Leviticus 17

The LORD spoke to Moses and said,

1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2"Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the people of Israel, and say to them: This is what the LORD has commanded.

2Speak 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,

3If any man of the house of Israel kills an ox, a lamb, or a goat inside the camp, or kills it outside the camp,

3What 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,

NoteThe camp is the Israelite encampment in the wilderness, where this law is set: a portable settlement of tents around the sanctuary. "Inside the camp or outside the camp" covers every possible place, so no slaughter is exempt.

4and does not bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD in front of the LORD's tabernacle, that man will be held guilty of blood. He has shed blood, and that man must be cut off from among his people.

4And 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:

NoteThe Tent of Meeting (also called the tabernacle) was the portable sanctuary carried through the wilderness (a curtained tent with a courtyard, where the priests served and where God was said to meet Israel. Its "entrance" was the one authorised place for sacrifice. "Held guilty of blood" translates a legal term used elsewhere for murder: the man who slaughters an animal outside the sanctuary is treated as having shed blood unlawfully, as though he had killed a person. "Cut off from among his people" is a fixed penalty formula in these laws. Its exact force is disputed) it may mean expulsion from the community, or death, or the ending of the offender's family line, and the Hebrew does not settle which.

5This is so that the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they have been offering out in the open field. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and offer them as peace offerings to the LORD.

5To 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.

NoteIn earlier practice an Israelite could kill an animal for meat anywhere, and the killing counted as an offering. This law channels all such slaughter to the sanctuary. A peace offering (Hebrew *shelamim*) was a sacrifice in which only the fat and blood went to the altar; the worshiper and his household ate the meat, so it doubled as an ordinary meal.

6The priest will sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and burn the fat as a pleasing smell to the LORD.

6And 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.

NoteSprinkling or dashing the blood against the sides of the altar was the standard priestly act in every animal sacrifice. The fat, specifically the hard fat around the organs, belonged to God and was burned rather than eaten. "A pleasing smell" is a stock phrase for a sacrifice accepted, drawn from the older idea of an offering rising to God as smoke.

7They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons, which they have chased after and been unfaithful with. This will be a lasting rule for them for all their generations.

7And 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.

Note"Goat demons" translates a Hebrew word meaning "hairy ones" or "he-goats", used of goat-shaped spirits thought to haunt open country, the kind of powers a herdsman sacrificing in a field might try to appease. The King James "devils" imports a later idea. "Gone a whoring after" (KJV) is the standard Hebrew image for worshiping other gods: the relationship between Israel and God is spoken of as a marriage, so worship elsewhere is described as sexual infidelity. It is a metaphor, not a charge of prostitution.

8And you are to say to them: If any man of the house of Israel, or any foreigner living among you, offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice,

8And 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,

NoteA burnt offering was wholly consumed on the altar, with no portion eaten by anyone; "sacrifice" here covers the other kinds, where meat was eaten. The "foreigner living among you" (KJV "stranger that sojourneth") is not a passing traveler but a resident outsider settled permanently in Israel, bound by these particular laws, though not by all.

9and does not bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to offer it to the LORD, that man must be cut off from among his people.

9And 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.

10If any man of the house of Israel, or any foreigner living among you, eats blood of any kind, I will set my face against that person who eats blood, and I will cut him off from among his people.

10And 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.

Note"I will set my face against" is a formula of direct personal opposition, the opposite of the blessing in which God's face shines on someone. Where other penalties are carried out by the community, here God states that he will act. "Any blood" means blood consumed as food, meat not drained, or blood eaten or drunk on its own, as was done in some neighboring practice.

11For the life of a living body is in its blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives. It is the blood that makes atonement for a person's life.

11For 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.

Note"Life" here translates *nephesh*, a word covering life, breath, self and person; the same word is rendered "soul" by the King James in this verse and "person" elsewhere in the chapter. The claim is about the seat of life, not about a soul distinct from the body. "Atonement" (Hebrew *kipper*) means to wipe clean, cover over, or pay a ransom, the removing of an offense or its consequence. The Hebrew phrase translated "for your lives" can also be read "at the cost of your lives", and the ambiguity is in the original.

12That is why I said to the people of Israel: None of you may eat blood, and no foreigner living among you may eat blood.

12Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.

13If any of the people of Israel, or any foreigner living among them, hunts and catches an animal or a bird that may be eaten, he must pour out its blood and cover it with dirt.

13And 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.

NoteHunted game could not be brought to the altar (its blood was not offered), so the blood is instead poured onto the ground and buried, keeping it from being eaten and treating it with the same restraint as sacrificial blood. Covering it with dirt is the same gesture used for burying something that must not be left exposed.

14For the blood of every living body is its life. That is why I said to the people of Israel: You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every living body is its blood. Anyone who eats it must be cut off.

14For 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.

15Anyone who eats an animal that died on its own or was torn by wild animals, whether he is one of your own people or a foreigner, must wash his clothes and wash himself with water. He will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean.

15And 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.

NoteAn animal that dies naturally or is killed by predators has not been drained of blood, which is why eating it makes a person unclean. "Unclean" is a ritual status, not dirtiness or sin: it simply bars a person from the sanctuary and from holy food until the set time passes. The Israelite day changed at sunset, so "unclean until evening" means the condition ends that same night.

16But if he does not wash his clothes and wash his body, he will bear the guilt of his sin."

16But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.

Note"Bear the guilt of his sin" (KJV "bear his iniquity") is a legal formula meaning he carries the liability himself and must answer for it, rather than having it cleared by the washing. It does not specify what the consequence will be.