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Rules About Killing and Eating Animals

17 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and to all the Israelites. Tell them this is what the Lord has commanded: Any one of you Israelites might kill a bull, a lamb, or a goat. You might be in the camp or outside the camp. It doesn’t matter; you must bring that animal to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. You must give a part of that animal as a gift to the Lord. You spilled blood, so you must take a gift to the Lord’s Holy Tent. If you don’t take part of the animal as a gift to the Lord, you must be separated from your people! This rule is so that you will bring your fellowship offering to the Lord. You must bring any animal that you kill in the field to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Bring those animals to the priest. Then the priest will throw their blood onto the Lord’s altar near the entrance of the Meeting Tent. And the priest will burn the fat from those animals on the altar as a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord. In this way you will stop being unfaithful to me by offering sacrifices to your ‘goat gods.’ This law will continue forever.

“Tell the people: Any citizen of Israel, traveler, or foreigner living among you might want to offer a burnt offering or some other sacrifice. They must take the sacrifice to the entrance of the Meeting Tent and offer it to the Lord. Whoever does not do this will be separated from their people.

10 “I will turn against those who eat blood whether they are citizens of Israel or foreigners living among you, I will separate them from their people. 11 This is because the life of the body is in the blood. I have told you that you must pour the blood on the altar to purify yourselves. It is the blood that makes a person pure. 12 That is why I am telling you Israelites and the foreigners living among you that you must not eat blood.

13 “If any of you, whether Israelite or foreigner living among you, goes hunting and kills a wild animal or bird that you are allowed to eat, you must pour the blood of that animal on the ground and cover it with dirt. 14 This is because the life of every kind of animal is in its blood. So I give this command to the Israelites: Don’t eat meat that still has blood in it! Whoever eats blood must be separated from their people.

15 “If any of you, whether Israelite or foreigner living among you, eats an animal that died by itself or was killed by some other animal, you will be unclean until evening. You must wash your clothes and bathe your whole body with water. 16 If you don’t wash your clothes and bathe your whole body, you will be responsible for your guilt.”

Eating Blood Forbidden

17 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron and his sons(A) and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox,[a] a lamb(B) or a goat(C) in the camp or outside of it instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meeting(D) to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord(E)—that person shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; they have shed blood and must be cut off from their people.(F) This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the Lord, at the entrance to the tent of meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings.(G) The priest is to splash the blood against the altar(H) of the Lord(I) at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the fat as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.(J) They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols[b](K) to whom they prostitute themselves.(L) This is to be a lasting ordinance(M) for them and for the generations to come.’(N)

“Say to them: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice and does not bring it to the entrance to the tent(O) of meeting(P) to sacrifice it to the Lord(Q) must be cut off from the people of Israel.

10 “‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood,(R) and I will cut them off from the people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood,(S) and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.[c](T) 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”

13 “‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth,(U) 14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.”(V)

15 “‘Anyone, whether native-born or foreigner, who eats anything(W) found dead or torn by wild animals(X) must wash their clothes and bathe with water,(Y) and they will be ceremonially unclean till evening;(Z) then they will be clean. 16 But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be held responsible.(AA)’”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 17:3 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.
  2. Leviticus 17:7 Or the demons
  3. Leviticus 17:11 Or atonement by the life in the blood