1 And the Lord spake to Moses, and to Aaron, saying, 2 This is the ordinance of the lawe, which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speake vnto the children of Israel that they bring thee a red kow without blemish, wherein is no spot, vpon the which neuer came yoke. 3 And ye shall giue her vnto Eleazar ye Priest, that hee may bring her without the hoste, and cause her to be slaine before his face. 4 Then shall Eleazar the Priest take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle it before the Tabernacle of the Congregation seuen times, 5 And cause the kow to be burnt in his sight: with her skinne, and her flesh, and her blood, and her doung shall he burne her. 6 Then shall the Priest take cedar wood, and hyssope and skarlet lace, and cast them in the mids of the fire where the kow burneth. 7 Then shall the Priest wash his clothes, and he shall wash his flesh in water, and then come into the hoste, and the Priest shalbe vncleane vnto the euen. 8 Also he that burneth her, shall wash his clothes in water, and wash his flesh in water, and be vncleane vntill euen. 9 And a man, that is cleane, shall take vp the ashes of the kow, and put them without the hoste in a cleane place: and it shalbe kept for the Congregation of the children of Israel for a sprinkling water: it is a sinne offring. 10 Therefore he that gathereth the ashes of the kow, shall wash his clothes, and remaine vncleane vntil euen: and it shalbe vnto the children of Israel, and vnto the stranger that dwelleth among them, a statute for euer. 11 Hee that toucheth the dead body of any man, shalbe vncleane euen seuen dayes. 12 Hee shall purifie himselfe therewith the third day, and the seuenth day he shall be cleane: but if he purifie not himselfe the thirde day, then the seuenth day he shall not be cleane. 13 Whosoeuer toucheth ye corps of any man that is dead, and purgeth not himselfe, defileth the Tabernacle of the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from Israel, because the sprinkling water was not sprinkled vpon him: he shall be vncleane, and his vncleannesse shall remaine still vpon him. 14 This is the law, Whe a man dieth in a tent, all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shalbe vncleane seuen dayes, 15 And all the vessels that bee open, which haue no couering fastened vpon them, shall be vncleane. 16 Also whosoeuer toucheth one that is slaine with a sworde in the fielde, or a dead person, or a bone of a dead man, or a graue, shall be vncleane seuen dayes. 17 Therfore for an vncleane person they shall take of the burnt ashes of the sinne offring, and pure water shalbe put thereto in a vessel. 18 And a cleane person shall take hyssope and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it vpon the tent, and vpon all the vessels, and on the persons that were therein, and vpon him that touched ye bone, or the slayne, or the dead, or the graue. 19 And the cleane person shall sprinkle vpon the vncleane the third day, and the seuenth day, and hee shall purifie him selfe the seuenth day, and wash his clothes, and wash himself in water, and shalbe cleane at euen. 20 But the man that is vncleane and purifieth not himselfe, that person shalbe cut off from among the Congregation, because hee hath defiled the Sanctuarie of the Lord: and the sprinkling water hath not bene sprinkled vpon him: therefore shall he be vncleane. 21 And it shalbe a perpetual lawe vnto them, that he that sprinkleth the sprinkling water, shall wash his clothes: also hee that toucheth the sprinkling water, shalbe vncleane vntill euen. 22 And whatsoeuer the vncleane person toucheth, shall be vncleane: and the person that toucheth him, shalbe vncleane vntill the euen.
Ashes of the Red Cow
1 The Lord commanded Moses and Aaron 2 to give the Israelites the following regulations. Bring to Moses and Aaron a red cow which has no defects and which has never been worked, 3 and they will give it to Eleazar the priest. It is to be taken outside the camp and killed in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar is to take some of its blood and with his finger sprinkle it seven times in the direction of the Tent. 5 The whole animal, including skin, meat, blood, and intestines, is to be burned in the presence of the priest. 6 Then he is to take some cedar wood, a sprig of hyssop, and a red cord and throw them into the fire. 7 After that, he is to wash his clothes and pour water over himself, and then he may enter the camp; but he remains ritually unclean until evening. 8 The one who burned the cow must also wash his clothes and pour water over himself, but he also remains unclean until evening. 9 Then someone who is ritually clean is to collect the ashes of the cow and put them in a ritually clean place outside the camp, where they are to be kept for the Israelite community to use in preparing the water for removing ritual uncleanness. This ritual is performed to remove sin. 10 The one who collected the ashes must wash his clothes, but he remains unclean until evening. This regulation is valid for all time to come, both for the Israelites and for the foreigners living among them.
Contact with a Corpse
11 Those who touch a corpse are ritually unclean for seven days. 12 They must purify themselves with the water for purification on the third day and on the seventh day, and then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on both the third and the seventh day, they will not be clean. 13 Those who touch a corpse and do not purify themselves remain unclean, because the water for purification has not been thrown over them. They defile the Lord's Tent, and they will no longer be considered God's people.
14 In the case of a person who dies in a tent, anyone who is in the tent at the time of death or who enters it becomes ritually unclean for seven days. 15 Every jar and pot in the tent that has no lid on it also becomes unclean. 16 If any touch a person who has been killed or has died a natural death outdoors or if any touch a human bone or a grave, they become unclean for seven days.
17 To remove the uncleanness, some ashes from the red cow which was burned to remove sin shall be taken and put in a pot, and fresh water added. 18 In the first case, someone who is ritually clean is to take a sprig of hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, everything in it, and the people who were there. In the second case, someone who is ritually clean is to sprinkle the water on those who had touched the human bone or the dead body or the grave. 19 On the third day and on the seventh the person who is ritually clean is to sprinkle the water on the unclean persons. On the seventh day he is to purify those, who, after washing their clothes and pouring water over themselves, become ritually clean at sunset.
20 Those who have become ritually unclean and do not purify themselves remain unclean, because the water for purification has not been thrown over them. They defile the Lord's Tent and will no longer be considered God's people. 21 You are to observe this rule for all time to come. The person who sprinkles the water for purification must also wash his clothes; anyone who touches the water remains ritually unclean until evening. 22 Whatever an unclean person touches is unclean, and anyone else who touches it remains unclean until evening.