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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.

Statutes Against Eating Blood

17 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh has commanded, saying, “Any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp, and (A)has not brought it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to bring it near as an offering to Yahweh before the [a]tabernacle of Yahweh, it will be counted as bloodguiltiness to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people. [b]The reason is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing in the open field, that they may bring them in to Yahweh, at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to Yahweh. And the priest shall splash the blood on the altar of Yahweh at the doorway of the tent of meeting and (B)offer up the fat in smoke as a soothing aroma to Yahweh. (C)And they shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the [c]goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a perpetual statute to them throughout their generations.”’

“Then you shall say to them, ‘Any man from the house of Israel, or from the sojourners who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, and (D)does not bring it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to [d]offer it to Yahweh, that man also shall be cut off from his people.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 17:4 Lit dwelling place
  2. Leviticus 17:5 Lit In order that
  3. Leviticus 17:7 Or goat-idols
  4. Leviticus 17:9 Lit do