²⁶ And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood^(A) of any bird or animal. ²⁷ Anyone who eats blood^(B) must be cut off from their people.’”

The Priests’ Share

²⁸ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁹ “Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who brings a fellowship offering to the Lord is to bring part of it as their sacrifice to the Lord. ³⁰ With their own hands they are to present the food offering to the Lord; they are to bring the fat, together with the breast, and wave the breast before the Lord as a wave offering.^{(C) 31} The priest shall burn the fat on the altar,^(D) but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons.^{(E) 32} You are to give the right thigh of your fellowship offerings to the priest as a contribution.^{(F) 33} The son of Aaron who offers the blood and the fat of the fellowship offering shall have the right thigh as his share. ³⁴ From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh^(G) that is presented and have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons^(H) as their perpetual share from the Israelites.’”

³⁵ This is the portion of the food offerings presented to the Lord that were allotted to Aaron and his sons on the day they were presented to serve the Lord as priests. ³⁶ On the day they were anointed,^(I) the Lord commanded that the Israelites give this to them as their perpetual share for the generations to come.

³⁷ These, then, are the regulations for the burnt offering,^(J) the grain offering,^(K) the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering^(L) and the fellowship offering, ³⁸ which the Lord gave Moses^(M) at Mount Sinai^(N) in the Desert of Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the Lord.^(O)

¹⁰ “‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood,^(A) and I will cut them off from the people. ¹¹ For the life of a creature is in the blood,^(B) 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.^{[a](C) 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,^{(D) 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.”^(E)

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

²⁶ “‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.^(A)

“‘Do not practice divination^(B) or seek omens.^(C)

¹⁶ But you must not eat the blood;^(A) pour^(B) it out on the ground like water.^(C)

²³ But be sure you do not eat the blood,^(A) because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.^(B)

²³ But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.^(A)

³⁴ Then he said, “Go out among the men and tell them, ‘Each of you bring me your cattle and sheep, and slaughter them here and eat them. Do not sin against the Lord by eating meat with blood still^(A) in it.’”

So everyone brought his ox that night and slaughtered it there.

²⁰ Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols,^(A) from sexual immorality,^(B) from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.^(C)