New International Version
34 "When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a spreading mold in a house in that land,"
35 The owner of the house must go and tell the priest, 'I have seen something that looks like a defiling mold in my house.'
36 The priest is to order the house to be emptied before he goes in to examine the mold, so that nothing in the house will be pronounced unclean. After this the priest is to go in and inspect the house.
37 He is to examine the mold on the walls, and if it has greenish or reddish depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall
38 The priest shall go out the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days.
39 On the seventh day the priest shall return to inspect the house. If the mold has spread on the walls
40 He is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town.
41 He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town.
42 Then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house.
43 "If the defiling mold reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered,"
44 The priest is to go and examine it and, if the mold has spread in the house, it is a persistent defiling mold; the house is unclean.
45 It must be torn down – its stones, timbers and all the plaster – and taken out of the town to an unclean place.
46 "Anyone who goes into the house while it is closed up will be unclean till evening."
47 Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash their clothes.
48 "But if the priest comes to examine it and the mold has not spread after the house has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the defiling mold is gone."
Amplified Bible
34 When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the disease of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession
35 Then he who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, It seems to me there is some sort of disease in my house.
36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house before [he] goes in to examine the disease, so that all that is in the house may not be declared unclean; afterward [he] shall go in to see the house.
37 He shall examine the disease, and if it is in the walls of the house with depressed spots of dark green or dark red appearing beneath [the surface of] the wall
38 Then the priest shall go out of the door and shut up the house seven days.
39 The priest shall come again on the seventh day and shall look; and if the disease has spread in the walls of the house
40 He shall command that they take out the diseased stones and cast them into an unclean place outside the city.
41 He shall cause the house to be scraped within round about and the plaster or mortar that is scraped off to be emptied out in an unclean place outside the city.
42 And they shall put other stones in the place of those stones, and he shall plaster the house with fresh mortar.
43 If the disease returns, breaking out in the house after he has removed the stones and has scraped and plastered the house
44 Then the priest shall come and look, and if the disease is spreading in the house, it is a rotting or corroding leprosy in the house; it is unclean.
45 He shall tear down the house--its stones and its timber and all the plaster or mortar of the house--and shall carry them forth out of the city to an unclean place.
46 Moreover, he who enters the house during the whole time that it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening.
47 And he who lies down or eats in the house shall wash his clothes.
48 But if the priest inspects it and the disease has not spread after the house was plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the disease is healed.
King James Version
34 When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;
35 And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house:
36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house:
37 And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall;
38 Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days:
39 And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house;
40 Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city:
41 And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:
42 And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other morter, and shall plaister the house.
43 And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered;
44 Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house; it is unclean.
45 And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.
46 Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even.
47 And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.
48 And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.
Becoming a Christian
Would you like to experience forgiveness and new life from the God of the Bible, who calls every person to believe that he sent his son Jesus Christ to make this possible?
The Bible explains why everyone needs to receive forgiveness and is called to serve Jesus Christ. The consistency of the Bible story, which was authored by people living thousands of years apart from diverse cultures and even different languages, is often cited as evidence of divine inspiration. Wikipedia has a list of many Biblical prophesies which have come true.
The story of God's plan to restore his relationship with us can be summarised in eight famous Bible verses below.
- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
- All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
- God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
- Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6
- If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
- For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8
- But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8
- Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:19
The truth in these verses is simple, yet to embrace it means letting go of all our personal hopes and dreams and embracing God's greater purpose for our lives instead, a purpose far above anything we could dream or imagine.
This is the most important decision you will ever make, because it affects not just the rest of your life here on earth, but what comes after as well. Don't put it off until too late. If you died tonight make the decision to spend eternity with your loving Father in Heaven.
If you're wondering what to do next as a new Christian, check out these helpful suggestions from Mary Fairchild on About.com: