Preface:    There are certain things which made men and women unclean. This chapter gives the rites and regulations which pertain to such uncleanness.

The Bible Summary of Leviticus 15 (in 140 characters or less): When a man has a discharge he is unclean. When he ejaculates he is unclean until evening. When a woman has her period she is unclean.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Leviticus. This will be the most extensive examination of Leviticus 15, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 15:

Introduction

         vv.     1–

         vv. 

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         vv. 

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Leviticus 15 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Leviticus 15 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Leviticus 15

         Introduction         The Prequel of Leviticus 15

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Leviticus 15

         Introduction         The Places of Leviticus 15

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Leviticus 15

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 15

         Introduction         Outlines of Leviticus 15 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 15 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Leviticus 1–15)

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Leviticus 15)

         Introduction 

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         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Leviticus 15 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Leviticus 15

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Leviticus 15

         Summary            Shmoop Summary of Leviticus 15

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Leviticus 15

         Summary 

         Addendum          Footnote for Leviticus 15:1 from the Christian Community Bible

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Leviticus 15

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Leviticus 15

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Leviticus 15

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Leviticus 15

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An Introduction to Leviticus 15

I ntroduction: The biggest problem with Leviticus 15 is misunderstanding what is happening. Because of a legalistic law expert many years ago, many people and many translations treat this liquid coming out of the body of someone as being a nocturnal emission. When you begin this chapter with that assumption, much of the chapter begins to seem absurd.

I have had my body for 73 years now. At various times, there has been an unnatural build up of pus in my body; and at time, a sore is formed and it comes out there. When there is a buildup of fluid like this, it may exit the body or it may be trapped in the body (I had a growth on my neck, so nothing exited the body, but it needed to be removed). As a young person, I burned one foot with second and third degree burns. There was a build-up of pus bubbles which the doctor lanced and then dressed. There was great emphasis on keeping the dressing changed and clean.

In this chapter, when a person has any sort of unusual liquid build up in the body, whether it escapes the body or not, that person is potentially infectious and steps need to be taken to see that his infection does not spread. When you understand this as the beginning assumption (which is backed up by the Hebrew text), then everything that takes place in this chapter makes perfect sense. If you begin with the wrong assumption—that this chapter is all about a nocturnal emission—then you read it and think, what a bunch of weirdos.

We have the word unclean over and over again in this chapter. The verb is found twenty-two times in this chapter alone. If we understand this verb to mean infected or potentially infected, that understanding will give us a better grasp of what is taking place in the chapter. Someone has a disease which is potentially infectious; and this chapter gives us steps by which anyone who comes into contact with patient zero can decrease the chances that he himself becomes sick or passes along this disease to someone else, even if he is asymptomatic.

Throughout much of the chapter, there is an uncleanness associated with the menstruation of the woman and semen discharge of the man (in specific instances). How these are to be dealt with are covered in this chapter.

A question which comes up to me is, these are very common occurrences. Does a woman trek all the way to the Tent of Meeting while they are living in the land of Canaan? If a man has a seminal discharge, does he wash up his clothing, but then does he also go all the way to whatever city the Tabernacle is in as well? On the one hand, that seems to be the clear requirement of this chapter; but, on the other hand, that seems like quite an imposition on a normal man or woman, married or not.

Regarding any of the things in this chapter, it seems excessive for them to require a trip to the Tabernacle for each instance of uncleanness named. Will this be followed by many (not all) in the desert-wilderness and then ignored once the land of Canaan has been taken and made secure? Unfortunately, I do not have the answers to those questions yet.

Timeline for Leviticus

There is very little narrative in the book of Leviticus; so this information may have been given to Moses in a few days or, at most, a few weeks; and Moses both wrote these things down and informed the people. Because of information previously studied in the introduction, we are not 100% certain if all of this material was given to Moses while in the newly erected Tabernacle. I would lean towards that being the case.

As I have done previously, since this chapters is what God is saying to Moses, I will begin and end the chapter with quotation marks. I will not insert a new set of quotation marks for each new paragraph.

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Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Leviticus.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so says Y^ehowah unto Moses and unto Aaron, to say, “Speak unto sons of Israel, ‘A man, a man, for he is flowing from his flesh, his discharge unclean he [is]. And here is his uncleanness in his discharge. Is flowing his flesh with his discharge or having been stopped up his flesh from his discharge. His uncleanness she [is].

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  . Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: The man that hath an issue of seed, shall be unclean.

And then shall he be judged subject to this evil, when a filthy humour, at every moment, cleaveth to his flesh, and gathereth there.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Mar-Yah spoke to Mosha and to Aaron, saying,

"Speak to the B'nai Yisrael, and tell them, 'When any man has a discharge from his body, because of his discharge he is unclean.

This shall be his uncleanness in his discharge: whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body has stopped from his discharge, it is his uncleanness.

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say to them, Whatever man shall have a discharge out of his body, his discharge is unclean.

And this is the law of his uncleanness: whoever has a discharge out of his body, this is his uncleanness in him by reason of the discharge, by which, his body is affected through the discharge. All the days of the discharge of his body, by which his body is affected through the discharge, there is his uncleanness.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron, 

Say to the children of Israel: If a man has an unclean flow from his flesh, it will make him unclean. 

If the flow goes on or if the part is stopped up, to keep back the flow, he is still unclean.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  The LORD also said to Moses and Aaron, "Say to the Israelites: Whoever has a genital discharge is unclean. The person is unclean whether the discharge continues to flow or whether it stops.

God’s Word™                         The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Tell the Israelites: If a man has a discharge from his penis, his discharge is unclean. He is unclean because of the discharge from his penis. Whether it is chronic or not makes no difference; he is still unclean.

Good News Bible (TEV)         The LORD gave Moses and Aaron the following regulations for the people of Israel. When any man has a discharge from his penis, the discharge is unclean, whether the penis runs with it or is stopped up by it..

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       The LORD told Moses and Aaron to say to the community of Israel: Any man with an infected penis is unclean, whether it is stopped up or keeps dripping.

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

UnfoldingWord (Simplified)    Yahweh also said to Moses and Aaron, "Tell this to the Israelites: When an unusual, infected fluid comes out of a man's private parts, no one should touch that man. Whether that fluid is blocked or continues to drip, no one should touch him.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Christian Standard Bible        .

Berean Study Bible                And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Say to the Israelites, ‘When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean.  This uncleanness is from his discharge, whether his body allows the discharge to flow or blocks it. So his discharge will bring about uncleanness.

Conservapedia                       .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                 .

International Standard V        Regulations Concerning Discharges

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. “Tell the Israelis that when a man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. And this is the cause of his uncleanness—his discharge. Whether his body is releasing the discharge or his body has stopped the discharge, he’s unclean.

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Word Literal Text   Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,  "Speak to the people of Israel, and say to them, 'When any man has an infected fluid that comes out of his body, he becomes unclean.   His uncleanness is due to this infected fluid. Whether his body flows with fluid or is stopped up, it is unclean.

Urim-Thummim Version         YHWH spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When any man has an oozing discharge out of his flesh, because of his discharge he is unclean. This will be his uncleanness in his discharge, whether his flesh flows with his discharge or his flesh is halted from the discharge, it is his uncleanness.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: Speak to the sons of Israel, and you said to them:
Each man who will have a discharge from his flesh, his discharge, it is defiled. And this will be his defilement in his discharge: whether his flesh oozes his discharge, or his flesh covers his discharge, it is his defilement.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Sexual impurities

• ¹ Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron; he said,

“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them:

When a man has a discharge from his body, that discharge makes him unclean.

The rules about his uncleanness are: Whether his body allows the discharge to flow or whether it retains it, he is unclean.

¹The footnote for this verse has been placed in the addendum.

New American Bible(2011)    .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989   .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               And YAHWEH spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them, to any man, When there is a discharge from his flesh; it is unclean because of his flow. And this is his uncleanness in his issue, if his flesh has run with his issue, or his flesh has ceased from issue, it is his uncleanness.

Kaplan Translation                 . The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Leviticus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

The Scriptures–2009              And יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon, saying, “Speak to the children of Yisra’ěl, and say to them, ‘When any man has a discharge from his flesh, his discharge is unclean.  ‘And this is his uncleanness in regard to his discharge; whether his flesh runs with his discharge, or his flesh is stopped up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness.

Tree of Life Version                Adonai spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and tell them: When any man has a fluid discharge from his body, because of his discharge he is unclean. This is to be his uncleanness in his discharge. Whether his body flows with his discharge or his body obstructs his discharge, it is his uncleanness.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            AND JESUS SPOKE TO MOSES AND AARON, SAYING,

“SPEAK TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND YOU SHALL SAY TO THEM, ‘WHATEVER MAN SHALL HAVE AN DISCHARGE OUT OF HIS BODY, HIS DISCHARGE IS UNCLEAN.

AND THIS IS THE LAW OF HIS UNCLEANNESS; WHOEVER HAS A GONORRHEA OUT OF HIS BODY, THIS IS HIS UNCLEANNESS IN HIM BY REASON OF THE DISCHARGE, BY WHICH, HIS BODY IS AFFECTED THROUGH THE DISCHARGE: ALL THE DAYS OF THE DISCHARGE OF HIS BODY, BY WHICH HIS BODY IS AFFECTED THROUGH THE DISCHARGE, THERE IS HIS UNCLEANNESS.

Awful Scroll Bible                   Sustains To Become was to speak to Moses and Aaron, to the intent:

Be speaking to the sons of Isra-el, and you is to have said: A man, even a man being with an issue of his flesh, for his issue he is to be unclean.

Even is he unclean for the issue of his flesh, and it is to have flown the issue of his flesh, or is to have stopped his issue, he is unclean.

Charles Thomson OT            .

Concordant Literal Version    Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying.

Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them:In case any man should come to be discharging from his flesh, his discharge, it is unclean.

This shall become the law of his uncleanness in his discharge. Whether his flesh oozes his discharge or seals his flesh from his discharge, he is unclean all the days of the discharge of his flesh or when it seals his flesh from his discharge; it is his uncleanness.

exeGeses companion Bible   TORAH ON FOULING

And Yah Veh words to Mosheh and to Aharon,

saying,

Word to the sons of Yisra El and say to them,

When a man - any man fluxes from his flesh,

his flux is foul.

And this is his foulness in his flux:

whether his flesh runs with his flux

or his flesh stops from his flux:

- it is his foulness.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Hashem spoke unto Moshe and to Aharon, saying,

Speak unto the Bnei Yisroel, and say unto them, When any ish hath a discharge from his basar, because of his discharge he is tamei.

And this shall be his tumah (uncleanness) in his discharge: whether his basar run with his discharge, or his basar has stopped from his discharge, it is his tumah (uncleanness).

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    .

Lexham English Bible            Instructions About Bodily Discharges

Then [Or “And”] Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “Speak to the Israelites, [Literally “sons/children of Israel”] and you shall say to them, ‘Any man [Literally “a man a man”] when a fluid discharge occurs [Or “becomes” or “shall be”] from his body, his fluid discharge is unclean. And this becomes his uncleanness in his fluid discharge: whether his body secretes his fluid discharge or his body blocks his fluid discharge, it is his uncleanness.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 Male Discharges

God spoke to Moses and Aaron, telling them

to speak to the Israelites and tell them [as follows]:

When a man has a discharge from his organ, this discharge can render him unclean.

He becomes unclean through a discharge if his organ dribbles with the discharge or if he has [some of it] stuck to his organ.

organ

Male sex organ (Sifra; Rashi; Saadia).

dribbles

With clear liquid (Rashi), like saliva (Saadia), baba in Spanish (Radak, Sherashim). It can have the appearance of the egg white of a sterile (Niddah 35b, Rashi ad loc.; cf. Chullin 140b) or spoiled (Arukh s.v. Zamar) egg, in contrast with semen, which has the consistency of fresh egg white. It can also be a pus-like discharge, resembling the liquid from barley dough (Niddah 35b) or soft barley batter (Yad, MeChuserey Kapparah 2:1).

In order to render the man unclean, the discharge must continue running long enough for the man to immerse and then towel himself off (Zavim 1:4, Yad, Mechuserey Kapparah 2:10). If he discharges for a shorter time than this, then in order to become unclean, he must experience a second discharge on the same or the next day (Zavim 1:1, 1:3; Yad, Mechuserey Kapparah 2:6,8). He is, however, unclean to the same degree as one who experienced a seminal emission.

stuck

(Rashbam). This teaches that the discharge renders the man unclean no matter how little there is, even if there is not enough to run, but only to adhere to the organ (Sifra; Yad, Mechuserey Kapparah 2:9; Rambam on Zavim 1:4).

According to others, this teaches that a thick discharge renders the man unclean just like a thin one (Radak, Sherashim; cf. Saadia). Some say that if the discharge stops up the organ, it also renders the man unclean (Rashi; cf. Niddah 43b; Ibn Janach).

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible(2011)    .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B.          § 12. Concerning various Forms of Personal Uncleanness.

Chapter 15.

And Yahweh spake unto Moses and unto Aaronˎ saying:

    Speak unto the sons of Israel, and ye shall say unto them,—

<When ||any man whatsoever|| hath a flowing from his flesh> ||his flux|| is ||unclean||. And ||this|| shall be his uncleannessˎ in his flux,— <whether his flesh is running with his fluxˎ or his flesh hath closed from his flux>^e <his uncleanness> it isʹ.

^e So in effect Driver and White in P.B.: “Or whether it be stopped so that no discharge appears.” But O.G.: “Hath shewn stoppage by reason of his flux.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  .

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            Again the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man hath an efflux from his body; because of his efflux he is unclean, and this is the law touching his uncleanness. If his efflux be a gonorrhea, this is an uncleanness in him. So long as his gonorrhea continueth, it is his uncleanness.

Context Group Version          And YHWH spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, When any man has discharging out of his flesh a [genital] discharge, he is unclean. And this shall be his uncleanness in his discharge: whether his flesh runs his discharge, or his flesh be stopped from his discharge, he is unclean. All the days that his flesh runs his discharge or that his flesh withholds his discharge, it is his uncleanness.

English Standard Version      .

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        .

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  .

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and YHWH spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon saying, speak to the sons of Yisra'eyl and you will say to them, each man that exists with an issuing from a discharge of his flesh, he is dirty, and this will be his dirtiness with his discharge, his flesh flowed out with his discharge or his flesh was sealed from his discharge, she is his dirtiness.

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean. And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh shall run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young's Updated LT              .

The gist of this passage: 

1-3

Translation: Y^ehowah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,...

Sometimes God spoke only to Moses; and other times, He speaks to both Moses and Aaron. We may assume that most of the time when dealing with the priestly duties and Aaron will be there.

Translation: ...“Speak to the sons of Israel [and say],...

What God tells Moses and Aaron must be relayed to the people of Israel.

This information was eventually written down and preserved.

Translation: ...‘When any man [lit., A man, a man, when] it is flowing from his flesh,...

This is an odd collection of words. However, it seems to me that I have seen a man, a man before; and that it means, any man.

So many translations make this into a nocturnal emission (wives, ask your husbands at home). However, what we have here is an unusual fluid or pus emanating from the body of a man (although I assume that it could be a woman).

Translation: ...[then] he [is] unclean [due to] his discharge.

As a result of this odd fluid exiting the body, this is considered unclean.

Leviticus 15:1–2 Y^ehowah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel [and say], ‘When any man [lit., A man, a man, when] it is flowing from his flesh, [then] he [is] unclean [due to] his discharge. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

This gives us a much better idea about uncleanness. This is not some moral failing or immoral act; this is something which has taken place, and God is saying, “Listen, this could be contagious. Others could get the same sickness.”

Translation: And here, his uncleanness is with his discharge or [for] having been stopped up in his flesh from his discharge.

The discharge of pus could be ongoing or it could be stopped up (however, it can be seen).

Translation: This [condition is] unclean. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

This condition, whether the pus is stopped up or free-flowing, is an unclean state. This person might be able to infect others.

Leviticus 15:3 And here, his uncleanness is with his discharge or [for] having been stopped up in his flesh from his discharge. This [condition is] unclean. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Leviticus 15:1–3 Y^ehowah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel [and say], ‘When any man [lit., A man, a man, when] it is flowing from his flesh, [then] he [is] unclean [due to] his discharge. And here, his uncleanness is with his discharge or [for] having been stopped up in his flesh from his discharge. This [condition is] unclean. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

And odd discharge from the body of an unknown and/or unnatural fluid is to be watched over.

Leviticus 15:1–3 Jehovah spoke to both Moses and Aaron, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say, ‘When any man has a strange liquid or pus oozing from his flesh, he is considered unclean because of this discharge. His discharge is understood to be unclean, whether it is free-flowing or stopped up. This condition is unclean. (Kukis paraphrase)

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Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        All the bed where lies down the one discharging is made unclean and every manufactured item where he sits is made unclean. And a man who touches his bed will wash his garments and he has washed (himself) in the waters and he has been made unclean as far as the evening. And the one siting upon the manufacture item on which he was sitting upon him [it] the one discharging—he will wash his garments and he has washed (himself) in the waters and he has been made unclean as far as the evening.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Targum (Onkelos)                  .

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Aramaic Targum                    .

The Psalms Targum              .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) Every bed on which he sleepeth, shall be unclean, and every place on which he sitteth.

If any man touch his bed, he shall wash his clothes and being washed with water, he shall be unclean until the evening.

If a man sit where that man hath sitten, he also shall wash his clothes: and being washed with water, shall be unclean until the evening.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        "'Every bed whereon he who has the discharge lies shall be unclean; and everything he sits on shall be unclean.

Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.

He who sits on anything whereon the man who has the discharge sat shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.

Original Aramaic Psalms        .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       Every bed on which he that has the discharge shall happen to lie, is unclean; and every seat on which he that has the discharge may happen to sit, shall be unclean.

And the man who shall touch his bed, shall wash his garments, and bathe himself in water, and shall be unclean till evening.

And whosoever sits on the seat on which he that has the discharge may have sat, shall wash his garments, and bathe himself in water, and shall be unclean until evening.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             Every bed on which he has been resting will be unclean, and everything on which he has been seated will be unclean. 

And anyone touching his bed is to have his clothing washed and his body bathed in water and be unclean till evening. 

And he who has been seated on anything on which the unclean man has been seated is to have his clothing washed and his body bathed in water and be unclean till evening.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  "If a man with a discharge lies on a bed, that bed becomes unclean. Everything he sits on will become unclean. If you touch that bed, you must wash your clothes and bathe in water. You will be unclean until evening. If you sit on anything that he sat on, you must wash your clothes and bathe in water. You will be unclean until evening.

God’s Word™                         "The man who has a discharge makes everything he lies on or sits on unclean. Those who touch his bed must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. Those who sit on anything he sat on must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Any bed on which he sits or lies is unclean. Anyone who touches his bed or sits on anything the man has sat on must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       Anything that he rests on or sits on is also unclean, and if you touch either these or him, you must wash your clothes and take a bath, but you still remain unclean until evening. This is vv. 4–5 in the CEV; there is no vv. 6–7.

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

The Passion Translation        .

Unfolding Bible Simplified      No one should touch any bed that such a man lies on, nor anything he sits on. Anyone who touches that person's bed must wash his clothes and bathe, and allow no one to touch him until that evening. Anyone who sits on something that man has sat on must wash his clothes and bathe, and allow no one to touch him until that evening.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Christian Standard Bible        .

Berean Study Bible                .

Conservapedia Translation    .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                          Every bed on which he lies who has the discharge is unclean, and every implement on which he sits shall be unclean.

And whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until dusk.

And he who sits on anything on which he sat who has the discharge shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the dusk.

International Standard V        .

H. C. Leupold                         .

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    .

Urim-Thummim Version         Every bed where he rests that has the discharge is unclean and everything, where he sits will be unclean. And whoever touches his bed will wash his clothes and bath himself in water, and is unclean until sunset. He that sits on anything where he sat that has the discharge will wash his clothes and bath himself in water, and is unclean until sunset.

Wikipedia Bible Project          All the couches which the discharger will lie upon will be defiled, and any pot which he will sits upon will be defiled. And a man who will touch his couch, will wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he is defiled until evening. And the one who sits on the pot which the discharger sat upon, and he will wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and he is defiled until evening.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Any bed the man lies on and any seat he sits on shall be unclean. Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothing and take a bath and will be unclean until evening.

Anyone who sits on a seat where the man has sat must wash his clothing and take a bath and will be unclean until evening.

New American Bible (2011)   .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989   .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Kaplan Translation                 .

The Scriptures–2009               ‘Any bed becomes unclean on which he who has the discharge lies, and any object on which he sits becomes unclean.  ‘And anyone who touches his bed has to wash his garments, and shall bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.  ‘And he who sits on any object on which he who has the discharge sat, has to wash his garments, and shall bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

Tree of Life Version                .

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            .

Awful Scroll Bible                   The bed he was to lie down on, being with the issue, was to be unclean, even the articles he was to sit on, was to be unclean.

Anyone who was to touch that bed, was to wash his clothes, and is to have bathe with water and been unclean till evening.

He sitting on the articles, that was sitting he of the issue, was to wash his clothes, and is to have bathe with water, and been unclean till evening.

Concordant Literal Version    Any bedding on which the one discharging has lain is unclean; and every article on which he has sat is unclean.

Anyone who touches his bedding shall rinse his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

Also the one sitting on an article on which the one discharging has sat shall rinse his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

exeGeses companion Bible   Every bed whereon he who fluxes lies

becomes foul:

and every instrument whereon he sits

becomes foul.

And the man who touches his bed

launders his clothes and baptizes in water

and becomes foul until the evening.

And he who sits on aught

whereon he who fluxes sat,

launders his clothes and baptizes in water

and becomes foul until the evening.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the discharge, is tamei; and everything, whereon he sitteth, shall be tamei.

And whosoever toucheth his bed shall immerse his garments, and immerse himself in mayim, and be tamei until the erev.

And he that sitteth on any thing whereon he sat that hath the discharge shall immerse his garments, and immerse himself in mayim, and be tamei until the erev.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    

Lexham English Bible            Any bed upon which the person who discharges lies down becomes unclean, and any object upon which he sits becomes unclean. And anyone who touches his bed must wash his garments and shall wash [Or “bathe”] himself [The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation] with water, and he shall be unclean until evening. And the person who sits on the object upon which the person who discharges has sat must wash his garments, and he shall wash [Or “bathe”] himself [The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation] with water, and he shall be unclean until the evening.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 This makes him unclean [so that]

any bed upon which the man with the discharge lies is unclean, and any object upon which he sits is [also] unclean.

Any person who touches [the man's] bed must immerse his clothing and his body in a mikvah and [then] remain unclean until evening.

[Similarly,] anyone who sits on an object upon which the man with a discharge has been sitting must [also] immerse his clothing and his body in a mikvah, and [then] remain unclean until evening.

bed

Literally, 'something upon which he lies', mishkav in Hebrew (see Rambam on Kelim 1:3).

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible (2011)   .

New Catholic Bible                 .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. ||All the bed whereon he that hath the flux lieth|| shall be unclean,—and ||every piece of furniture^a whereon he sitteth|| shall be unclean. And ||whosoever toucheth his bed|| shall wash his clothesˎ and bathe in waterˎ and be unclean until the evening.

And ||he that sitteth on that^b whereon he that hath the flux hath sat|| shall wash his clothesˎ and bathe in waterˎ and be unclean until the evening.

^a Ml.: “every article.”

^b Ml.: “the article.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  . Sunset

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            .

Context Group Version          .

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    .

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        Every bed on which he who has the discharging lies is unclean, and every vessel on which he sits is unclean; and anyone who comes against his bed washes his garments, and has bathed with water, and been unclean until the evening. And he who is sitting on the vessel on which he sits who has the discharging, washes his garments, and has bathed with water, and been unclean until the evening.

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  Every bed on which he who has the discharge lies will be unclean and everything on which he sits will be unclean. And whoever touches his bed will wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. And he who sits on anything on which he who has the discharge sat will wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Owen's Translation                .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    Every lying place where he lies down upon with the issuing, will be dirty, and every utensil which he settles upon will be dirty, and a man which touches his lying place will wash his garments and he will bathe in the waters and he will be dirty until evening, and the one settling upon the utensil, who settles upon him with an issuing, he will wash his garments and he will bathe in the waters and he will be dirty until the evening,...

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young’s Updated LT             .

The gist of this passage: 

4-6

Translation: All of the bed where the one with a discharge lays down is made unclean and every stool [lit., manufactured item] where he sits is made unclean.

There is the person with this discharge, meaning somewhere out of this body, some unnatural fluid or pus is coming out (or maybe it is stopped up). Wherever this person lies down or sits down will be considered unclean. This has nothing to do with sin. He simply has germs (unknown at this time) and these germs can spread and infect others.

In this passage, we are looking at reducing the amount of contact which will reduce the amount of germs

Leviticus 15:4 All of the bed where the one with a discharge lays down is made unclean and every stool [lit., manufactured item] where he sits is made unclean. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Translation: And [any] man who touches his bed will wash his clothing and he has washed himself with water. [Because of this contact], he is made unclean until evening.

If anyone comes into contact with the bed (where the sick person has been laying), that person needs to wash himself and his clothing, and he is made unclean until the evening. That means that he should avoid all human contact until that evening.

Leviticus 15:5 And [any] man who touches his bed will wash his clothing and he has washed himself with water. [Because of this contact], he is made unclean until evening. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Translation: And [any] man who sits on the stool [lit., manufactured item] where the man with the discharge sat—he will wash his clothing and he has washed himself with water. [As a result of this contact], he is made unclean until evening. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

The same thing is true if a person who is not sick sits where the sick person has been sitting. He will be considered unclean (but with no moral judgment attached); and he needs to wash himself and avoid human contact until that evening.

Leviticus 15:6 And [any] man who sits on the stool [lit., manufactured item] where the man with the discharge sat—he will wash his clothing and he has washed himself with water. [As a result of this contact], he is made unclean until evening. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Leviticus 15:4–6 All of the bed where the one with a discharge lays down is made unclean and every stool [lit., manufactured item] where he sits is made unclean. And [any] man who touches his bed will wash his clothing and he has washed himself with water. [Because of this contact], he is made unclean until evening. And [any] man who sits on the stool [lit., manufactured item] where the man with the discharge sat—he will wash his clothing and he has washed himself with water. [As a result of this contact], he is made unclean until evening. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Basically, the whole idea here is to avoid passing along germs to others. The sick person has them. He can pass them to anyone else. The two people do not need to have direct contact for this to happen. The person who is not sick need only come into contact with whatever surface the sick has been touching.

Leviticus 15:4–6 When a man with a discharge of pus lays on his bed, that bed is unclean. Wherever the man sits is also made unclean. Anyone who comes into contact with the bed and anyone who sits where that man has sat must wash his clothing and himself. He will be considered unclean until that evening. (Kukis paraphrase)

——————————

Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And the one touching in a flesh of the one discharging—he will wash his garments and he has washed (himself) in the waters and he has been made unclean as far as the evening. And when spits [inadvertently?] the one discharging on the one who is clean, and he will wash his garments and he has washed (himself) in the waters and he has been made unclean as far as the evening.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Targum (Onkelos)                  .

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Aramaic Targum                    .

The Psalms Targum              .

Updated Douay-Rheims         He that toucheth his flesh, shall wash his clothes: and being himself washed with water shall be unclean until the evening.

If such a man cast his spittle upon him that is clean, he shall wash his clothes: and being washed with water, he shall be unclean until the evening.

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) .

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        "'He who touches the body of him who has the discharge shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.

"'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.

Original Aramaic Psalms        .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And he that touches the skin of him that has the discharge, shall wash his garments and bathe himself in water, and shall be unclean till evening.

And if he that has the discharge should spit upon one that is clean, that person shall wash his garments, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until evening.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             ‘And he who touches the flesh of him who has the discharge has to wash his garments, and shall bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. 

‘And when he who has the discharge spits on him who is clean, then he shall wash his garments, and shall bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  If you touch him, you must wash your clothes and bathe in water. You will be unclean until evening. If he spits on you, you must wash your clothes and bathe in water. You will be unclean until evening.

God’s Word™                         Those who touch a man who has a discharge must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. If a man who has a discharge spits on anyone who is clean, the person he spits on must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Anyone who touches the man with the discharge must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening. If the man with the discharge spits on anyone who is ritually clean, that person must wash his clothes and take a bath, and he remains unclean until evening.

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       If you are spit on by the man, you must wash your clothes and take a bath, but you still remain unclean until evening. V. 8 was placed with the previous passage for context.

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

The Passion Translation        .

Unfolding Bible Simplified      Anyone who touches such a man must wash his clothes and bathe, and allow no one to touch him until that evening. If such a man spits on someone else, that person must allow no one to touch him. He must wash his clothes, and he must allow no one to touch him until evening.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Christian Standard Bible        .

Berean Study Bible                .

Conservapedia Translation    .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                          And he who touches the flesh of him who has the discharge shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until dusk.

And 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 dusk.

International Standard V        .

H. C. Leupold                         .

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    Anyone who touches the body of the one who has a flow of infected fluid must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until evening.  

If the person who has such a flow of fluid spits on someone who is clean, then that person must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until evening.

Urim-Thummim Version         He that touches the flesh of him that has the discharge will wash his clothes and bath himself in water, and is unclean until sunset. And if he that has the discharge spit on him that is clean then he will wash his clothes and bath himself in water, and is unclean until sunset.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And the one who touches the flesh of the discharger will wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he is defiled until the evening.

And if the discharger will spit on the clean, and he will wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he is defiled until the evening.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Anyone who touches the body of a man so affected must wash his clothing and take a bath and will be unclean until evening. If the sick man spits on someone who is clean, that person must wash his clothing and take a bath and will be unclean until evening.

New American Bible (2011)   .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .