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Leviticus 11:43-45
New Catholic Bible
Leviticus 11:43-45
New Catholic Bible
43 You shall not make yourselves abominable with any of the creeping things that crawl, nor shall you defile yourselves because of them, lest you make yourselves unclean.
44 [a]“I am the Lord, your God. Consecrate yourselves and be holy for I am holy.[b] You will not defile yourselves with any of the creeping things that crawl upon the earth. 45 I am the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. Therefore, be holy, for I am holy.
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- Leviticus 11:44 These verses give the deeper reason for the criteria of clean and unclean: the Lord had delivered his people from Egyptian slavery so that they might acknowledge and worship him as the only true God. Animals that crawled along the ground did not enjoy a good reputation; in fact, the serpent, which was venerated by pagans, was regarded from the outset as an instrument of evil (Gen 3).
- Leviticus 11:44 Be holy for I am holy: the central and repeated theme of Leviticus is holiness. The children of Israel are totally dedicated to God and to be like him because of what he has done for his people (see Mt 5:48).
