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.

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Footnotes

  1. 17:4 Lit tabernacle—blood will be charged against that person

The Place of Sacrifice

17 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the Israelites,[b] and you shall say to them, ‘This is the word that Yahweh has commanded, saying, Any man[c] from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a sheep or a goat in the camp or who slaughters it outside the camp[d] and he does not bring it to the tent of assembly’s entrance to present an offering to Yahweh before[e] Yahweh’s tabernacle, then[f] that man shall be accounted bloodguilty—he has poured out blood, and that man shall be cut off from the midst of his people. This is so that the Israelites[g] may bring their sacrifices that they are sacrificing in the open field[h] and bring[i] them for Yahweh to the tent of assembly’s entrance to the priest, and they shall sacrifice fellowship offerings for Yahweh with them. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on Yahweh’s altar at the tent of assembly’s entrance, and he shall burn[j] the fat as an appeasing fragrance for Yahweh. And they may no longer sacrifice[k] their sacrifices to the goat-idols after which they were prostituting. This is a lasting statute[l] for them throughout[m] their generations.”’

Instructions Against Eating Blood

“And you shall say to them, ‘if there is anyone[n] from the house of Israel or[o] from the alien who dwells in their midst who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice and he does not bring it to the tent of assembly’s entrance to sacrifice[p] it for Yahweh, then[q] that man shall be cut off from his people.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 17:1 Or “And”
  2. Leviticus 17:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  3. Leviticus 17:3 Literally “A man a man”
  4. Leviticus 17:3 Literally “from an outside place of the camp”
  5. Leviticus 17:4 Literally “to the faces of”
  6. Leviticus 17:4 Or “and”
  7. Leviticus 17:5 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  8. Leviticus 17:5 Literally “on the faces of the field”
  9. Leviticus 17:5 Or “they shall bring”
  10. Leviticus 17:6 Literally “turn into smoke”
  11. Leviticus 17:7 Literally “not they may sacrifice again”
  12. Leviticus 17:7 Literally “a statute of eternity” or “a statute of long duration”
  13. Leviticus 17:7 Literally “to”
  14. Leviticus 17:8 Literally “A man a man”
  15. Leviticus 17:8 Or “and”
  16. Leviticus 17:9 Literally “do” or “make”
  17. Leviticus 17:9 Or “and”