Leviticus 17
New King James Version
The Sanctity of Blood
17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the Lord has commanded, saying: 3 “Whatever man of the house of Israel who (A)kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, the guilt of bloodshed shall be (B)imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be [a]cut off from among his people, 5 to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices (C)which they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the Lord. 6 And the priest (D)shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and (E)burn the fat for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 7 They shall no more offer their sacrifices (F)to [b]demons, after whom they (G)have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.” ’
8 “Also you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, (H)who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9 and does not (I)bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the Lord, that man shall be [c]cut off from among his people.
10 (J)‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, (K)I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the (L)life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar (M)to make atonement for your souls; for (N)it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ 12 Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’
13 “Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who (O)hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall (P)pour out its blood and (Q)cover it with dust; 14 (R)for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’
15 (S)“And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, (T)he shall both wash his clothes and (U)bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean. 16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then (V)he shall bear his [d]guilt.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 17:4 Put to death
- Leviticus 17:7 Having the form of a goat or satyr
- Leviticus 17:9 Put to death
- Leviticus 17:16 iniquity
Leviticus 17
American Standard Version
17 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them: This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded, saying, 3 What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it without the camp, 4 and hath not brought it unto the door of the tent of meeting, to offer it as an oblation unto Jehovah before the tabernacle of Jehovah: blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people: 5 to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the open field, even that they may bring them unto Jehovah, unto the door of the tent of meeting, unto the priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of peace-offerings unto Jehovah. 6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of Jehovah at the door of the tent of meeting, and burn the fat for a sweet savor unto Jehovah. 7 And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto the he-goats, after which they play the harlot. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
8 And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, that offereth a burnt-offering or sacrifice, 9 and bringeth it not unto the door of the tent of meeting, to sacrifice it unto Jehovah; that man shall be cut off from his people.
10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, that eateth any manner of blood, I will set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the [a]life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the [b]life. 12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. 13 And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, who taketh in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten; he shall pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.
14 For as to the life of all flesh, the blood thereof is all one with the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh; for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off. 15 And every soul that eateth [c]that which dieth of itself, or that which is torn of beasts, whether he be home-born or a sojourner, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. 16 But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh, then he shall bear his iniquity.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 17:11 Hebrew soul.
- Leviticus 17:11 Hebrew soul.
- Leviticus 17:15 Hebrew a carcass.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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