Leviticus 17
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Slaughtering of Animals
17 The Lord spoke to Moses:
2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: This is what the Lord has commanded. 3 If anyone of the house of Israel slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp or slaughters it outside the camp 4 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to present it as an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, he shall be held guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood, and he shall be cut off from the people.(A) 5 This is in order that the Israelites may bring their sacrifices that they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and offer them as sacrifices of well-being to the Lord. 6 The priest shall dash the blood against the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting and turn the fat into smoke as a pleasing odor to the Lord,(B) 7 so that they may no longer offer their sacrifices for goat-demons, to whom they prostitute themselves. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.(C)
8 “And say to them further: Anyone of the house of Israel or of the aliens who reside among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to sacrifice it to the Lord, shall be cut off from the people.(D)
Eating Blood Prohibited
10 “If anyone of the house of Israel or of the aliens who reside among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut that person off from the people.(E) 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar, for, as life, it is the blood that makes atonement.(F) 12 Therefore I have said to the Israelites, ‘No person among you shall eat blood, nor shall any alien who resides among you eat blood.’
13 “And anyone of the Israelites or of the aliens who reside among them who hunts down an animal or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.(G) 14 For the life of every creature—its blood is its life; therefore I have said to the Israelites, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’(H) 15 All persons, native-born or alien, who eat what dies of itself or what has been torn by wild animals shall wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water and be unclean until the evening; then they shall be clean.(I) 16 But if they do not wash themselves or bathe their body, they shall bear their guilt.”
Leviticus 17
Young's Literal Translation
17 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
2 `Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the sons of Israel; and thou hast said unto them, This [is] the thing which Jehovah hath commanded, saying,
3 Any man of the house of Israel who slaughtereth ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or who slaughtereth at the outside of the camp,
4 and unto the opening of the tent of meeting hath not brought it in to bring near an offering to Jehovah before the tabernacle of Jehovah, blood is reckoned to that man -- blood he hath shed -- and that man hath been cut off from the midst of his people;
5 so that the sons of Israel do bring in their sacrifices which they are sacrificing on the face of the field, yea, they have brought them in to Jehovah, unto the opening of the tent of meeting, unto the priest, and they have sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offerings to Jehovah with them.
6 `And the priest hath sprinkled the blood upon the altar of Jehovah, at the opening of the tent of meeting, and hath made perfume with the fat for sweet fragrance to Jehovah;
7 and they sacrifice not any more their sacrifices to goats after which they are going a-whoring; a statute age-during is this to them, to their generations.
8 `And unto them thou sayest: Any man of the house of Israel, or of the sojourners, who sojourneth in your midst, who causeth burnt-offering or sacrifice to ascend,
9 and unto the opening of the tent of meeting doth not bring it in to make it to Jehovah -- that man hath been cut off from his people.
10 `And any man of the house of Israel, or of the sojourners, who is sojourning in your midst, who eateth any blood, I have even set My face against the person who is eating the blood, and have cut him off from the midst of his people;
11 for the 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 it [is] the blood which maketh atonement for the soul.
12 `Therefore I have said to the sons of Israel, No person among you doth eat blood, and the sojourner who is sojourning in your midst doth not eat blood;
13 and any man of the sons of Israel, or of the sojourners, who is sojourning in your midst, who hunteth venison, beast or fowl, which is eaten -- hath even poured out its blood, and hath covered it with dust;
14 for [it is] the life of all flesh, its blood is for its life; and I say to the sons of Israel, Blood of any flesh ye do not eat, for the life of all flesh is its blood; any one eating it is cut off.
15 `And any person who eateth a carcase or torn thing, among natives or among sojourners -- hath both washed his garments, and hath bathed with water, and hath been unclean until the evening -- then he hath been clean;
16 and if he wash not, and his flesh bathe not -- then he hath borne his iniquity.'
Leviticus 17
King James Version
17 And the Lord 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 the Lord 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 out of the camp,
4 And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord; 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 offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the Lord, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the Lord.
6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the Lord.
7 And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. 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 which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice,
9 And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the Lord; even that man shall be cut off from among his people.
10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
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 you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.
14 For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for 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 that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both 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.
Leviticus 17
Amplified Bible
Blood for Atonement
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded, saying, 3 “Any man from the house of Israel who kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or kills it outside the camp 4 and has not brought it to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting to [a]offer it as an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, that man shall be guilty of bloodshed. He has shed blood and shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them]. 5 This is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing [to idols] in the open field [where they killed them], that they may bring them in to the Lord, at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord. 6 The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting and offer the fat up in smoke as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. 7 So they shall no longer offer their sacrifices to goat-idols or demons or field spirits with which they have played the prostitute. This shall be a permanent statute for them throughout their generations.”’
8 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Any man from the house of Israel or any of the strangers living temporarily among you, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and does not bring it to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting to offer it to the Lord shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].
10 ‘Any man from the house of Israel, or any stranger living temporarily among you, who eats any blood, against that person I shall set My face and I will cut him off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].(A) 11 For the [b]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 it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life [which it represents].’(B) 12 Therefore I have said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, nor may any stranger living temporarily among you eat blood.’ 13 So when any Israelite or any stranger living temporarily among them, catches [c]any ceremonially clean animal or bird when hunting, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.
14 “For in regard to the life of all flesh, its blood is [the same] as its life; therefore I said to the Israelites, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the [d]life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off [excluding him from the atonement made for them].’ 15 Every person who eats an animal which dies [of natural causes] or was torn by a predator, whether he is native-born or a stranger, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be [ceremonially] unclean until evening; then he will become clean.(C) 16 But if he does not wash his clothes or bathe his body, he shall bear his guilt [for it will not be borne by the sacrifice of atonement].”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 17:4 At this point the Israelites were not permitted to eat meat at will. But, after the animal was offered as a burnt offering, most of it was returned to the owner as a gift from God.
- Leviticus 17:11 Lit soul.
- Leviticus 17:13 Lit an animal or bird which may be eaten.
- Leviticus 17:14 Lit soul.
Leviticus 17
Complete Jewish Bible
17 (LY: iv) Adonai said to Moshe, 2 “Speak to Aharon and his sons and to all the people of Isra’el. Tell them that this is what Adonai has ordered: 3 ‘When someone from the community of Isra’el slaughters an ox, lamb or goat inside or outside the camp 4 without bringing it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to Adonai before the tabernacle of Adonai, he is to be charged with blood — he has shed blood, and that person is to be cut off from his people. 5 The reason for this is so that the people of Isra’el will bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice out in the field — so that they will bring them to Adonai, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to the cohen, and sacrifice them as peace offerings to Adonai. 6 The cohen will splash the blood against the altar of Adonai at the entrance to the tent of meeting and make the fat go up in smoke as a pleasing aroma for Adonai. 7 No longer will they offer sacrifices to the goat-demons, before whom they prostitute themselves! This is a permanent regulation for them through all their generations.’
(RY: iii, LY: v) 8 “Also tell them, ‘When someone from the community of Isra’el or one of the foreigners living with you offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 without bringing it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to sacrifice it to Adonai, that person is to be cut off from his people. 10 When someone from the community of Isra’el or one of the foreigners living with you eats any kind of blood, I will set myself 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 given it to you on the altar to make atonement for yourselves; for it is the blood that makes atonement because of the life.’ 12 This is why I told the people of Isra’el, ‘None of you is to eat blood, nor is any foreigner living with you to eat blood.’
13 “When someone from the community of Isra’el or one of the foreigners living with you hunts and catches game, whether animal or bird that may be eaten, he is to pour out its blood and cover it with earth. 14 For the life of every creature — its blood is its life. Therefore I said to the people of Isra’el, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it will be cut off.’
15 “Anyone eating an animal that dies naturally or is torn to death by wild animals, whether he is a citizen or a foreigner, is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean. 16 But if he doesn’t wash them or bathe his body, he will bear the consequences of his wrongdoing.”
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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