Leviticus 14:49

וְלָקַח לְחַטֵּא אֶת־הַבַּיִת שְׁתֵּי צִפֳּרִים וְעֵץ אֶרֶז וּשְׁנִי תוֹלַעַת וְאֵזֹֽב׃

✦ Hebrew interlinear

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✦ The same verse in five languages

Hebrew

וְלָקַ֛ח לְחַטֵּ֥א אֶת־הַבַּ֖יִת שְׁתֵּ֣י צִפֳּרִ֑ים וְעֵ֣ץ אֶ֔רֶז וּשְׁנִ֥י תוֹלַ֖עַת וְאֵזֹֽב׃

Greek (Septuagint)

καὶ λήμψεται ἀφαγνίσαι τὴν οἰκίαν δύο ὀρνίθια ζῶντα καθαρὰ καὶ ξύλον κέδρινον καὶ κεκλωσμένον κόκκινον καὶ ὕσσωπον·

Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0

Latin (Vulgate)

et in purificationem ejus sumet duos passeres, lignumque cedrinum, et vermiculum atque hyssopum:

Spanish

Para purificar la casa, tomará dos aves, madera de cedro, hilo escarlata y ramas de hisopo.

Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)

Entonces tomará para limpiar la casa dos avecillas, y palo de cedro, y grana, é hisopo:

English

He is to take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop to purify the house;

✦ What the text says

Summary

The verse specifies the materials someone must take to purify a house: two birds, cedar wood, scarlet (from a worm), and hyssop. It follows directly from the preceding instructions on house purification and opens with a sequential verb continuing that ritual procedure.

Key words

la.Kach ("he will take", H3947G) — qal sequential perfect, continuing the narrative chain of required actions.
cha.Te' ("cleanse from sin", H2398) — piel infinitive, marking an intensive/causative action ("to purify") dependent on the taking.
tzi.po.Rim ("birds", H6833) — plural noun, preceded by she.Tei ("two", H8147) in construct, forming "two of birds."
'Etz ("wood of", H6086G) — construct noun linked to 'E.rez ("cedar", H0730), forming "wood of cedar."
she.Ni ("scarlet of", H8144) — construct noun linked to to.La.'at ("a worm", H8438B), literally "scarlet of a worm," referring to a dye source.

What the text says

The sentence begins with the narrative vav on ve.la.Kach, tying this verse to the ongoing sequence of purification instructions. The verb la.Kach ("he will take") governs the following infinitive le.cha.Te' ("to cleanse from sin/purify"), which is itself directed at et-ha.Bayit ("the house"), marked by the definite article and the object marker. The materials to be taken are then listed as a series of construct or paired nouns: she.Tei tzi.po.Rim ("two of birds"), 'Etz 'Erez ("wood of cedar"), she.Ni to.La.'at ("scarlet of a worm"), and 'e.Zo ("hyssop"), the last standing alone without a construct link.

The construct chains are notable: 'Etz 'Erez and she.Ni to.La.'at both use the construct form to specify material composition — "wood of cedar" rather than simply "cedar," and "scarlet of a worm" rather than simply "scarlet," pointing to the dye's biological source. The Hebrew does not specify the birds' condition (living, clean, or otherwise); it simply uses the plural tzi.po.Rim ("birds") with the numeral she.Tei ("two").

Differences between versions

The LXX (Swete) adds qualifiers not present in the Hebrew: δύο ὀρνίθια ζῶντα καθαρά ("two living, clean birds"), specifying both liveliness and purity for the birds where the Hebrew text simply states she.Tei tzi.po.Rim ("two birds"). The Vulgate renders tzi.po.Rim as "passeres" ("sparrows"), a more specific term than the general Hebrew tzi.po.Rim ("birds"). Modern translations (BSB, RV1909, SBLIBRE) render she.Ni to.La.'at as "scarlet yarn," "grana," or "hilo escarlata," making explicit the idea of thread or yarn, which the Hebrew construct phrase "scarlet of a worm" does not state directly.

This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.