And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:

“This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red heifer that has no defect and has never been placed under a yoke.

And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:

Give it to Eleazar the priest, and he will have it brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.

And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:

Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting.

And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:

Then the heifer must be burned in his sight. Its hide, its flesh, and its blood are to be burned, along with its dung.

And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.

The priest is to take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer.

Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.

Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean until evening.

And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.

The one who burned the heifer must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he too will be ceremonially unclean until evening.

And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.

Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept by the congregation of Israel for preparing the water of purification; this is for purification from sin.

And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.

The man who has gathered up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he will be ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the foreigner residing among them.