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Sunday, July 13th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Read the Bible

Legacy Standard Bible

Leviticus 15:2

"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Defilement;   Sanitation;   Thompson Chain Reference - Defilement;   Defilement-Cleansing;   The Topic Concordance - Uncleanness;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Defilement;   Purifications or Baptisms;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Uncleanness;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Clean, Unclean;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Sin-Offering;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Issue Out of the Flesh;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Discharge;   Flesh;   Issue;   Leprosy;   Leviticus;   Water;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Clean and Unclean;   Kidneys;   Leviticus;   Medicine;   Numbers, Book of;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Issue, Running;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Defile;   Flesh;   Issue (of Blood);   Kidneys;   Leviticus;   Uncleanness;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Commandments, the 613;   Holy Spirit;   Yudan ben Ishmael;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
"Speak to the children of Yisra'el, and tell them, 'When any man has a discharge from his body, because of his discharge he is unclean.
King James Version
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.
Lexham English Bible
"Speak to the Israelites, and you shall say to them, ‘Any man when a fluid discharge occurs from his body, his fluid discharge is unclean.
New Century Version
"Say to the people of Israel: ‘When a fluid comes from a person's body, the fluid is unclean.
New English Translation
"Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean.
Amplified Bible
"Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, 'When any man has a bodily discharge, his discharge is unclean.
New American Standard Bible
"Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, 'When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Speake vnto the children of Israel, and say vnto them, Whosoeuer hath an issue from his flesh, is vncleane, because of his issue.
Contemporary English Version
to say to the community of Israel: Any man with an infected penis is unclean,
Complete Jewish Bible
"Tell the people of Isra'el, ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, the discharge is unclean.
Darby Translation
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man have a flux from his flesh, because of his flux he is unclean.
Easy-to-Read Version
"Say to the Israelites: Whoever has a genital discharge is unclean.
English Standard Version
"Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean.
George Lamsa Translation
Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When any man has a seminal discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean,
Good News Translation
for the people of Israel. When any man has a discharge from his penis, the discharge is unclean,
Christian Standard Bible®
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any man has a discharge from his member, he is unclean.
Literal Translation
Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them, to any man, When there is an issue from his flesh; it is unclean because of his issue.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Speake to the children of Israel, and saie vnto him: Whan a man hath a runnynge yssue from out of his flesh, ye same is vncleane: but the is he vncleane by the reason of this yssue,
American Standard Version
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath an issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.
Bible in Basic English
Say to the children of Israel: If a man has an unclean flow from his flesh, it will make him unclean.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Speake vnto the children of Israel, and say vnto them: Whosoeuer hath a runnyng issue out of his fleshe, is vncleane by reason of that issue.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When any man hath an issue out of his flesh, his issue is unclean.
King James Version (1611)
Speake vnto the children of Israel, and say vnto them, when any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is vncleane.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Whatever man shall have an issue out of his body, his issue is unclean.
English Revised Version
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath an issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.
Berean Standard Bible
"Say to the Israelites, 'When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Speke ye to the sones of Israel, and seie ye to hem, A man that suffrith the rennyng out of seed, schal be vncleene;
Young's Literal Translation
`Speak unto the sons of Israel, and ye have said unto them, When there is an issue out of the flesh of any man, [for] his issue he [is] unclean;
Update Bible Version
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.
Webster's Bible Translation
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.
World English Bible
"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When any man has a discharge from his body, because of his discharge he is unclean.
New King James Version
"Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: "When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean.
New Living Translation
"Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. "Any man who has a bodily discharge is ceremonially unclean.
New Life Bible
"Say to the people of Israel, ‘When a man has something flowing from his body, what is flowing is unclean.
New Revised Standard
Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When any man has a discharge from his member, his discharge makes him ceremonially unclean.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
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.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: The man that hath an issue of seed, shall be unclean.
Revised Standard Version
"Say to the people of Israel, When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, 'When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean.

Contextual Overview

1Yahweh also spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. 3This, moreover, shall be his uncleanness in his discharge: it is his uncleanness whether his body allows its discharge to flow or whether his body obstructs its discharge. 4Every bed on which the person with the discharge lies becomes unclean, and everything on which he sits becomes unclean. 5Anyone, moreover, who touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening; 6and whoever sits on the thing on which the man with the discharge has been sitting shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 7Also whoever touches the person with the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 8Or if the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, he too shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 9Every saddle on which the person with the discharge rides becomes unclean. 10Whoever then touches any of the things which were under him shall be unclean until evening, and he who carries them shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

unto the: Deuteronomy 4:7, Deuteronomy 4:8, Nehemiah 9:13, Nehemiah 9:14, Psalms 78:5, Psalms 147:19, Psalms 147:20, Romans 3:2

when any man: It is not necessary to consider particularly the laws contained in this chapter, the letter of the text being in general sufficiently plain. It may, however, be observed, that from the pains which persons rendered unclean were obliged to take, the ablutions and separations which they must observe, and the privations to which they must in consequence be exposed, in the way of commerce, traffic, etc., these laws were admirably adapted to prevent contagion of every kind, by keeping the whole from the diseased, and to hinder licentious indulgences and excesses of every description. Leviticus 22:4, Numbers 5:2, 2 Samuel 3:29, Matthew 9:20, Mark 5:25, Mark 7:20-23, Luke 8:43

running issue: or, running of the reins

Reciprocal: Leviticus 7:20 - having Zechariah 13:1 - uncleanness

Cross-References

Genesis 15:1
After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying,"Do not fear, Abram,I am a shield to you;Your reward shall be very great."
Genesis 15:2
And Abram said, "O Lord Yahweh, what will You give me, as I go on being childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
Genesis 15:3
And Abram said, "Since You have given no seed to me, behold, one born in my house is my heir."
Genesis 15:4
Then behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, "This one will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir."
Genesis 15:6
Then he believed in Yahweh; and He counted it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 24:2
And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who ruled over all that he owned, "Please place your hand under my thigh,
Genesis 24:10
Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and he went with all kinds of good things of his master's in his hand. So he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.
Genesis 25:21
And Isaac entreated Yahweh on behalf of his wife because she was barren; and Yahweh was moved by his entreaty. So Rebekah his wife conceived.
Genesis 39:9
There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?"
Genesis 43:19
So they came near to Joseph's house steward and spoke to him at the entrance of the house,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Speak unto the children of Israel,.... From whence we learn, says the above mentioned writer, that these uncleannesses were only usual among the children of Israel, not among the Gentiles; that is, the laws respecting them were only binding on the one, and not on the other s:

and say unto them, when any man; in the Hebrew text it is, "a man, a man", which the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases, a young man, and an old man:

hath a running issue out of his flesh; what physicians call a "gonorrhoea", and we, as in the margin of our Bibles, "the running of the reins":

[because of] his issue, he [is] unclean; in a ceremonial sense, though it arises from a natural cause; but if not from any criminal one, from a debauch, but from a strain, or some such like thing, the man was not defiled, otherwise he was; the Targum of Jonathan is,

"if he sees it three times he is unclean;''

so the Misnah t.

s So Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Edaiot, c. 5. sect. 1. t Zabim, c. 1. sect. 1. Maimon. & Bartenora in ib.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Leviticus 15:2. When any man hath a running issue — The cases of natural uncleanness, both of men and women, mentioned in this chapter, taken in a theological point of view, are not of such importance to us as to render a particular description necessary, the letter of the text being, in general, plain enough. The disease mentioned in the former part of this chapter appears to some to have been either the consequence of a very bad infection, or of some criminal indulgence; for they find that it might be communicated in a variety of ways, which they imagine are here distinctly specified. On this ground the person was declared unclean, and all commerce and connection with him strictly forbidden. The Septuagint version renders הזב hazzab, the man with the issue, by ὁ γονορῥυης, the man with a gonorrhoea, no less than nine times in this chapter; and that it means what in the present day is commonly understood by that disorder, taken not only in its mild but in its worst sense, they think there is little room to doubt. Hence they infer that a disease which is supposed to be comparatively recent in Europe, has existed almost from time immemorial in the Asiatic countries; that it ever has been, in certain measures, what it is now; and that it ever must be the effect of sensual indulgence, and illicit and extravagant intercourse between the sexes. The disgraceful disorder referred to here is a foul blot which the justice of God in the course of providence has made in general the inseparable consequent of these criminal indulgences, and serves in some measure to correct and restrain the vice itself. In countries where public prostitution was permitted, where it was even a religious ceremony among those who were idolaters, this disease must necessarily have been frequent and prevalent. When the pollutions and libertinism of former times are considered, it seems rather strange that medical men should have adopted the opinion, and consumed so much time in endeavouring to prove it, viz., that the disease is modern. It must have existed, in certain measures, ever since prostitution prevailed in the world; and this has been in every nation of the earth from its earliest era. That the Israelites might have received it from the Egyptians, and that it must, through the Baal-peor and Ashteroth abominations which they learned and practised, have prevailed among the Moabites, c., there can be little reason to doubt. Supposing this disease to be at all hinted at here, the laws and ordinances enjoined were at once wisely and graciously calculated to remove and prevent it. By contact, contagion of every kind is readily communicated and to keep the whole from the diseased must be essential to the check and eradication of a contagious disorder. This was the wise and grand object of this enlightened Legislator in the ordinances which he lays down in this chapter. I grant, however, that it was probably of a milder kind in ancient times; that it has gained strength and virulence by continuance; and that, associated with some foreign causes, it became greatly exacerbated in Europe about 1493, the time in which some have supposed it first began to exist, though there are strong evidences of it in this country ever since the eleventh century.


 
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