the congregation and leaving it after them" (Edersheim, 'Temple Service'). The exclusion of the leper was not for the purpose of avoiding contagion, nor to serve as a penalty for having contracted so loathsome a disease, but primarily to prevent the spread of ceremonial uncleanness communicated by his touch, and typically and mystically to teach that the fate brought upon a man by unremoved sin is separation from the people of God here and hereafter.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The diseased person
הַנֶּ֗גַע (han·ne·ḡa‘)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5061: Mark -- a blow, a spot

must wear torn clothes
בְּגָדָ֞יו (bə·ḡā·ḏāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 899: A covering, clothing, treachery, pillage

and let his hair
וְרֹאשׁוֹ֙ (wə·rō·šōw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7218: The head

hang loose,
פָר֔וּעַ (p̄ā·rū·a‘)
Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singular
Strong's 6544: To loosen, to expose, dismiss, absolve, begin

and he must cover
יַעְטֶ֑ה (ya‘·ṭeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5844: To wrap oneself, enwrap, envelop oneself

his mouth
שָׂפָ֖ם (śā·p̄ām)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8222: The beard

and cry out,
יִקְרָֽא׃ (yiq·rā)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7121: To call, proclaim, read

‘Unclean,
וְטָמֵ֥א ׀ (wə·ṭā·mê)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2931: Unclean

unclean!’
טָמֵ֖א (ṭā·mê)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2931: Unclean


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OT Law: Leviticus 13:45 The leper in whom the plague (Le Lv Lev.)
Leviticus 13:44
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