Leviticus 17

The Slaughter of Animals

17:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 17:2 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites, and tell them: ‘This is the word that the Lord has commanded: 17:3 “Blood guilt¹ will be accounted to any man² from the house of Israel³ who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat inside the camp or outside the camp,⁴ 17:4 but has not brought it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent⁵ to present it as⁶ an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord. He has shed blood, so that man will be cut off from the midst of his people.⁷ 17:5 This is so that⁸ the Israelites will bring their sacrifices that they are sacrificing in the open field⁹ to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent to the priest and sacrifice them there as peace offering sacrifices to the Lord. 17:6 The priest is to splash¹⁰ the blood on the altar¹¹ of the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, and offer the fat up in smoke for a soothing aroma to the Lord. 17:7 So they must no longer offer¹² their sacrifices to the goat demons,¹³ acting like prostitutes by going after them.¹⁴ This is to be a perpetual statute for them throughout their generations.¹⁵

17:8 “You are to say to them: ‘Any man¹⁶ from the house of Israel or¹⁷ from the foreigners who reside¹⁸ in their¹⁹ midst, who offers²⁰ a burnt offering or a sacrifice 17:9 but does not bring it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent to offer it²¹ to the Lord – that person will be cut off from his people.²²

Prohibition against Eating Blood

17:10 “‘Any man²³ from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside²⁴ in their²⁵ midst who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people,²⁶ 17:11 for the life of every living thing²⁷ is in the blood.²⁸ So I myself have assigned it to you²⁹ on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life.³⁰ 17:12 Therefore, I have said to the Israelites: No person among you is to eat blood,³¹ and no resident foreigner who lives among you is to eat blood.³²

17:13 “‘Any man from the Israelites³³ or from the foreigners who reside³⁴ in their³⁵ midst who hunts a wild animal³⁶ or a bird that may be eaten³⁷ must pour out its blood and cover it with soil, 17:14 for the life of all flesh is its blood.³⁸ So I have said to the Israelites: You must not eat the blood of any living thing³⁹ because the life of every living thing is its blood – all who eat it will be cut off.⁴⁰

Regulations for Eating Carcasses

17:15 “‘Any person⁴¹ who eats an animal that has died of natural causes⁴² or an animal torn by beasts, whether a native citizen or a foreigner,⁴³ must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening; then he becomes clean. 17:16 But if he does not wash his clothes⁴⁴ and does not bathe his body, he will bear his punishment for iniquity.’”⁴⁵

Next Chapter