Leviticus 11
New American Standard Bible
Laws about Animals for Food
11 The Lord spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘(A)These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth. 3 Whatever has a divided hoof, showing split hoofs, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat. 4 Nevertheless, (B)you are not to eat of these, among those which chew the cud, or among those which have a divided hoof: the camel, for though it chews cud, it does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean to you. 5 Likewise, the rock hyrax, for though it chews cud, it does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean to you. 6 The [a]rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean to you. 7 And the pig, for though it has a divided hoof, and so it shows a split hoof, it does not chew cud; it is unclean to you. 8 You shall not eat any of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.
9 ‘(C)These you may eat, of whatever is in the water: everything that has fins and scales, in the water, in the seas, or in the rivers, you may eat. 10 (D)But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you, 11 and they shall be detestable to you; you may not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. 12 Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.
Avoid the Unclean
13 ‘Moreover, these (E)you shall detest among the birds; they are detestable, not to be eaten: the [b]eagle, the vulture, and the [c]buzzard, 14 the red kite, the falcon in its kind, 15 every raven in its kind, 16 the ostrich, the owl, the seagull, and the hawk in its kind, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, and the [d]great owl, 18 the white owl, the [e]pelican, and the carrion vulture, 19 the stork, the heron in its kinds, the hoopoe, and the bat.
20 ‘All the [f]winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you. 21 Yet these you may eat among all the [g]winged insects that walk on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to jump on the earth. 22 These of them you may eat: the locust in its kinds, the devastating locust in its kinds, the cricket in its kinds, and the grasshopper in its kinds. 23 But all other [h]winged insects which are four-footed are detestable to you.
24 ‘By these, moreover, you will be made unclean; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening, 25 and (F)whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. 26 As for all the animals which have a divided hoof but do not show a split hoof, or do not chew the cud, they are unclean to you; whoever touches them becomes unclean. 27 Also whatever walks on its paws, among all the creatures that walk on all fours, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening, 28 and the one who picks up their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; they are unclean to you.
29 ‘Now these are to you the unclean among the swarming things which swarm on the earth: the mole, the mouse, and the [i]great lizard in its kinds, 30 the gecko, the [j]crocodile, the lizard, the [k]sand reptile, and the chameleon. 31 These are to you the unclean among all the swarming things; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening. 32 Also anything on which one of them may fall when they are dead becomes unclean, including any wooden article, or clothing, or a hide, or a sack—any article [l]of which use is made—(G)it shall be put in the water and be unclean until evening, then it becomes clean. 33 As for any (H)earthenware vessel into which one of them may fall, whatever is in it becomes unclean and you shall break [m]the vessel. 34 Any of the [n]food which may be eaten, on which water comes, shall become unclean, and any [o]liquid which may be drunk in every vessel shall become unclean. 35 Moreover, everything on which part of their carcass may fall becomes unclean; an oven or a [p]stove shall be smashed; they are unclean and shall continue as unclean to you. 36 Nevertheless, a spring or a cistern [q]collecting water shall be clean, though the one who touches their carcass shall be unclean. 37 Now if a part of their carcass falls on any seed for sowing which is to be sown, it is clean. 38 But if water is put on the seed and a part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.
39 ‘Also if one of the animals dies which you have for food, the one who touches its carcass becomes unclean until evening. 40 (I)He, too, who eats some of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening, and the one who picks up its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.
41 ‘(J)Now every swarming thing that swarms on the earth is detestable, not to be eaten. 42 Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all fours, whatever has many feet, in regard to every swarming thing that swarms on the earth, you shall not eat them, because they are detestable. 43 (K)Do not make [r]yourselves detestable through any of the swarming things that swarm; and you shall not make yourselves unclean with them so that you become unclean. 44 For (L)I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and (M)be holy, because I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. 45 (N)For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; so (O)you shall be holy, because I am holy.’”
46 This is the law regarding the animal and the bird, and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth, 47 (P)to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 11:6 Or hare
- Leviticus 11:13 Or vulture
- Leviticus 11:13 Or black vulture
- Leviticus 11:17 Specifically, great horned owl
- Leviticus 11:18 Or owl; or jackdaw
- Leviticus 11:20 Lit swarming things with wings
- Leviticus 11:21 See note v 20
- Leviticus 11:23 See note v 20
- Leviticus 11:29 Or thorn-tailed lizard
- Leviticus 11:30 Or lizard
- Leviticus 11:30 Species as yet undefined
- Leviticus 11:32 Lit with which work is done
- Leviticus 11:33 Lit it
- Leviticus 11:34 I.e., if touched by a carcass; cf. vv 29-32
- Leviticus 11:34 I.e., if touched by a carcass; cf. vv 29-32
- Leviticus 11:35 Lit hearth for supporting (two) pots
- Leviticus 11:36 Lit a collecting place of
- Leviticus 11:43 Lit your souls
Leviticus 11
New Living Translation
Ceremonially Clean and Unclean Animals
11 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.
“Of all the land animals, these are the ones you may use for food. 3 You may eat any animal that has completely split hooves and chews the cud. 4 You may not, however, eat the following animals[a] that have split hooves or that chew the cud, but not both. The camel chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is ceremonially unclean for you. 5 The hyrax[b] chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is unclean. 6 The hare chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is unclean. 7 The pig has evenly split hooves but does not chew the cud, so it is unclean. 8 You may not eat the meat of these animals or even touch their carcasses. They are ceremonially unclean for you.
9 “Of all the marine animals, these are ones you may use for food. You may eat anything from the water if it has both fins and scales, whether taken from salt water or from streams. 10 But you must never eat animals from the sea or from rivers that do not have both fins and scales. They are detestable to you. This applies both to little creatures that live in shallow water and to all creatures that live in deep water. 11 They will always be detestable to you. You must never eat their meat or even touch their dead bodies. 12 Any marine animal that does not have both fins and scales is detestable to you.
13 “These are the birds that are detestable to you. You must never eat them: the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 14 the kite, falcons of all kinds, 15 ravens of all kinds, 16 the eagle owl, the short-eared owl, the seagull, hawks of all kinds, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the barn owl, the desert owl, the Egyptian vulture, 19 the stork, herons of all kinds, the hoopoe, and the bat.
20 “You must not eat winged insects that walk along the ground; they are detestable to you. 21 You may, however, eat winged insects that walk along the ground and have jointed legs so they can jump. 22 The insects you are permitted to eat include all kinds of locusts, bald locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers. 23 All other winged insects that walk along the ground are detestable to you.
24 “The following creatures will make you ceremonially unclean. If any of you touch their carcasses, you will be defiled until evening. 25 If you pick up their carcasses, you must wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening.
26 “Any animal that has split hooves that are not evenly divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you. If you touch the carcass of such an animal, you will be defiled. 27 Of the animals that walk on all fours, those that have paws are unclean. If you touch the carcass of such an animal, you will be defiled until evening. 28 If you pick up its carcass, you must wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening. These animals are unclean for you.
29 “Of the small animals that scurry along the ground, these are unclean for you: the mole rat, the rat, large lizards of all kinds, 30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. 31 All these small animals are unclean for you. If any of you touch the dead body of such an animal, you will be defiled until evening. 32 If such an animal dies and falls on something, that object will be unclean. This is true whether the object is made of wood, cloth, leather, or burlap. Whatever its use, you must dip it in water, and it will remain defiled until evening. After that, it will be ceremonially clean and may be used again.
33 “If such an animal falls into a clay pot, everything in the pot will be defiled, and the pot must be smashed. 34 If the water from such a container spills on any food, the food will be defiled. And any beverage in such a container will be defiled. 35 Any object on which the carcass of such an animal falls will be defiled. If it is an oven or hearth, it must be destroyed, for it is defiled, and you must treat it accordingly.
36 “However, if the carcass of such an animal falls into a spring or a cistern, the water will still be clean. But anyone who touches the carcass will be defiled. 37 If the carcass falls on seed grain to be planted in the field, the seed will still be considered clean. 38 But if the seed is wet when the carcass falls on it, the seed will be defiled.
39 “If an animal you are permitted to eat dies and you touch its carcass, you will be defiled until evening. 40 If you eat any of its meat or carry away its carcass, you must wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening.
41 “All small animals that scurry along the ground are detestable, and you must never eat them. 42 This includes all animals that slither along on their bellies, as well as those with four legs and those with many feet. All such animals that scurry along the ground are detestable, and you must never eat them. 43 Do not defile yourselves by touching them. You must not make yourselves ceremonially unclean because of them. 44 For I am the Lord your God. You must consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. So do not defile yourselves with any of these small animals that scurry along the ground. 45 For I, the Lord, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy.
46 “These are the instructions regarding land animals, birds, marine creatures, and animals that scurry along the ground. 47 By these instructions you will know what is unclean and clean, and which animals may be eaten and which may not be eaten.”
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
