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Leviticus 11
New English Translation

Clean and Unclean Land Creatures

11 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 2 “Tell the Israelites: ‘This is the kind of creature you may eat from among all the animals[a] that are on the land. 3 You may eat any among the animals that has a divided hoof (the hooves are completely split in two[b]) and that also chews the cud.[c] 4 However, you must not eat these[d] from among those that chew the cud and have divided hooves: The camel is unclean to you[e] because it chews the cud[f] even though its hoof is not divided.[g] 5 The rock badger[h] is unclean to you because it chews the cud even though its hoof is not divided. 6 The hare is unclean to you because it chews the cud even though its hoof is not divided. 7 The pig is unclean to you because its hoof is divided (the hoof is completely split in two[i]) , even though it does not chew the cud.[j] 8 You must not eat from their meat and you must not touch their carcasses;[k] they are unclean to you.

Clean and Unclean Water Creatures

9 “‘These you can eat from all creatures that are in the water: Any creatures in the water that have both fins and scales,[l] whether in the seas or in the streams,[m] you may eat. 10 But any creatures that do not have both fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams, from all the swarming things of the water and from all the living creatures that are in the water, are detestable to you. 11 Since they are detestable to you, you must not eat their meat and their carcass you must detest. 12 Any creature in the water that does not have both fins and scales is detestable to you.

Clean and Unclean Birds

13 “‘These you are to detest from among the birds—they must not be eaten, because they are detestable:[n] the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 14 the kite, the buzzard of any kind,[o] 15 every kind of crow,[p] 16 the eagle owl,[q] the short-eared owl, the long-eared owl, the hawk of any kind, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the screech owl, 18 the white owl, the scops owl, the osprey, 19 the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.

Clean and Unclean Insects

20 “‘Every winged swarming thing that walks on all fours[r] is detestable to you. 21 However, this you may eat from all the winged swarming things that walk on all fours, which have jointed legs[s] to hop with on the land. 22 These you may eat from them:[t] the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, the grasshopper of any kind. 23 But any other winged swarming thing that has four legs is detestable to you.

Carcass Uncleanness

24 “‘By these[u] you defile yourselves—anyone who touches their carcass will be unclean until the evening, 25 and anyone who carries their carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until the evening.

Inedible Land Quadrupeds

26 “‘All[v] animals that divide the hoof, but it is not completely split in two,[w] and do not chew the cud[x] are unclean to you; anyone who touches them becomes unclean.[y] 27 All that walk on their paws among all the creatures that walk on all fours[z] are unclean to you. Anyone who touches their carcass will be unclean until the evening, 28 and the one who carries their carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.

Creatures that Swarm on the Land

29 “‘Now this is what is unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the land:[aa] the rat, the mouse, the large lizard of any kind, 30 the Mediterranean gecko, the spotted lizard, the wall gecko, the skink, and the chameleon. 31 These are the ones that are unclean to you among all the swarming things. Anyone who touches these creatures[ab] when they die will be unclean until evening. 32 Also, anything they fall on[ac] when they die will become unclean—any wood vessel or garment or article of leather or sackcloth. Any such vessel with which work is done must be immersed in water[ad] and will be unclean until the evening. Then it will become clean. 33 As for any clay vessel they fall into,[ae] everything in it[af] will become unclean and you must break it. 34 Any food that may be eaten which becomes soaked with water[ag] will become unclean. Anything drinkable[ah] in any such vessel will become unclean.[ai] 35 Anything their carcass may fall on will become unclean. An oven or small stove must be smashed to pieces; they are unclean, and they will stay unclean[aj] to you. 36 However, a spring or a cistern which collects water[ak] will be clean, but one who touches the creature’s carcass will be unclean. 37 Now, if such a carcass falls on any sowing seed which is to be sown,[al] it is clean, 38 but if water is put on the seed and such a carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.

Edible Land Animals

39 “‘Now if an animal[am] that you may eat dies,[an] whoever touches its carcass will be unclean until the evening. 40 One who eats from its carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening, and whoever carries its carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 41 Every swarming thing that swarms on the land is detestable; it must not be eaten. 42 You must not eat anything that crawls[ao] on its belly or anything that walks on all fours or on any number of legs[ap] of all the swarming things that swarm on the land, because they are detestable. 43 Do not make yourselves detestable by any of the swarming things.[aq] You must not defile yourselves by them and become unclean by them, 44 for I am the Lord your God and you are to sanctify yourselves and be holy because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any of the swarming things that creep on the ground, 45 for I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God,[ar] and you are to be holy because I am holy. 46 This is the law[as] of the land animals, the birds, all the living creatures that move in the water, and all the creatures[at] that swarm on the land, 47 to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between the living creatures that may be eaten and the living creatures that must not be eaten.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 11:2 tn Heb “the animal,” but as a collective plural, and so throughout this chapter.
  2. Leviticus 11:3 tn Heb “every divider of hoof and cleaver of the cleft of hooves”; KJV, ASV “parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted.”
  3. Leviticus 11:3 tn Heb “bringer up of the cud” (a few of the ancient versions include the conjunction “and,” but it does not appear in the MT). The following verses make it clear that both dividing the hoof and chewing the cud were required; one of these conditions would not be enough to make the animal suitable for eating without the other.
  4. Leviticus 11:4 tn Heb “this,” but as a collective plural (see the following context).
  5. Leviticus 11:4 sn Regarding “clean” versus “unclean,” see the note on Lev 10:10.
  6. Leviticus 11:4 tn Heb “because a chewer of the cud it is” (see also vv. 5 and 6).
  7. Leviticus 11:4 tn Heb “and hoof there is not dividing” (see also vv. 5 and 6).
  8. Leviticus 11:5 sn A small animal generally understood to be Hyrax syriacus; KJV, ASV, NIV “coney”; NKJV “rock hyrax.”
  9. Leviticus 11:7 tn See the note on Lev 11:3.
  10. Leviticus 11:7 tn The meaning and basic rendering of this clause is quite certain, but the verb for “chewing” the cud here is not the same as the preceding verses, where the expression is “to bring up the cud” (see the note on v. 3 above). It appears to be a cognate verb for the noun “cud” (גֵּרָה, gerah) and could mean either “to drag up” (i.e., from the Hebrew Qal of גָרָר [garar] meaning “to drag,” referring to the dragging the cud up and down between the stomach and mouth of the ruminant animal; so J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:647, 653) or “to chew” (i.e., from the Hebrew Niphal [or Qal B] of גָרָר used in a reciprocal sense; so J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 149, and compare BDB 176 s.v. גָרַר, “to chew,” with HALOT 204 s.v. גרר qal. B, “to ruminate”).
  11. Leviticus 11:8 sn The regulations against touching the carcasses of dead unclean animals (contrast the restriction against eating their flesh) is treated in more detail in Lev 11:24-28 (cf. also vv. 29-40). For the time being, this chapter continues to develop the issue of what can and cannot be eaten.
  12. Leviticus 11:9 tn Heb “all which have fin and scale” (see also vv. 10 and 12).
  13. Leviticus 11:9 tn Heb “in the water, in the seas and in the streams” (see also vv. 10 and 12).
  14. Leviticus 11:13 tn For zoological remarks on the following list of birds see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:662-64; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 159-60.
  15. Leviticus 11:14 tn Heb “and the buzzard to its kind” (see also vv. 16 and 19 for the same expression “of any kind”).
  16. Leviticus 11:15 tn Heb “every crow to its kind.” Many English versions (e.g., KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) render this as “raven.”
  17. Leviticus 11:16 tn Literally, “the daughter of the wasteland.” Various proposals for the species of bird referred to here include “owl” (KJV), “horned owl” (NIV, NCV), and “ostrich” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).
  18. Leviticus 11:20 tn Heb “the one walking on four” (cf. vv. 21-23 and 27-28).
  19. Leviticus 11:21 tn Heb “which to it are lower legs from above to its feet” (reading the Qere “to it” rather than the Kethib “not”).
  20. Leviticus 11:22 tn For entomological remarks on the following list of insects see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:665-66; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 160-61.
  21. Leviticus 11:24 tn Heb “and to these.”
  22. Leviticus 11:26 tn Heb “to all” (cf. the note on v. 24). This and the following verses develop more fully the categories of uncleanness set forth in principle in vv. 24-25.
  23. Leviticus 11:26 tn Heb “divides hoof and cleft it does not cleave”; KJV “divideth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted”; NLT “divided but unsplit hooves.”
  24. Leviticus 11:26 tn See the note on Lev 11:3.
  25. Leviticus 11:26 sn Compare the regulations in Lev 11:2-8.
  26. Leviticus 11:27 tn Heb “the one walking on four.” Cf. Lev 11:20-23.
  27. Leviticus 11:29 tn For zoological analyses of the list of creatures in vv. 29-30, see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:671-72; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 161-62.
  28. Leviticus 11:31 tn Heb “touches them.”
  29. Leviticus 11:32 tn Heb “And all which it shall fall on it from them.”
  30. Leviticus 11:32 tn Heb “in water it shall be brought.”
  31. Leviticus 11:33 tn Heb “And any earthenware vessel which shall fall from them into its midst.”
  32. Leviticus 11:33 tn Heb “all which is in its midst.”
  33. Leviticus 11:34 tn Heb “which water comes on it.”
  34. Leviticus 11:34 tn Heb “any drink which may be drunk”; NASB “any liquid which may be drunk”; NLT “any beverage that is in such an unclean container.”
  35. Leviticus 11:34 tn This half of the verse assumes that the unclean carcass has fallen into the food or drink (cf. v. 33 and also vv. 35-38).
  36. Leviticus 11:35 tn Heb “be unclean.”
  37. Leviticus 11:36 tn Heb “a spring and a cistern collection of water”; NAB, NIV “for collecting water.”
  38. Leviticus 11:37 tn Heb “And if there falls from their carcass on any seed of sowing which shall be sown.”
  39. Leviticus 11:39 tn This word for “animal” refers to land animal quadrupeds, not just any beast that dwells on the land (cf. 11:2).
  40. Leviticus 11:39 tn Heb “which is food for you” or “which is for you to eat.”
  41. Leviticus 11:42 tn Heb “goes” (KJV, ASV “goeth”); NIV “moves about”; NLT “slither along.” The same Hebrew term is translated “walks” in the following clause.
  42. Leviticus 11:42 tn Heb “until all multiplying of legs.”
  43. Leviticus 11:43 tn Heb “by any of the swarming things that swarm.”
  44. Leviticus 11:45 tn Heb “to be to you for a God.”
  45. Leviticus 11:46 sn The Hebrew term translated “law” (תּוֹרָה, torah) introduces here a summary or colophon for all of Lev 11. Similar summaries are found in Lev 7:37-38; 13:59; 14:54-57; and 15:32-33.
  46. Leviticus 11:46 tn Heb “for all the creatures.”
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Leviticus 11
International Standard Version

Clean and Unclean Animals(A)

11 The Lord told Moses and Aaron,[a] 2 “Tell the Israelis that these are the living creatures that you may eat among the animals of the earth: 3 You may eat any animal that has divided hooves with cloven feet and that ruminates its cud, 4 except you are not to eat the following animals that have divided hooves or ruminate their cud: the camel (because it chews the cud but doesn’t have divided hooves, it is to be unclean for you), 5 the rock badger (because it chews its cud but its hooves aren’t divided, it is to be unclean for you), 6 the hare (because it chews its cud, but its hooves aren’t divided, it is to be unclean for you), 7 and the pig (because it has divided hooves and is therefore cloven-footed, but it doesn’t ruminate its cud, it is to be unclean for you). 8 You are not to eat their flesh or even touch their carcasses. They are to be unclean for you.”

Clean and Unclean Seafood

9 “You may eat anything that lives in the water—that is, you may eat anything that has fins and scales either from the seas or from the rivers. 10 But anything that doesn’t have fins or scales—whether from the seas or the rivers—any of the swarming creatures and living creatures in the waters are detestable for you. 11 They are to remain detestable for you. You are not to eat of their meat and you are to detest their carcasses. 12 Anything that doesn’t have fins or scales in the waters is a detestable thing for you.”

Clean and Unclean Winged Creatures

13 “These are detestable things for you among winged creatures that you are not to eat, because they are detestable for you: the eagle, vulture, osprey, 14 red kite, falcons of any kind, 15 every kind of raven, 16 ostrich, nighthawk, seagull, hawks of every kind, 17 owls, cormorants, the ibis, 18 water-hens, pelicans, carrion, 19 storks, herons of every kind, the hoopoe, bata, 20 and any winged insect that crawls on four legs is detestable for you. 21 However, you may eat winged creatures that crawl on four legs that extend over its head and by which it hops on the ground. 22 These creatures that you may eat include the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind. 23 But any other winged insect that has four legs is detestable for you 24 and is unclean. Anyone who touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening. 25 And anyone who carries their carcasses is to wash his clothes, since he will remain unclean until evening.”

Summary of Clean and Unclean

26 “Any animal that has divided hooves and is cloven-footed but doesn’t chew the cud is unclean for you. Anyone who touches them is unclean. 27 Among the animals, anything that walks on their paws and on four legs is unclean for you. Anyone who touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening. 28 Whoever carries their carcass is to wash their clothes, because they’ve become unclean until evening. They’re unclean for you.

29 “These are unclean for you among the swarming creatures that crawl over the land: the rat,[b] mouse, lizards of every kind, 30 the gecko, crocodile, lizard, sand lizard, and chameleon. 31 These are unclean for you among the swarming creatures, so anyone who touches them when they’re dead becomes unclean until evening. 32 Furthermore, anything on which they fall when they’re dead becomes unclean, whether on an article of wood, clothing, skin, or a sack. And any vessel used for any work is to be washed in water, because it has become unclean until evening. 33 Any earthen vessel into which any of these things fall becomes unclean, along with everything in it. You are to destroy it, along with all its contents.”

Clean and Unclean Vessels

34 “Any food that may be eaten, but into which water has soaked, becomes unclean. Any drink that may be drunk in any of these vessels becomes unclean, 35 and anything into which their carcass falls becomes unclean. An oven or stove is to be broken in pieces. They’re unclean and therefore unclean for you.

36 “A spring or a cistern that holds water is clean, but whoever touches the carcass of an unclean animal will be unclean. 37 If their carcass falls on a seed, which is for sowing, what is to be sown is clean. 38 But if water is put on the seed and part of their carcass falls on it, then it has become unclean for you.

39 “If any of the animals that you may eat dies, the one who touches its carcass becomes unclean until evening. 40 The one who eats from its carcass is to wash his clothes, because he has become unclean until evening. Even the one who carries the carcass is to wash his clothes, because he has become unclean until evening.”

Unclean Swarming Animals

41 “Every swarming thing that swarms the land is detestable for you. It is not to be eaten. 42 You are not to eat anything that crawls on its belly, anything that walks on four legs, anything that has many legs, or any of the swarming creatures that swarm the land, because they’re detestable. 43 You are not to make yourselves detestable on account of any swarming creature that swarms the land, and you are not to defile yourselves and become unclean due to them, 44 because I, the Lord, am your God. Set yourselves apart and be holy, because I am holy. You are not to defile yourselves with any of the swarming creatures that swarm the earth. 45 I am the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You are to be holy, because I am holy. 46 This is the law concerning animals, every living creature that moves on the waters or swarms[c] on land. 47 You are to differentiate between the clean and unclean, between the living creature that can be eaten and the living creature that is not to be eaten.”

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 11:1 Lit. to them
  2. Leviticus 11:29 Or weasel
  3. Leviticus 11:46 Lit. every living creature
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