Rules about mould on clothes
47 Mould may grow on clothes that are made of wool or linen. 48 It may grow on any piece of linen or wool, or on anything made of leather. 49 If the mould on any of these things seems to be green or red, it is a bad mould. The person who has the piece of cloth must show it to the priest. 50 The priest must look carefully at the mould. He must keep the thing that has the mould on it separate from other things for seven days. 51 On the seventh day, the priest must look at the mould again. If the place that has the mould is growing bigger, it is a dangerous mould. Whatever the thing is made of, cloth or leather, it is unclean. 52 The priest must burn the piece of cloth or the piece of leather which has the mould. Because it has a dangerous mould, the priest must use fire to destroy it.
13:47Mould grows on cloth when it is wet and warm. It is like a soft powder and it spoils things. It can pass to other things and it will spoil them too.
53 When the priest looks at the piece of cloth or leather on the seventh day, the mould might not have grown bigger. 54 If that is true, he must tell the person to wash the thing that has the mould. Then he must keep it separate from other things for seven more days. 55 The priest must again look carefully at the piece of cloth after the person has washed it. If the mould still looks the same, the piece of cloth is unclean. Even if the mould has not grown bigger, the cloth is unclean. You must use fire to destroy the piece of cloth or leather. You must do this whether the mould is on the inside or the outside of it.
56 When the priest looks at the piece of cloth after the person has washed it, the mould may not show so clearly. If that happens, the priest must tear the part that has mould on it out of the piece of cloth or leather. 57 After that, if the mould appears again in the piece of cloth or the piece of leather, it is a dangerous mould that may destroy other things. You must use fire to destroy the thing that has the mould on it. 58 But if the mould disappears after you have washed it the first time, it is no longer dangerous. You must wash the piece of cloth or leather a second time. Then it will be clean.’
59 These are the rules for mould that grows on cloth that is made of wool or linen. They are also the rules for mould that grows on leather things. They tell the priest how to decide if the things are clean or unclean.
