Bible Strands
Leviticus 14:43
If the mildew reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house has been scraped and replastered,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses conveys this directive to the Israelite community during the regulations for cleansing a contaminated dwelling. It appears in the middle of a procedural sequence where a priest evaluates the effectiveness of initial repairs.
The words — יָשׁ֤וּב (ya.Shuv) translates literally as "it will return," and וּ/פָרַ֣ח (u./fa.Rach) means "and it will break out." These verbs describe the recurrence of the plague after the house has been scraped and replastered.
The thread — The motif of persistent corruption despite attempted cleansing appears in Jeremiah 6:28, which describes hardened rebellion, and Ezekiel 24:13, which notes the failure of purification attempts. Hebrews 6:4 later addresses those who have been enlightened and tasted divine gifts yet fall away.
Why it lands — The text states that the plague returns after physical remediation, establishing a threshold for priestly judgment. It requires the reader to recognize that surface repairs cannot resolve deep contamination, necessitating authoritative inspection and decisive action.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered;
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 6:28 All are hardened rebels, walking around as slanderers. They are bronze and iron; all of them are corrupt.
- Ezekiel 24:13 Because of the indecency of your uncleanness I tried to cleanse you, but you would not be purified from your filthiness. You will not be pure again until My wrath against you has subsided.
- Hebrews 6:4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
- 2 Peter 2:20 If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.
- 2 Peter 2:22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”
- Jude 1:12 These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.