Leviticus 13 · Verse 45

Leviticus 13:45

And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
Leviticus 13:45, King James Version

Leviticus 13:45 in other translations

BSBA diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’
WEB“The leper in whom the plague is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’
ASVAnd the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and the hair of his head shall go loose, and he shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
YLT‘As to the leper in whom is the plague, his garments are rent, and his head is uncovered, and he covereth over the upper lip, and ‘Unclean! unclean!' he calleth;
DARBYAnd as to the leper in whom the sore is, — his garments shall be rent, and his head shall be uncovered, and he shall put a covering on his beard, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean!
BBEAnd the leper who has the disease on him is to go about with signs of grief, with his hair loose and his mouth covered, crying, Unclean, unclean.
WebsterAnd the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

What does Leviticus 13:45 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
45. the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, &c.--The person who was declared affected with the leprosy forthwith exhibited all the tokens of suffering from a heavy calamity. Rending garments and uncovering the head were common signs of mourning. As to "the putting a covering upon the upper lip," that means either wearing a moustache, as the Hebrews used to shave the upper lip [Calmet], or simply keeping a hand over it. All these external marks of grief were intended to proclaim, in addition to his own exclamation "Unclean!" that the person was a leper, whose company every one must shun.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 45 His clothes shall be rent, etc. - The leprous person is required to be as one that mourned for the dead, or for some great and public calamity. He was to have his clothes rent in token of extreme sorrow; his head was to be made bare, the ordinary bonnet or turban being omitted; and he was to have a covering upon his upper lip, his jaws being tied up With a linen cloth, after the same manner in which the Jews bind up the dead, which custom is still observed among the Jews in Barbary on funeral occasions: a custom which, from Eze 24:17, we learn had prevailed very anciently among the Jews in Palestine. He was also to cry, Unclean, unclean, in order to prevent any person from coming near him, lest the contagion might be thus communicated and diffused through society; and hence the Targumist render it, Be not ye made unclean! Be not ye made unclean! A caution to others not to come near him.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Leviticus 13:45-46
When the priest had pronounced the leper unclean, it put a stop to his business in the world, cut him off from his friends and relations, and ruined all the comfort he could have in the world. He must humble himself under the mighty hand of God, not insisting upon his cleanness, when the priest had pronounced him unclean, but accepting the punishment. Thus must we take to ourselves the shame that belongs to us, and with broken hearts call ourselves "Unclean, unclean;" heart unclean, life unclean; unclean by original corruption, unclean by actual transgression; unclean, therefore deserving to be for ever shut out from communion with God, and all hope of happiness in him; unclean, therefore undone, if infinite mercy do not interpose. The leper must warn others to take heed of coming near him. He must then be shut out of the camp, and afterward, when they came to Canaan, be shut out of the city, town, or village where he lived, and dwell with none but those that were lepers like himself. This typified the purity which ought to be in the gospel church.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Leviticus 13:45 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְהַצָּר֜וּעַve.ha.tza.Ru.a'<and> the [one who] has a serious skin diseaseH6879
אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-whomH834
בּ֣וֹbo[is] on <the> him
הַנֶּ֗גַעha.Ne.ga'the plagueH5061
בְּגָדָ֞יוbe.ga.Davgarments hisH899
יִהְי֤וּyih.Yuthey will beH1961
פְרֻמִים֙fe.ru.MimtornH6533
וְרֹאשׁוֹ֙ve.ro.Shoand head hisH7218
יִהְיֶ֣הyih.Yehit will beH1961
פָר֔וּעַfa.Ru.a'let looseH6544
וְעַל\־ve.'al-and overH5921
שָׂפָ֖םsa.Fama moustacheH8222
יַעְטֶ֑הya'.Tehhe will coverH5844
וְטָמֵ֥א\׀ve.ta.Me'and unclean!H2931
טָמֵ֖אta.Me'unclean!H2931
יִקְרָֽא\׃yik.Ra'he will call outH7121

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Leviticus 13:45

  • Leviticus 10:6

    And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled.

  • Micah 3:7

    Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.

  • Lamentations 4:15

    They cried unto them, Depart ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there.

  • Ezekiel 24:17

    Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.

  • Ezekiel 24:22

    And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.

  • Luke 17:12

    And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

  • Leviticus 21:10

    And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;

  • Luke 5:8

    When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

  • Psalms 51:3

    For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

  • Isaiah 64:6

    But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

  • Isaiah 6:5

    Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

  • Luke 7:6-7

    Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
his clothes.
Ge 37:29; 2Sa 13:19; Job 1:20; Jer 3:25; 36:24; Joe 2:13
and his head.
10:6; 21:10
put.
Eze 24:17,22; Mic 3:7
Unclean.
Job 42:6; Ps 51:3,5; Isa 6:5; 52:11; 64:6; La 4:15; Lu 5:8; 7:6,7
Lu 17:12

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Leviticus 13:44

    He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head.

  • Leviticus 13:45

    And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

  • Leviticus 13:46

    All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

Read all of Leviticus 13

Leviticus 13:45 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y el leproso en quien hubiere llaga, sus vestidos serán deshechos y su cabeza descubierta, y embozado pregonará: ¡Inmundo! ¡inmundo!
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le lépreux en qui sera la plaie aura ses vêtements déchirés et sa tête découverte, et il se couvrira la barbe, et il criera: Impur! Impur!
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und der Aussätzige, an dem das Übel ist, seine Kleider sollen zerrissen, und sein Haupt soll entblößt sein, und er soll seinen Bart verhüllen und ausrufen: Unrein, unrein!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		habebit vestimenta dissuta, caput nudum, os veste contectum, contaminatum ac sordidum se clamabit.