Leviticus 11 - Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

11 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

² Say to the Israelites: These are the animals ^[a]which you may eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.^(A)

³ Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, any of these animals you may eat.

⁴ Nevertheless these you shall not eat of those that chew the cud or divide the hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you.

⁵ And the coney or rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you.

⁶ And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you.

⁷ And the swine, because it divides the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you.

⁸ Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean to you.

⁹ These you may eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, these you may eat;

¹⁰ But all that have not fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, of all the creeping things in the waters, and of all the living creatures which are in the waters, they are [to be considered] an abomination and abhorrence to you.^(B)

¹¹ They shall continue to be an abomination to you; you shall not eat of their flesh, but you shall detest their carcasses.

¹² Everything in the waters that has not fins or scales shall be abhorrent and detestable to you.

¹³ These you shall have in abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, for they are detestable: the eagle, the ossifrage, the ospray,

¹⁴ The kite, the whole species of falcon,

¹⁵ Every kind of raven,

¹⁶ The ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, every species of hawk,

¹⁷ The owl, the cormorant, the ibis,

¹⁸ The swan, the pelican, the vulture,

¹⁹ The stork, all kinds of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.

²⁰ All winged insects that go upon all fours are to be an abomination to you;

²¹ Yet of all winged insects that go upon all fours you may eat those which have legs above their feet with which to leap on the ground.

²² Of these you may eat: the whole species of locust, of bald locust, of cricket, and of grasshopper.^(C)

²³ But all other winged insects which have four feet shall be detestable to you.

²⁴ And by [contact with] these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass of them shall be unclean until the evening,

²⁵ And whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.

²⁶ Every beast which parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you; everyone who touches them shall be unclean.

²⁷ And all that go on their paws, among all kinds of four-footed beasts, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening,

²⁸ And he who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.

²⁹ These also are unclean to you among the creeping things [that multiply greatly] and creep upon the ground: the weasel, the mouse, any kind of great lizard,

³⁰ The gecko, the land crocodile, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon.

³¹ These are unclean to you among all that creep; whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening.

³² And upon whatever they may fall when they are dead, it shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or clothing or skin (bottle) or sack, any vessel in which work is done; it must be put in water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; so it shall be cleansed.

³³ And every earthen vessel into which any of these [creeping things] falls, whatever may be in it shall be unclean, and you shall break the vessel.

³⁴ Of all the food [in one of these unclean vessels] which may be eaten, that on which such water comes shall be unclean, and all drink that may be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean.

³⁵ And everything upon which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven, or pan with a lid, or hearth for pots, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you.

³⁶ Yet a spring or a cistern or reservoir of water shall be clean; but whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean.

³⁷ If a part of their carcass falls on seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean;

³⁸ But if any water be put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it shall be unclean to you.

³⁹ If any animal of which you may eat dies [unslaughtered], he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening.

⁴⁰ And he who eats of its carcass [ignorantly] shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening; he also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.

⁴¹ And everything that creeps on the ground and [multiplies in] swarms shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.

⁴² Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has more [than four] feet among all things that creep on the ground and swarm you shall not eat; for they are detestable.

⁴³ You shall not make yourselves loathsome and abominable [by eating] any swarming thing that [multiplies by] swarms, neither shall you make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled by them.

⁴⁴ For I am the Lord your God; so consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy; neither defile yourselves with any manner of thing that multiplies in large numbers or swarms.^(D)

⁴⁵ For I am the Lord Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God; therefore you shall be holy, for I am holy.^(E)

⁴⁶ This is the law of the beast, and of the bird, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and creeps on the earth and multiplies in large numbers,

⁴⁷ To make a difference (a distinction) between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.

Footnotes

1. Leviticus 11:2 At first thought the laws given here seem only to have been made obsolete by Jesus. He taught that it is not what goes into the mouth but what comes out of it that defiles a man (Matt. 15:17-20), and Paul said that when the complete and perfect came, the incomplete and imperfect would become void and superseded (I Cor. 13:9, 10), for “there is nothing unclean of itself” (Rom. 14:14 kjv). But while all these specific laws have become void, we must not lose sight of the fact that they are “superseded” by the underlying spiritual principle, which is just as binding. Christ’s teaching relates to the whole area of our living, including our eating and drinking, and is dominated by the principle, “Whatever you may do, do all for the honor and glory of God” (I Cor. 10:31). We do well to remember that it was Jesus Christ Himself who said, “Do not think that I have come to do away with or undo the Law...; I have come not to do away with or undo but to complete and fulfill” it (Matt. 5:17).

Cross references

1. Leviticus 11:2 : Mark 7:15-19.
2. Leviticus 11:10 : I Cor. 8:8-13.
3. Leviticus 11:22 : Matt. 3:4.
4. Leviticus 11:44 : I Thess. 4:7, 8.
5. Leviticus 11:45 : I Pet. 1:14-16.