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Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
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"This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: 'Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come.
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You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him;
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and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting.
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Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned.
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And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer.
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Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening.
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And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening.
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Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification; it is for purifying from sin.
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And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.
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'He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days.
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He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean.