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.”