Leviticus 13:3

Christian Standard Bible ®

The priest will examine the sore on the skin of his body. If the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is in fact a serious skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
and the Kohen shall examine the plague in the skin of the body: and if the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the body's skin, it is the plague of leprosy; and the Kohen shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean.

King James Version
And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

Lexham English Bible
And the priest shall examine the infection on his body's skin, and if the hair in the infection turns white and the appearance of the infection is deeper than his body's skin, it is an infectious skin disease, and the priest shall examine it, and he shall declare him unclean.

New Century Version
The priest must look at the sore on the person's skin. If the hair in the sore has become white, and the sore seems deeper than the person's skin, it is a harmful skin disease. When he has finished looking at the person, the priest must announce that the person is unclean.

New English Translation
The priest must then examine the infection on the skin of the body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of the body, then it is a diseased infection, so when the priest examines it he must pronounce the person unclean.

Amplified Bible
"The priest shall look at the diseased spot on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him [ceremonially] unclean.

New American Standard Bible
"The priest shall look at the infected area on the skin of the body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the Priest shall looke on the sore in the skinne of his flesh: if the heare in the sore be turned into white, and the sore seeme to be lower then the skinne of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosie. therefore the Priest shall looke on him, and pronounce him vncleane:

Legacy Standard Bible
Then the priest shall look at the mark on the skin of the body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean.

Contemporary English Version
If the priest discovers that the hair in the infected area has turned white and that the infection seems more than skin deep, he will say, "This is leprosy—you are unclean."

Complete Jewish Bible
The cohen is to examine the sore on his skin; if the hair in the sore has turned white, and the sore appears to go deep into the skin, it is tzara‘at, and after examining him the cohen is to declare him unclean.

Darby Translation
And when the priest looketh on the sore in the skin of the flesh, and the hair in the sore is turned white, and the sore looketh deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is the sore of leprosy; and the priest shall look on him and pronounce him unclean.

Easy-to-Read Version
The priest must look at the sore on the person's skin. If the hair in the sore has become white, and if the sore seems deeper than the person's skin, it is leprosy. When the priest has finished looking at the person, he must announce that the person is unclean.

English Standard Version
and the priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean.

George Lamsa Translation
And the priest shall look on the disease on the skin of his body; and if the hair in the sore is turned white and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the skin of his body, it is a plague of leprosy; and the priest shall look on it and pronounce him unclean.

Good News Translation
The priest shall examine the sore, and if the hairs in it have turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the surrounding skin, it is a dreaded skin disease, and the priest shall pronounce you unclean.

Literal Translation
And the priest shall look upon the plague in the skin of the flesh; and if the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the skin of his flesh, it shall look upon him and shall pronounce him unclean.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And whan the prest seyth the plage vpon the ßkynne of the flesh, that the hayres are turned to whyte, and it seme deper in that place then the other ßkynne of his flesh, then is it surely a leprosy, therfore shal the prest loke vpon him, and iudge him vncleane.

American Standard Version
and the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and if the hair in the plague be turned white, and the appearance of the plague be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is the plague of leprosy; and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

Bible in Basic English
And if, when the priest sees the mark on his skin, the hair on the place is turned white and the mark seems to go deeper than the skin, it is the mark of a leper: and the priest, after looking at him, will say that he is unclean.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the priest shall loke on the sore in the skinne of his fleshe: and when the heere in the sore is turned to whyte, and the sore also seeme to be lower then the skinne of his fleshe, it is a plague of leprosie: and the priestes shall loke on hym, and iudge hym vncleane.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the priest shall look upon the plague in the skin of the flesh; and if the hair in the plague be turned white, and the appearance of the plague be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is the plague of leprosy; and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

King James Version (1611)
And the Priest shall looke on the plague in the skinne of the flesh: and when the haire in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper then the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosie: and the Priest shall looke on him, and pronounce him vncleane.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the priest shall view the spot in the skin of his flesh; and if the hair in the spot be changed to white, and the appearance of the spot be below the skin of the flesh, it is a plague of leprosy; and the priest shall look upon it, and pronounce him unclean.

English Revised Version
and the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and if the hair in the plague be turned white, and the appearance of the plague be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is the plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

Berean Standard Bible
The priest is to examine the infection on his skin, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and whanne he seeth lepre in the skyn, and the heeris chaungide in to whijte colour, and that spice of lepre lowere than the tother skyn and fleisch, it is a wounde of lepre, and he schal be departid at the `doom of the preest.

Young's Literal Translation
and the priest hath seen the plague in the skin of the flesh, and the hair in the plague hath turned white, and the appearance of the plague [is] deeper than the skin of his flesh -- it [is] a plague of leprosy, and the priest hath seen him, and hath pronounced him unclean.

Update Bible Version
and the priest shall look at the plague in the skin of the flesh: and if the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is the plague of leprosy; and the priest shall look at him, and pronounce him unclean.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and [when] the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight [is] deeper than the skin of his flesh, it [is] a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

World English Bible
and the priest shall examine the plague in the skin of the body: and if the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the body's skin, it is the plague of leprosy; and the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean.

New King James Version
The priest shall examine the sore on the skin of the body; and if the hair on the sore has turned white, and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous sore. Then the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean.

New Living Translation
The priest will examine the affected area of the skin. If the hair in the affected area has turned white and the problem appears to be more than skin-deep, it is a serious skin disease, and the priest who examines it must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean.

New Life Bible
The religious leader will look at the mark on his skin of the body. If the hair in the spot has become white and the disease looks deeper than his skin, it is a bad skin disease. The religious leader will look at him, and will say that he is unclean.

New Revised Standard
The priest shall examine the disease on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous disease; after the priest has examined him he shall pronounce him ceremonially unclean.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and the priest shall view the spot in the skin of his flesh - if, the hair in the plague, have turned white and the appearance of the spot be deeper than the skin of his flesh, the plague-spot of leprosy, it is, - so the priest shall view him and pronounce him unclean.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And if he see the leprosy in his skin, and the hair turned white and the place where the leprosy appears lower than the skin and the rest of the flesh: it is the stroke of the leprosy, and upon his judgment he shall be separated.

Revised Standard Version
and the priest shall examine the diseased spot on the skin of his body; and if the hair in the diseased spot has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous disease; when the priest has examined him he shall pronounce him unclean.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"The priest shall look at the mark on the skin of the body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean.

Contextual Overview

¹The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ²“When a person has a swelling, scab, or spot on the skin of his body, and it may be a serious disease on the skin of his body, he is to be brought to the priest Aaron or to one of his sons, the priests. ³The priest will examine the sore on the skin of his body. If the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is in fact a serious skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean. ⁴But if the spot on the skin of his body is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest will quarantine the stricken person for seven days. ⁵The priest will then reexamine him on the seventh day. If he sees that the sore remains unchanged and has not spread on the skin, the priest will quarantine him for another seven days. ⁶The priest will examine him again on the seventh day. If the sore has faded and has not spread on the skin, the priest is to pronounce him clean; it is a scab. The person is to wash his clothes and will become clean. ⁷But if the scab spreads further on his skin after he has presented himself to the priest for his cleansing, he is to present himself again to the priest. ⁸The priest will examine him, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest must pronounce him unclean; he has a serious skin disease. ⁹“When a case of serious skin disease may have developed on a person, he is to be brought to the priest. ¹⁰The priest will examine him. If there is a white swelling on the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is a patch of raw flesh in the swelling,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

shall look: Leviticus 13:2, Leviticus 10:10, Ezekiel 44:23, Haggai 2:11, Malachi 2:7, Acts 20:28, Romans 3:19, Romans 3:20, Romans 7:7, Hebrews 13:7, Revelation 2:23

turned: Ezekiel 16:30, Hosea 7:9

deeper: Genesis 13:3, 2 Timothy 2:16, 2 Timothy 2:17, 2 Timothy 3:13

pronounce: Matthew 16:19, Matthew 18:17, Matthew 18:18, John 20:23, Romans 3:19, Romans 3:20, 1 Corinthians 5:4-6, 2 Thessalonians 3:14, 2 Thessalonians 3:15, 1 Timothy 1:20

Reciprocal: Leviticus 13:8 - General Leviticus 13:10 - shall see him Leviticus 13:20 - in sight Leviticus 14:37 - General Leviticus 22:4 - a leper Numbers 12:10 - leprous 2 Kings 5:1 - a leper

Cross-References

Genesis 12:6
Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)

Genesis 13:8
So Abram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives.

Genesis 13:9
Isn’t the whole land before you? Separate from me: if you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh,.... Whether it be a swelling, scab, or a bright spot that appears, and judge of it by the following rules, and none but a priest might do this:

and [when] the hair in the plague is turned white; it arising in a place where hair grows, and which hair is not naturally white, but of another colour, but changed through the force of the plague; and there were to be two hairs at least, which were at first black, but turned white; so Jarchi and Ben Gersom: and these hairs, according to the Misnah e, must be white at bottom; if the root (or bottom) is black, and the head (or top) white, he is clean; if the root white, and the head black, he is defiled; for hairs turning white is a sign of a disorder, of weakness, of a decay of nature, as may be observed in ancient persons:

and the plague in sight [be] deeper than the skin of his flesh; appears plainly to view to be more than skin deep, to have corroded and eat into the flesh below the skin:

it [is] a plague of leprosy; when these two signs were observed, hair turned white, and the plague was more than skin deep, then it was a plain case that it was the leprosy of which :- :- :-. This was an emblem of sin, and the corruption of nature, which is an uncleanness, and with which every man is defiled, and which renders him infectious, nauseous, and abominable; and of which he is only to be cured and cleansed by Christ, the great High Priest, through his blood, which cleanses from all sin. The above signs and marks of leprosy may be observed in this; the white hair denoting a decay of strength, see Hosea 7:9 may be seen in sinners, as in the leper, who are without moral and spiritual strength to keep the law of God, to do anything that is spiritually good, to regenerate, renew, convert, and sanctify themselves, or to bring themselves out of the state of pollution, bondage, and misery, in which they are; and, like the leprosy, sin lies deep in man; it is in his flesh, in which dwells no good thing, and in which there is no soundness; it does not lie merely in outward actions, but it is in the heart, which is desperately wicked; for the inward part of man is very wicked:

and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean; and so should be obliged to rend his clothes, make bare his head, put a covering on his upper lip, and cry, unclean, unclean; dwell alone without the camp, and at a proper time bring the offering for his cleansing, and submit to the several rites and ceremonies prescribed,

Leviticus 13:45.

e Negaim, c. 4. sect. 4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The hair in the plague is turned white - The sparing growth of very fine whitish hair on leprous spots in the place of the natural hair, appears to have been always regarded as a characteristic symptom.

the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh - Rather The stroke appears to be deeper than the scarf skin. The bright spot changed to a brownish color with a metallic or oily luster, and with a clearly-defined edge. This symptom, along with the whitish hair, at once decided the case to be one of leprosy.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Leviticus 13:3. The priest shall - pronounce him unclean. — וטמא אתו vetimme otho; literally, shall pollute him, i. e., in the Hebrew idiom, shall declare or pronounce him polluted; and in Leviticus 13:23, it is said, the priest shall pronounce him clean, וטהרו הכהן vetiharo haccohen, the priest shall cleanse him, i. e., declare him clean. In this phrase we have the proper meaning of Matthew 16:19: Whatsoever ye bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. By which our Lord intimates that the disciples, from having the keys, i. e., the true knowledge of the doctrine, of the kingdom of heaven, should, from particular evidences, be at all times able to distinguish between the clean and the unclean, the sincere and the hypocrite; and pronounce a judgment as infallible as the priest did in the case of the leprosy, from the tokens already specified. And as this binding and loosing, or pronouncing fit or unfit for fellowship with the members of Christ, must in the case of the disciples be always according to the doctrine of the kingdom of heaven, the sentence should be considered as proceeding immediately from thence, and consequently as Divinely ratified. The priest polluted or cleansed, i. e., declared the man clean or unclean, according to signs well known and infallible. The disciples or ministers of Christ bind or loose, declare to be fit or unfit for Church fellowship, according to unequivocal evidences of innocence or guilt. In the former case, the priest declared the person fit or unfit for civil society; in the latter, the ministers of Christ declare the person against whom the suspicion of guilt is laid, fit or unfit for continued association with the Church of God. The office was the same in both, a declaration of the truth, not from any power that they possessed of cleansing or polluting, of binding or of loosing, but by the knowledge they gained from the infallible signs and evidences produced on the respective cases.