Leviticus 15:3
New International Version
Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. This is how his discharge will bring about uncleanness:

New Living Translation
This defilement is caused by his discharge, whether the discharge continues or stops. In either case the man is unclean.

English Standard Version
And this is the law of his uncleanness for a discharge: whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is blocked up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness.

Berean Standard Bible
This uncleanness is from his discharge, whether his body allows the discharge to flow or blocks it. So his discharge will bring about uncleanness.

King James Bible
And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.

New King James Version
And this shall be his uncleanness in regard to his discharge—whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is stopped up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness.

New American Standard Bible
This, 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.

NASB 1995
‘This, 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.

NASB 1977
‘This, 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.

Legacy Standard Bible
This, 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.

Amplified Bible
This shall be [the law concerning] his uncleanness in his discharge: whether his body allows its discharge to flow or obstructs its flow; it is uncleanness in him.

Christian Standard Bible
This is uncleanness of his discharge: Whether his member secretes the discharge or retains it, he is unclean. All the days that his member secretes or retains anything because of his discharge, he is unclean.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
This is uncleanness of his discharge: Whether his body secretes the discharge or retains it, he is unclean. All the days that his body secretes or retains anything because of his discharge, he is unclean.

American Standard Version
And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.

Contemporary English Version
whether it is stopped up or keeps dripping.

English Revised Version
And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
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 Translation
whether the penis runs with it or is stopped up by it.

International Standard Version
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.

Majority Standard Bible
This uncleanness is from his discharge, whether his body allows the discharge to flow or blocks it. So his discharge will bring about uncleanness.

NET Bible
Now this is his uncleanness in regard to his discharge--whether his body secretes his discharge or blocks his discharge, he is unclean. All the days that his body has a discharge or his body blocks his discharge, this is his uncleanness.

New Heart English Bible
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. All the days of the discharge of his body, even if his body obstructs his discharge, it is his uncleanness.

Webster's Bible Translation
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
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.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and this is his uncleanness in his discharge—his flesh has run with his discharge, or his flesh has stopped from his discharge; it [is] his uncleanness.

Young's Literal Translation
and this is his uncleanness in his issue -- his flesh hath run with his issue, or his flesh hath stopped from his issue; it is his uncleanness.

Smith's Literal Translation
And this shall be his uncleanness in his flowing: his flesh running with his flowing, or his flesh sealed up from his flowing, it is his uncleanness.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And then shall he be judged subject to this evil, when a filthy humour, at every moment, cleaveth to his flesh, and gathereth there.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And then he shall be judged subject to this fault, if a filthy fluid, at each moment, adheres to his flesh and gathers there.

New American Bible
Such is his uncleanness from this discharge, whether his body drains freely with the discharge or is blocked up from the discharge. His uncleanness is on him all the days that his body discharges or is blocked up from his discharge; this is his uncleanness.

New Revised Standard Version
The uncleanness of his discharge is this: whether his member flows with his discharge, or his member is stopped from discharging, it is uncleanness for him.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And this shall be his uncleanness in his discharge: whether his body runs with its discharge or his body has stopped from its discharge, it is his uncleanness.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And this will be the defilement of his discharge: his flesh runs with his discharge or his flesh has ceased from its discharge; it is his defilement.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And this is the law of his uncleanness; whoever has a gonorrhoea out of his body, this is his uncleanness in him by reason of the issue, by which, his body is affected through the issue: all the days of the issue of his body, by which his body is affected through the issue, there is his uncleanness.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Uncleanness of Men
2“Say to the Israelites, ‘When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean. 3This uncleanness is from his discharge, whether his body allows the discharge to flow or blocks it. So his discharge will bring about uncleanness. 4Any bed on which the man with the discharge lies will be unclean, and any furniture on which he sits will be unclean.…

Cross References
Numbers 5:2
“Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, and anyone who is defiled by a dead body.

Deuteronomy 23:10-11
If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he must leave the camp and stay outside. / When evening approaches, he must wash with water, and when the sun sets he may return to the camp.

2 Samuel 11:4
Then David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. (Now she had just purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned home.

2 Kings 5:10
Then Elisha sent him a messenger, who said, “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be clean.”

Isaiah 64:6
Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

Ezekiel 36:17
“Son of man, when the people of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds. Their behavior before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman’s impurity.

Matthew 8:2-3
Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” / Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Matthew 9:20-22
Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak. / She said to herself, “If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed.” / Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that very hour.

Mark 5:25-34
And a woman was there who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. / She had borne much agony under the care of many physicians and had spent all she had, but to no avail. Instead, her condition had only grown worse. / When the woman heard about Jesus, she came up through the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. ...

Luke 8:43-48
including a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all her money on physicians, but no one was able to heal her. / She came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. / “Who touched Me?” Jesus asked. But they all denied it. “Master,” said Peter, “the people are crowding and pressing against You.” ...

Luke 17:12-14
As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance / and raised their voices, shouting, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” / When Jesus saw them, He said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were on their way, they were cleansed.

John 13:10
Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.”

Acts 10:28
He said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.

Romans 14:14
I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, / nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. / And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.


Treasury of Scripture

And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.

Leviticus 12:3
And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

Ezekiel 16:26
Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.

Ezekiel 23:20
For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.

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Leviticus 15
1. The uncleanness of men in their issues
13. The cleansing of them
19. The uncleanness of women in their issues
28. Their cleansing














This discharge
The Hebrew word for "discharge" is "זָב" (zav), which refers to a bodily fluid that is emitted due to some form of ailment or condition. In the ancient context, such discharges were often seen as a sign of impurity, not just physically but spiritually. The discharge represents a breach in the wholeness that God desires for His people, symbolizing the brokenness of humanity and the need for divine intervention and healing.

will make him unclean
The concept of "unclean" in Hebrew is "טָמֵא" (tamei), which denotes a state of ritual impurity. This is not merely about physical cleanliness but about being in a state that is not suitable for worship or participation in the community's religious life. In the conservative Christian perspective, this highlights the holiness of God and the need for purity in approaching Him. It serves as a reminder of the separation sin causes between humanity and God, pointing to the need for atonement and purification.

whether it continues to flow
The phrase indicates an ongoing condition, suggesting a chronic issue rather than a temporary one. This can be seen as a metaphor for persistent sin or spiritual struggles that require ongoing attention and repentance. The continuous nature of the discharge emphasizes the need for vigilance in maintaining spiritual purity and the importance of seeking God's grace continually.

or is blocked
The term "blocked" suggests an interruption or cessation of the flow, which can symbolize a temporary reprieve or healing. However, the person remains unclean until proper purification rituals are performed. This reflects the idea that even when sin seems to be under control, it still requires the cleansing power of God to be truly resolved. It underscores the necessity of Jesus' sacrificial atonement for true spiritual cleansing.

it will make him unclean
Reiterating the state of uncleanness, this phrase emphasizes the seriousness of the condition. In the historical context, being unclean affected one's ability to participate in community and worship, highlighting the communal aspect of faith and the impact of individual sin on the broader body of believers. It serves as a call to personal holiness and the pursuit of righteousness through Christ, who cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

(3) Whether his flesh run.--This verse defines more minutely the statement in the preceding verse.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
This
וְזֹ֛את (wə·zōṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - feminine singular
Strong's 2063: Hereby in it, likewise, the one other, same, she, so much, such deed, that,

uncleanness
טֻמְאָת֖וֹ (ṭum·’ā·ṯōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2932: Religious impurity

is
תִּהְיֶ֥ה (tih·yeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

from his discharge,
בְּזוֹב֑וֹ (bə·zō·w·ḇōw)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2101: A seminal, menstrual flux

whether his body
בְּשָׂר֞וֹ (bə·śā·rōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1320: Flesh, body, person, the pudenda of a, man

allows
רָ֣ר (rār)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7325: To slaver, to emit a, fluid

the discharge {to flow}
זוֹב֗וֹ (zō·w·ḇōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2101: A seminal, menstrual flux

or
אֽוֹ־ (’ōw-)
Conjunction
Strong's 176: Desire, if

blocks it.
הֶחְתִּ֤ים (heḥ·tîm)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2856: To seal, affix a seal, seal up

So his discharge
מִזּוֹב֔וֹ (miz·zō·w·ḇōw)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2101: A seminal, menstrual flux

will bring about
הִֽוא׃ (hî)
Pronoun - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

uncleanness.
טֻמְאָת֖וֹ (ṭum·’ā·ṯōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2932: Religious impurity


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OT Law: Leviticus 15:3 This shall be his uncleanness in his (Le Lv Lev.)
Leviticus 15:2
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