As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:

LEVITICUS 14:6KJV
Know the Bible

Leviticus 14:6 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 14:6 mean?

Leviticus 14:6 describes part of an ancient ritual for someone being cleansed from a skin disease: the priest takes a living bird, cedar wood, scarlet material, and hyssop, and dips them together—including the live bird—into the blood of another bird that was killed over fresh, running water. This is a step in the symbolic process of declaring someone clean.

In this passage, God is giving Moses detailed instructions for priests to follow when someone is healed from a skin disease (often called "leprosy" in older translations). The ritual uses specific items—each with symbolic meaning—to show purification and restoration. The act of dipping the living bird and other items in the blood connects the person’s cleansing to both sacrifice and new life.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 14:6

  • "Living" (חַי, ḥay): This word emphasizes that the bird used here is alive, highlighting a contrast with the bird that was killed. The living bird will later be released, symbolizing freedom and restored life.
  • "Bird" (צִפּוֹר, tsippor): The word simply means a small bird, and the use of two birds in the ritual is unique to this cleansing ceremony.
  • "Running" (חַי, ḥay): The same word for "living" is also used to describe the water ("living water"), meaning fresh, flowing water, not stagnant. This detail stresses purity and vitality in the ritual.
  • "Hyssop" (אֵזֹב, ezov): Hyssop is a plant often used in purification rites, connected with cleansing in several parts of the Hebrew Bible.

Why Leviticus 14:6 matters

  • This verse clears up that the ritual is not just about sacrifice but also about restoration and new beginnings, shown by the release of the living bird.
  • The use of "living water" and specific materials connects this ritual to other purification practices in the Bible, showing a pattern of how purity and life are symbolized.
  • Understanding this step helps make sense of the whole chapter, which is about the careful, step-by-step process of restoring someone to the community after illness.

Where else these words appear

“hyssop” Hebrew H231 · used in 10 verses

  • Exodus 12:22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
  • Leviticus 14:51 And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times:
  • Numbers 19:18 And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:

“dip” Hebrew H2881 · used in 16 verses

  • Genesis 37:31 And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
  • Leviticus 14:16 And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD:
  • Ruth 2:14 And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.

“bird” Hebrew H6833 · used in 36 verses

  • Genesis 7:14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
  • Deuteronomy 14:11 Of all clean birds ye shall eat.
  • Proverbs 7:23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

“scarlet” Hebrew H8144 · used in 42 verses

  • Genesis 38:28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.
  • Exodus 35:23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them.
  • Exodus 39:29 And a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework; as the LORD commanded Moses.