Clean and Unclean Food^(A)

11 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat:^{(B) 3} You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.

⁴ “‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them.^(C) The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. ⁵ The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. ⁶ The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. ⁷ And the pig,^(D) though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. ⁸ You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.^(E)

⁹ “‘Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales. ¹⁰ But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to regard as unclean.^{(F) 11} And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean.^{(G) 12} Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you.^(H)

¹³ “‘These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle,^[a] the vulture, the black vulture, ¹⁴ the red kite, any kind^(I) of black kite, ¹⁵ any kind of raven,^{(J) 16} the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, ¹⁷ the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, ¹⁸ the white owl,^(K) the desert owl, the osprey, ¹⁹ the stork,^(L) any kind^(M) of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.^(N)

²⁰ “‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you.^{(O) 21} There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. ²² Of these you may eat any kind of locust,^(P) katydid, cricket or grasshopper. ²³ But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.

²⁴ “‘You will make yourselves unclean by these;^(Q) whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening.^{(R) 25} Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash their clothes,^(S) and they will be unclean till evening.^(T)

²⁶ “‘Every animal that does not have a divided hoof or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean. ²⁷ Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. ²⁸ Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.^(U) These animals are unclean for you.

²⁹ “‘Of the animals that move along the ground, these are unclean for you:^(V) the weasel, the rat,^(W) any kind of great lizard, ³⁰ the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon. ³¹ Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean till evening. ³² When one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth.^(X) Put it in water; it will be unclean till evening, and then it will be clean. ³³ If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot.^{(Y) 34} Any food you are allowed to eat that has come into contact with water from any such pot is unclean, and any liquid that is drunk from such a pot is unclean. ³⁵ Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as unclean. ³⁶ A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean. ³⁷ If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain clean. ³⁸ But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.

³⁹ “‘If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies,^(Z) anyone who touches its carcass^(AA) will be unclean till evening. ⁴⁰ Anyone who eats some of its carcass^(AB) must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.^(AC) Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.

⁴¹ “‘Every creature that moves along the ground is to be regarded as unclean; it is not to be eaten. ⁴² You are not to eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is unclean. ⁴³ Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures.^(AD) Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. ⁴⁴ I am the Lord your God;^(AE) consecrate yourselves^(AF) and be holy,^(AG) because I am holy.^(AH) Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.^{(AI) 45} I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt^(AJ) to be your God;^(AK) therefore be holy, because I am holy.^(AL)

⁴⁶ “‘These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground. ⁴⁷ You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.^(AM)’”

¹⁸ “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? ¹⁹ For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods^(A) clean.)^(B)

²⁰ He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.

Freedom From Human Rules

¹⁶ Therefore do not let anyone judge you^(A) by what you eat or drink,^(B) or with regard to a religious festival,^(C) a New Moon celebration^(D) or a Sabbath day.^{(E) 17} These are a shadow of the things that were to come;^(F) the reality, however, is found in Christ.

The Weak and the Strong

14 Accept the one whose faith is weak,^(A) without quarreling over disputable matters. ² One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.^{(B) 3} The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt^(C) the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge^(D) the one who does, for God has accepted them. ⁴ Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?^(E) To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

⁵ One person considers one day more sacred than another;^(F) another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. ⁶ Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God;^(G) and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

⁸ But food does not bring us near to God;^(A) we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

⁹ Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block^(B) to the weak.^{(C) 10} For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols?^{(D) 11} So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed^(E) by your knowledge. ¹² When you sin against them^(F) in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.^{(G) 13} Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.^(H)

The Believer’s Freedom

²³ “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial.^(A) “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. ²⁴ No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.^(B)

²⁵ Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,^{(C) 26} for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”^[a](D)

²⁷ If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you^(E) without raising questions of conscience. ²⁸ But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience.^{(F) 29} I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom^(G) being judged by another’s conscience? ³⁰ If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?^(H)

³¹ So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.^{(I) 32} Do not cause anyone to stumble,^(J) whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God^(K)— ³³ even as I try to please everyone in every way.^(L) For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many,^(M) so that they may be saved.^(N)

Peter’s Vision^(A)

⁹ About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof^(B) to pray. ¹⁰ He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.^{(C) 11} He saw heaven opened^(D) and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. ¹² It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. ¹³ Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

¹⁴ “Surely not, Lord!”^(E) Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”^(F)

¹⁵ The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”^(G)

¹⁶ This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

²⁰ Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols,^(A) from sexual immorality,^(B) from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.^(C)