“People who come down with a skin disease must wear torn clothes and leave their hair uncombed. They must cover their upper lips and call out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’
Run away! Run away! Get away from there! Do not touch anything unclean. Get away from it! Make yourselves pure, you Levites who carry the utensils for the Lord’s temple.
So I said, “Oh, no! I’m doomed. Every word that passes through my lips is sinful. I live among people with sinful lips. I have seen the king, the Lord of Armies!”
We’ve all become unclean, and all our righteous acts are like permanently stained rags. All of us shrivel like leaves, and our sins carry us away like the wind.
We must lie down in our shame and be covered by our disgrace. Ever since we were young, we and our ancestors have sinned against the Lord our God. We haven’t obeyed the Lord our God.
‘Get away! You’re unclean,’ people yelled at them. ‘Get away! Get away! Don’t touch anyone.’ When they fled and wandered around, the people of the nations said, ‘They can’t stay here any longer.’
Groan silently. Don’t grieve for the person who dies. Tie on your turban, and put on your sandals. Don’t cover your face or eat the food that mourners eat.”
Tear your hearts, not your clothes. Return to the Lord your God. He is merciful and compassionate, patient, and always ready to forgive and to change his plans about disaster.
Moses told Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar: “Do not mourn by leaving your hair uncombed or tearing your clothes. If you do, you will die and the Lord will become angry with the whole congregation. All the other Israelites may cry over the fire the Lord sent, but you may not.
“The priest who is anointed with oil and wears the chief priest’s clothes is chief over his brothers. He must never mourn by leaving his hair uncombed or by tearing his clothes.
“Command the Israelites to send outside the camp anyone who has a serious skin disease or a discharge or anyone who is unclean from touching a dead body.