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11 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

2-3 “Tell the people of Israel that the animals which may be used for food include any animal with cloven hooves which chews its cud. 4-7 This means that the following may not be eaten:

The camel (it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves);

The coney, or rock badger (because although it chews the cud, it does not have cloven hooves);

The hare (because although it chews the cud, it does not have cloven hooves);

The swine (because although it has cloven hooves, it does not chew the cud).

You may not eat their meat or even touch their dead bodies; they are forbidden foods for you.

“As to fish, you may eat whatever has fins and scales, whether taken from rivers or from the sea; 10 but all other water creatures are strictly forbidden to you. 11 You mustn’t eat their meat or even touch their dead bodies. 12 I’ll repeat it again—any water creature that does not have fins or scales is forbidden to you.

13-19 “Among the birds, these are the ones you may not eat: the eagle, the metire, the osprey, the falcon (all kinds), the kite, the raven (all kinds), the ostrich, the nighthawk, the seagull, the hawk (all kinds), the owl, the cormorant, the ibis, the marsh hen, the pelican, the vulture, the stork, the heron (all kinds), the hoopoe, the bat.

20 “No insects may be eaten, 21-22 with the exception of those that jump; locusts of all varieties—ordinary locusts, bald locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers—may be eaten. 23 All insects that fly and walk or crawl are forbidden to you.

24 “Anyone touching their dead bodies shall be defiled until the evening 25 and must wash his clothes immediately. He must also quarantine himself until nightfall, as being ceremonially defiled.

26 “You are also defiled by touching any animal with only semiparted hoofs, or any animal that does not chew the cud. 27 Any animal that walks on paws is forbidden to you as food. Anyone touching the dead body of such an animal shall be defiled until evening. 28 Anyone carrying away the carcass shall wash his clothes and be ceremonially defiled until evening; for it is forbidden to you.

29-30 “These are the forbidden small animals which scurry about your feet or crawl upon the ground: the mole, the rat, the great lizard, the gecko, the mouse, the lizard, the snail, the chameleon. 31 Anyone touching their dead bodies shall be defiled until evening, 32 and anything upon which the carcass falls shall be defiled—any article of wood, or of clothing, a rug, or a sack; anything it touches must be put into water and is defiled until evening. After that it may be used again. 33 If it falls into a pottery bowl, anything in the bowl is defiled, and you shall smash the bowl. 34 If the water used to cleanse the defiled article touches any food, all of it is defiled. Any drink which is in the defiled bowl is also contaminated.

35 “If the dead body of such an animal touches any clay oven, it is defiled and must be smashed. 36 If the body falls into a spring or cistern where there is water, that water is not defiled; yet anyone who pulls out the carcass is defiled. 37 And if the carcass touches grain to be sown in the field, it is not contaminated; 38 but if the seeds are wet and the carcass falls upon it, the seed is defiled.

39 “If an animal which you are permitted to eat dies of disease, anyone touching the carcass shall be defiled until evening. 40 Also, anyone eating its meat or carrying away its carcass shall wash his clothes and be defiled until evening.

41-42 “Animals that crawl shall not be eaten. This includes all reptiles that slither along upon their bellies as well as those that have legs. No crawling thing with many feet may be eaten, for it is defiled. 43 Do not defile yourselves by touching it.

44 “I am the Lord your God. Keep yourselves pure concerning these things, and be holy, for I am holy; therefore do not defile yourselves by touching any of these things that crawl upon the earth. 45 For I am the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You must therefore be holy, for I am holy.” 46 These are the laws concerning animals, birds, and whatever swims in the water or crawls upon the ground. 47 These are the distinctions between what is ceremonially clean and may be eaten, and what is ceremonially defiled and may not be eaten, among all animal life upon the earth.

Clean and Unclean Food(A)

11 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat:(B) You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.

“‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them.(C) The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig,(D) though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.(E)

“‘Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales. 10 But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to regard as unclean.(F) 11 And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean.(G) 12 Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you.(H)

13 “‘These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle,[a] the vulture, the black vulture, 14 the red kite, any kind(I) of black kite, 15 any kind of raven,(J) 16 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl,(K) the desert owl, the osprey, 19 the stork,(L) any kind(M) of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.(N)

20 “‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you.(O) 21 There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. 22 Of these you may eat any kind of locust,(P) katydid, cricket or grasshopper. 23 But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.

24 “‘You will make yourselves unclean by these;(Q) whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening.(R) 25 Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash their clothes,(S) and they will be unclean till evening.(T)

26 “‘Every animal that does not have a divided hoof or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean. 27 Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. 28 Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.(U) These animals are unclean for you.

29 “‘Of the animals that move along the ground, these are unclean for you:(V) the weasel, the rat,(W) any kind of great lizard, 30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon. 31 Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean till evening. 32 When one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth.(X) Put it in water; it will be unclean till evening, and then it will be clean. 33 If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot.(Y) 34 Any food you are allowed to eat that has come into contact with water from any such pot is unclean, and any liquid that is drunk from such a pot is unclean. 35 Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as unclean. 36 A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean. 37 If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain clean. 38 But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.

39 “‘If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies,(Z) anyone who touches its carcass(AA) will be unclean till evening. 40 Anyone who eats some of its carcass(AB) must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.(AC) Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.

41 “‘Every creature that moves along the ground is to be regarded as unclean; it is not to be eaten. 42 You are not to eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is unclean. 43 Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures.(AD) Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. 44 I am the Lord your God;(AE) consecrate yourselves(AF) and be holy,(AG) because I am holy.(AH) Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.(AI) 45 I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt(AJ) to be your God;(AK) therefore be holy, because I am holy.(AL)

46 “‘These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground. 47 You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.(AM)’”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 11:13 The precise identification of some of the birds, insects and animals in this chapter is uncertain.