²³ Do not follow in the footsteps of the people who lived in the land before you and whom I will remove from the land when you take possession of it, for they committed wicked acts like the ones described here; this is why I despise them. ²⁴ As I have already told you, “You will inherit the land that was theirs. I am giving you this land flowing with milk and honey as your possession.”^[a] I am the Eternal One your God who has set you apart from all the other people. ²⁵ Consequently you must know the difference between a ritually pure and impure animal and a pure and impure bird. Do not make yourselves detestable by eating an animal, a bird, or any small creature that I have designated as ritually impure.