Do Not Eat Meat With Blood in It
1The Lord said to Moses, 2“Speak to Aaron and his sons. Speak to all the Israelites. Tell them, ‘Here is what the Lord has commanded. He has said, 3“Suppose someone sacrifices an ox, a lamb or a goat. They sacrifice it in the camp or outside of it. 4They do it instead of bringing the animal to the entrance to the tent of meeting. They sacrifice it instead of giving it as an offering to me in front of my holy tent. Then they will be thought of as guilty of spilling blood. Because they have done that, they must be separated from their people. 5The Israelites are now making sacrifices in the open fields. But they must bring their sacrifices to the priest. They must bring them to me at the entrance to the tent of meeting. There they must sacrifice them as friendship offerings. 6The priest must splash the blood against my altar. It is the altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He must burn the fat. Its smell will please me. 7The Israelites must stop offering any of their sacrifices to statues of gods that look like goats. When they offer sacrifices to those statues, they are not faithful to me. This is a law for them that will last for all time to come.” ’
8“Tell them, ‘Suppose someone offers a burnt offering or sacrifice. It does not matter whether they are an Israelite or an outsider. 9And suppose they do not bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to sacrifice it to me. Then they must be separated from their people.
10“ ‘Suppose someone eats meat that still has blood in it. It does not matter whether they are an Israelite or an outsider. I will turn against them if they eat it. I will separate them from their people. 11The life of each creature is in its blood. So I have given you the blood of animals to pay for your sin on the altar. Blood is life. That is why blood pays for your sin. 12So I say to the Israelites, “You must not eat meat that still has blood in it. And an outsider who lives among you must not eat it either.”
13“ ‘Suppose any of you hunts any animal or bird that can be eaten. It does not matter whether you are an Israelite or an outsider. You must let the blood flow out of the animal or bird. You must cover the blood with dirt. 14That is because every creature’s life is its blood. And that is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat any creature’s meat that still has blood in it. Every creature’s life is its blood. Anyone who eats that kind of meat must be separated from the community of Israel.”
15“ ‘Suppose someone eats anything found dead or torn apart by wild animals. It does not matter whether they are an Israelite or an outsider. They must wash their clothes. They must take a bath. They will be “unclean” until evening. After that, they will be “clean.” 16But suppose they do not wash their clothes. And suppose they do not take a bath. Then they will be held responsible for what they have done.’ ”
Eating Blood Forbidden
1The Lord said to Moses, 2“Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: 3Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox,17:3 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female. a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside of it 4instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord—that person shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; they have shed blood and must be cut off from their people. 5This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the Lord, at the entrance to the tent of meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings. 6The priest is to splash the blood against the altar of the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the fat as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 7They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols17:7 Or the demons to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.’
8“Say to them: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9and does not bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to sacrifice it to the Lord must be cut off from the people of Israel.
10“ ‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people. 11For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.17:11 Or atonement by the life in the blood 12Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”
13“ ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, 14because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.”
15“ ‘Anyone, whether native-born or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then they will be clean. 16But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be held responsible.’ ”
