Vulgate: Leviticus: Leviticus Chapter 14

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This is a passage from the Latin Vulgate Bible, comprising Leviticus chapter 14 — a priestly legal text from the Torah prescribing ritual procedures for purification from leprosy (lepra). The text details the multi-stage cleansing ceremonies a priest must perform to declare a healed leper ritually clean: sacrificing one of two live birds over running water, using the blood and cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet thread to sprinkle the purified person seven times, then releasing the living bird. It specifies a graduated system of sacrifice — full offerings of lambs and fine flour for those who can afford it, and a reduced version using doves for the poor — with oil applied to the right ear, thumb, and big toe of the purified person. Distinctively, the text extends the concept of "leprosy" beyond human skin to houses, prescribing that a priest inspect walls for discolored lesions, quarantine the dwelling, remove and replace affected stones, and ultimately demolish a persistently afflicted building. The passage closes with a brief legal summary classifying all the varieties of leprous affliction — on persons, garments, and houses — under a unified ritual framework for determining clean versus unclean status. Its perspective is entirely priestly and cultic, concerned with precise procedural correctness rather than medical or moral reasoning.

Vulgate: Leviticus: Leviticus Chapter 14

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