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Statutes Against Eating Blood

17 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh has commanded, saying, “Any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp, and (A)has not brought it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to bring it near as an offering to Yahweh before the [a]tabernacle of Yahweh, it will be counted as bloodguiltiness to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people. [b]The reason is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing in the open field, that they may bring them in to Yahweh, at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to Yahweh. And the priest shall splash the blood on the altar of Yahweh at the doorway of the tent of meeting and (B)offer up the fat in smoke as a soothing aroma to Yahweh. (C)And they shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the [c]goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a perpetual statute to them throughout their generations.”’

“Then you shall say to them, ‘Any man from the house of Israel, or from the sojourners who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, and (D)does not bring it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to [d]offer it to Yahweh, that man also shall be cut off from his people.

10 (E)And any man from the house of Israel, or from the sojourners who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, (F)I will set My face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For (G)the [e]life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for (H)it is the blood that makes atonement by the [f]life.’ 12 Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, and no sojourner who sojourns among you may eat blood.’ 13 So any man from the sons of Israel, or from the sojourners who sojourn among them, who in hunting catches a beast or a bird which may be eaten, (I)shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.

14 (J)For as for the [g]life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its [h]life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the [i]life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’ 15 (K)And when any person eats an animal which dies or is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean. 16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then (L)he shall bear his [j]guilt.”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 17:4 Lit dwelling place
  2. Leviticus 17:5 Lit In order that
  3. Leviticus 17:7 Or goat-idols
  4. Leviticus 17:9 Lit do
  5. Leviticus 17:11 Lit soul
  6. Leviticus 17:11 Lit soul
  7. Leviticus 17:14 Lit soul
  8. Leviticus 17:14 Lit soul
  9. Leviticus 17:14 Lit soul
  10. Leviticus 17:16 Or iniquity

Forbidden Sacrifices

17 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: This is what the Lord has commanded: Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters(A) an ox, sheep, or goat in the camp, or slaughters it outside the camp, instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord before his tabernacle—that person will be considered guilty.[a](B) He has shed blood(C) and is to be cut off from his people.(D) This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices(E) they have been offering in the open country. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting and offer them as fellowship sacrifices(F) to the Lord. The priest will then splatter the blood on the Lord’s altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat-demons(G) that they have prostituted(H) themselves with. This will be a permanent statute(I) for them throughout their generations.

“Say to them: Anyone from the house of Israel or from the aliens(J) who reside among them who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice but does not bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to sacrifice it to the Lord, that person is to be cut off from his people.

Eating Blood and Carcasses Prohibited

10 “Anyone from the house of Israel or from the aliens who reside among them who eats any blood,(K) I will turn[b] against that person who eats blood and cut him off from his people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for[c] your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement.(L) 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites: None of you and no alien who resides among you may eat blood.

13 “Any Israelite or alien residing among them, who hunts(M) down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten must drain its blood(N) and cover it with dirt. 14 Since the life of every creature is its blood, I have told the Israelites: You are not to eat the blood of any creature,(O) because the life of every creature is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.

15 “Every person, whether the native or the resident alien,(P) who eats an animal that died a natural death or was mauled by wild beasts(Q) is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening; then he will be clean. 16 But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, he will bear his iniquity.”

Footnotes

  1. 17:4 Lit tabernacle—blood will be charged against that person
  2. 17:10 Lit will set my face
  3. 17:11 Or to ransom