參考版本 AFV  A  Faithful Version 的希臘文 2009版本   

耶和華的事，不謀利沒有版權

1. And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying,

2. “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, a perfect one, in which there is no blemish, on which no yoke ever came.

3. And you shall give her to Eleazar the priest that he may bring her forth outside the camp. And it shall be slain in his presence.

4. And Eleazar the priest shall take some of her blood with his finger and sprinkle some of her blood directly toward the tabernacle of the congregation seven times.

5. And the heifer shall be burned in his presence, her skin and her flesh and her blood with her dung, shall be burned.

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

7. 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 sunset.

8. And he who burned her shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until sunset.

9. And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up outside the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of cleansing. It is a cleansing for sin.

10. And he who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until sunset. And it shall be to the children of Israel, and to the stranger that lives among them, for a statute forever.

 (A Faithful Version)

1. 耶和摩對摩西和亞倫說：

2. 這是耶和華所規範的方向：要告訴以色列人，牽來一隻完整膚色紅閠幼小的母牛到這裡來。

3. 把它交給司祭以利亞撒，讓他帶到會幕之外屠宰。

4. 以利亞撒要用指頭蘸這牛血，向會幕前面的民眾，彈血七次。

5. 祭司在眾人面前，用火把整頭牛焚燒，包括牛皮、肉、血和內腑。

6. 祭司要把雪松木、牛膝草和猩紅色羊毛都丟在火中焚燒。

7. 祭司本人把衣服清潔，用水淨身，方可進入會幕，只是一到日落，祭司回復不潔之軀。

8. 協助燃燒禮儀的，本人要用水去潔淨衣服，用水淨身，只是落日一來，還會回復不潔之身。

9. 收拾燃燒剩下的牛灰，須要一位經過潔淨的人協助。把牛灰移放在會幕之外一處乾淨地方，是預留給以色列會眾混和水一起用作潔淨，能除罪疚。

10. 這牛灰是可以用於清洗衣服，同樣起潔淨作用。一到黃昏就回復正常。對以色列人及那些隨隨的人，這規定同樣適用於他們，是永遠的定例。

當時十多萬人的社群，不是一國是同一族人，是完全沒有耶和華是他們的救主的概念，就算經歷了許多，只要有事發生，怨聲就起。

摩西這樣的安排，是出於耶和華？耶和華會安排？相信不會，理由是人有自主作出任何判決的自由。那麼摩西作出這樣安排的用心為何？

原初的用意很簡單：祭是犯錯後一種願意改過的行為，以及因有感恩作出回應，它沒有任何規範。自從騷亂之後，就有更為詳細的方式，原意是好，卻因為小心而加多了規範。作為有權管理的人，是可以按照自己的了解，作出認為這樣，是更好的安排。規範增加是因為人有私慾。

這是現實，這現實令規範漸漸形成更為複雜的律法，而且愈來愈厚，成了定例。

為此，除了獻祭之外，現在更多了一樣：人如何自潔。

這章是記描如何履行潔淨的方式，因為有以下三樣物品一起時，代表的意義：

In biblical ritual, cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool were combined to create a sprinkling tool for purification, not used together as a culinary herb. The cedar wood served as a sturdy handle, the hyssop acted as the brush or applicator, and the scarlet wool bound them together while absorbing the blood or water used in the rites.

This bundle was utilized in three primary contexts:

• Leprosy Cleansing: Sprinkling the blood of a bird over a person healed of skin disease (Leviticus 14:4).
• Passover Protection: Applying the lamb’s blood to the doorposts of Israelite homes (Exodus 12:22).
• Purification Water: Burning the materials with a red heifer to create ashes for cleansing rituals (Numbers 19:6).

While hyssop itself is an aromatic herb with medicinal and cleaning properties, the 布combination of all three items was strictly symbolic and functional for ritual sprinkling, representing elements like incorruptibility (cedar), life/blood (scarlet), and purification (hyssop).

這自潔的儀式，相信用意是提醒。只是它用於日常，因為成了習慣，意義也就被漸漸遺忘。它是信仰精神和原則，一旦離人的心，用行為規範代之，成了習慣也就變得毫無意義。

當人在習慣當中，有不守住習慣的，在習慣的人眼中，那是大逆不道。有人認為不是，就有不同的解說面世，於是對事件或者觀念當中正與錯的判斷不在真理，在人數。為此，禮儀有其存在的價值，如何更新？在人，不在條文，似乎真是個道理。遺憾的是，人自己不改而是去改變別人，是真的，人禍。