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Leviticus 17
EasyEnglish Bible
Leviticus 17
EasyEnglish Bible
The people must not eat blood
17 The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Tell this to Aaron and his sons and all the people. The Lord has given all these rules. 3 If a person sacrifices a bull, a sheep or a goat in the fields, that is a sin. Or if a person sacrifices it in the camp, that is a sin. 4 The animal is an offering to the Lord. The person should bring it to the door of the tabernacle. He should offer it to the Lord there. The person who offers a sacrifice anywhere else has sinned. He has sacrificed an animal in the wrong way. He must leave the camp. 5 This rule will stop the people giving sacrifices to the Lord in the fields. They must bring their gifts to the priest. They will be friendship offerings to the Lord. The priest will be at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 6 He must shake the blood of the animal on the Lord's altar. That altar is at the door of the Tent of Meeting. The priest must burn the fat. The smell of it while it is burning will give the Lord pleasure. 7 The people give sacrifices in the fields to worship idols that seem like goats. They must never do this again. This rule is for now and for all time.
8 If an Israelite gives a sacrifice or a burnt offering he must offer it at the Tent of Meeting's door. A foreigner may live among you. If he gives a sacrifice he must offer it at the Tent of Meeting's door. 9 If they did not offer it to the Lord at the Tent of Meeting's door, they are sinning. You must send them away from the camp.
10 An Israelite or a foreigner who lives among you must not eat blood. And they must not drink it. If somebody does, God will turn away from him. He will take that person away from his people. 11 The blood of an animal gives it life. You must put the blood on the altar. God has given the blood to you to atone for your sins. It makes your life right again, because of the blood. 12 For this reason, Israel's people must not eat blood. And the people who are travelling with them must not eat blood.[a]
13 A person may catch an animal or a bird that is clean to eat. If he does, he must pour its blood on the ground. He must cover the blood with some earth. 14 The animal's life is in its blood. That is why no Israelite should eat any animal's blood. You must send any person that eats blood away from your people.
15 An Israelite or a foreign person may find a dead animal. If he eats it, he must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening. Then he will become clean. A person might find an animal or a bird that a wild animal has killed. He must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening. 16 If that person does not wash his clothes and his body, it is his own mistake.’[b]
Leviticus 17
New International Version
Leviticus 17
New International Version
Eating Blood Forbidden
17 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons(A) and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: 3 Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox,[a] a lamb(B) or a goat(C) in the camp or outside of it 4 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) 5 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) 6 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) 7 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)
8 “Say to them: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 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
- Leviticus 17:3 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.
- Leviticus 17:7 Or the demons
- Leviticus 17:11 Or atonement by the life in the blood
Leviticus 17
New King James Version
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
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.