Eating Blood Forbidden

17 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron and his sons(A) and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox,[a] a lamb(B) or a goat(C) in the camp or outside of it 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) 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) 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) 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)

“Say to them: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 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.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 17:3 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.
  2. Leviticus 17:7 Or the demons

Prohibitions against Eating Blood

17 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel. This is what the Lord has commanded.

“If any native Israelite sacrifices a bull[a] or a lamb or a goat anywhere inside or outside the camp instead of bringing it to the entrance of the Tabernacle[b] to present it as an offering to the Lord, that person will be as guilty as a murderer.[c] Such a person has shed blood and will be cut off from the community. The purpose of this rule is to stop the Israelites from sacrificing animals in the open fields. It will ensure that they bring their sacrifices to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle, so he can present them to the Lord as peace offerings. Then the priest will be able to splatter the blood against the Lord’s altar at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and he will burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. The people must no longer be unfaithful to the Lord by offering sacrifices to the goat idols.[d] This is a permanent law for them, to be observed from generation to generation.

“Give them this command as well. If any native Israelite or foreigner living among you offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice but does not bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle to offer it to the Lord, that person will be cut off from the community.

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Footnotes

  1. 17:3 Or cow.
  2. 17:4a Hebrew Tent of Meeting; also in 17:5, 6, 9.
  3. 17:4b Hebrew will be guilty of blood.
  4. 17:7 Or goat demons.