Leviticus 17
New American Standard Bible
Blood for Atonement
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded, saying, 3 “Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp, or slaughters it outside the camp, 4 and (A)has not brought it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the [a]tabernacle of the Lord, bloodshed is to be counted against that person. He has shed blood, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 5 This shall be done so that the sons of Israel will bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing [b]in the open field—so that they will bring them to the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord. 6 The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and (B)offer up the fat in smoke as a soothing aroma to the Lord. 7 And (C)they shall no longer offer their sacrifices to the [c]goat demons with which they play the prostitute. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations.”’
8 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Anyone from the house of Israel, or from the strangers who reside among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9 and (D)does not bring it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to [d]offer it to the Lord, that person also shall be cut off from his people.
10 ‘(E)And anyone from the house of Israel, or from the strangers who reside among them, who eats any blood, (F)I will set My face against that person who eats the blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For (G)the [e]life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for (H)it is the blood by reason of the [f]life that makes atonement.’ 12 Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, nor may any stranger who resides among you eat blood.’ 13 So when anyone from the sons of Israel, or from the strangers who reside among them, [g]while hunting catches an animal or a bird which may be eaten, (I)he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dirt.
14 “(J)For as for the [h]life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its [i]life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the [j]life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’ 15 And (K)any person who eats an animal which dies or is torn by animals, whether he is a native or a stranger, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean. 16 But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe his body, then (L)he shall bear the responsibility for his [k]guilt.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 17:4 Lit dwelling place
- Leviticus 17:5 Lit on the face of the field
- Leviticus 17:7 Or goat idols
- Leviticus 17:9 Lit do
- Leviticus 17:11 Lit soul
- Leviticus 17:11 Lit soul
- Leviticus 17:13 Lit who hunts game, animal
- Leviticus 17:14 Lit soul
- Leviticus 17:14 Lit soul
- Leviticus 17:14 Lit soul
- Leviticus 17:16 Or wrongdoing
Leviticus 17
King James Version
17 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them; This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, saying,
3 What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp,
4 And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people:
5 To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the Lord, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the Lord.
6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the Lord.
7 And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
8 And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice,
9 And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the Lord; even that man shall be cut off from among his people.
10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.
13 And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.
14 For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.
15 And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.
16 But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.
Leviticus 17
Living Bible
17 1-2 The Lord gave to Moses these additional instructions for Aaron and the priests and for all the people of Israel:
3-4 “Any Israelite who sacrifices[a] an ox, lamb, or goat anywhere except at the Tabernacle is guilty of murder and shall be excommunicated from his nation. 5 The purpose of this law is to stop the people of Israel from sacrificing in the open fields, and to cause them to bring their sacrifices to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and to burn the fat as a savor the Lord will appreciate and enjoy— 6 for in this way the priest will be able to sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and to burn the fat as a savor the Lord will appreciate and enjoy— 7 instead of the people’s sacrificing to evil spirits[b] out in the fields. This shall be a permanent law for you, from generation to generation. 8-9 I repeat: Anyone, whether an Israelite or a foreigner living among you who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice anywhere other than at the entrance of the Tabernacle, where it will be sacrificed to the Lord, shall be excommunicated.
10 “And I will turn my face against anyone, whether an Israelite or a foreigner living among you, who eats blood in any form. I will excommunicate him from his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given you the blood to sprinkle upon the altar as an atonement for your souls; it is the blood that makes atonement because it is the life.[c] 12 That is the reasoning behind my decree to the people of Israel, that neither they, nor any foreigner living among them, may eat blood. 13 Anyone, whether an Israelite or a foreigner living among you, who goes hunting and kills an animal or bird of a kind permitted for food, must pour out the blood and cover it with dust, 14 for the blood is the life. That is why I told the people of Israel never to eat it, for the life of every bird and animal[d] is its blood. Therefore, anyone who eats blood must be excommunicated.
15 “And anyone—native born or foreigner—who eats the dead body of an animal that dies a natural death, or is killed by wild animals, must wash his clothes and bathe himself and be defiled until evening; after that he shall be declared cleansed. 16 But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe, he shall suffer the consequence.”
Footnotes
- Leviticus 17:3 sacrifices, literally, “slaughters.”
- Leviticus 17:7 evil spirits, literally, “hairy ones.”
- Leviticus 17:11 because it is the life, implied.
- Leviticus 17:14 every bird and animal, literally, “every creature.”
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.