Leviticus 11

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,

2 Say to the children of Israel: These are the animals which you are to eat of all the living things of the earth.

“Tell the Israeli people that [this is what Yahweh says]: From all the animals that live on the land, these are the ones that you are permitted to eat:

3 Whatsoever hath the hoof divided, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, you shall eat.

The ones that have hooves that are completely split and that (chew their cuds/bring their food up from their stomachs to chew it again).

4 But whatsoever cheweth indeed the cud, and hath a hoof, but divideth it not, as the camel, and others, that you shall not eat, but shall reckon it among the unclean.

There are some animals that chew their cuds but do not have split hooves, and some animals that have split hooves but do not chew their cuds. You must not eat any of those animals. [For example], camels chew their cuds but do not have split hooves, so they are unacceptable for you to eat.

5 The cherogrillus which cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof, is unclean.

Rock badgers chew their cuds but do not have split hooves, so they are unacceptable for you to eat.

6 The hare also: for that too cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof.

Rabbits chew their cuds but do not have split hooves, so they are unacceptable for you to eat.

7 And the swine, which, though it divideth the hoof, cheweth not the cud.

Pigs have completely split hooves but they do not chew their cuds, so they are unacceptable for you to eat.

8 The flesh of these you shall not eat, nor shall you touch their carcasses, because they are unclean to you.

All of those animals are unacceptable for you, so you must not eat their meat or even touch their carcasses.

9 These are the things that breed in the waters, and which it is lawful to eat. All that hath fins, and scales, as well in the sea, as in the rivers, and the pools, you shall eat.

From all the creatures that live in the oceans and the streams, you are permitted to eat any that have fins and scales.

10 But whatsoever hath not fins and scales, of those things that move and live in the waters, shall be an abomination to you,

But you must detest [and not eat] those that do not have fins and scales. That includes ones that are very small.

11 And detestable: their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall avoid.

You must despise them, and you must not eat their meat, and you must detest their carcasses.

12 All that have not fins and scales, in the waters, shall be unclean.

You must detest everything that lives in the water that does not have fins and scales.

13 Of birds these are they which you must not eat, and which are to be avoided by you: The eagle, and the griffon, and the osprey,

There are some birds that you must detest [and not eat]. They include eagles, bearded vultures, black vultures,

14 And the kite, and the vulture, according to their kind,

kites, any kind of falcon/buzzard,

15 And all that is of the raven kind, according to their likeness.

any kind of raven,

16 The ostrich, and the owl, and the larus, and the hawk according to its kind.

horned owls, screech owls, seagulls, any kind of hawk,

17 The screech owl, and the cormorant, and the ibis,

small owls, cormorants, large owls,

18 And the swan, and the bittern, and the porphyrion,

white owls, desert owls, vultures that eat dead animals,

19 The heron, and the charadrion according to its kind, the houp also, and the bat.

storks, any kind of heron, hoopoes, and bats.

20 Of things that fly, whatsoever goeth upon four feet, shall be abominable to you.

You must detest [and not eat] flying insects that [sometimes] walk on the ground [MTY].

21 But whatsoever walketh upon four feet, but hath the legs behind longer, wherewith it hoppeth upon the earth,

But you are permitted to eat creatures with wings that sometimes walk on the ground if they have jointed legs for hopping around.

22 That you shall eat, as the bruchus in its kind, the attacus, and ophiomachus, and the locust, every one according to their kind.

They include locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers.

23 But of dying things whatsoever hath four feet only, shall be an abomination to you:

But you must detest [and not eat] other insects with wings that have four legs.

24 And whosoever shall touch the carcasses of them, shall be defiled, and shall be unclean until the evening:

‘There are certain creatures that if you touch their carcasses you will become defiled. Anyone who touches their carcasses must not touch other people until that evening.

25 And if it be necessary that he carry any of these things when they are dead, he shall wash his clothes, and shall be unclean until the sun set.

Anyone who picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes and not touch other people until that evening.

26 Every beast that hath a hoof, but divideth it not, nor cheweth the cud, shall be unclean: and he that toucheth it, shall be defiled.

‘The animals whose carcasses you must not touch are those that have hooves that are not completely divided or animals that do not chew their cuds. Anyone who touches the carcasses of any of those animals becomes (defiled/unacceptable to me).

27 That which walketh upon hands of all animals which go on all four, shall be unclean: he that shall touch their carcasses shall be defiled until evening.

From all the animals that walk on the ground, you must not touch the carcasses of those that have paws to walk on. Anyone who touches one of their carcasses must not touch other people until that evening.

28 And he that shall carry such carcasses, shall wash his clothes, and shall be unclean until evening: because all these things are unclean to you.

Anyone who picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes and not touch other people until that evening, because touching their carcasses (defiles you/causes you to become unacceptable to me).

29 These also shall be reckoned among unclean things, of all that move upon the earth, the weasel, and the mouse, and the crocodile, every one according to their kind:

‘From all the animals that walk on the ground, these are the ones that (defile you/cause you to become unacceptable to me) [if you touch them]: Moles, rats, any kind of lizard,

30 The shrew, and the chameleon, and the stello, and the lizard, and the mole:

geckos, skinks, and chameleons.

31 All these are unclean. He that toucheth their carcasses shall be unclean until the evening.

Those creatures that scurry across the ground (defile you/cause you to become unacceptable to me); anyone who touches one of their carcasses must not touch other people until the evening.

32 And upon what thing soever any of their carcasses shall fall, it shall be defiled, whether it be a vessel of wood, or a garment, or skins or haircloths; or any thing in which work is done, they shall be dipped in water, and shall be unclean until the evening, and so afterwards shall be clean.

When one of those creatures dies and falls on something, the thing that it falls on, whatever it is used for, will become (defiled/unacceptable to me), whether it is made of wood or cloth or the hide of some animal or from rough cloth. You must put it in water. Then you must not use it until that evening.

33 But an earthen vessel, into which any of these shall fall, shall be defiled, and therefore is to be broken.

If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it becomes defiled, and you must break that pot into pieces.

34 Any meat which you eat, if water from such a vessel be poured upon it, shall be unclean; and every liquor that is drunk out of any such vessel, shall be unclean.

If you pour water from that pot on any food, you must not eat that food. And you must not drink any water from that pot.

35 And upon whatsoever thing any of these dead beasts shall fall, it shall be unclean: whether it be oven, or pots with feet, they shall be destroyed, and shall be unclean.

Anything that one of the carcasses of those creatures falls on becomes (defiled/unacceptable to me); even if it falls on an oven or a cooking pot, anything that it falls on must be broken into pieces. It becomes unacceptable to me and you must not use it again.

36 But fountains and cisterns, and all gatherings together of waters shall be clean. He that toucheth their carcasses shall be defiled.

If one of their carcasses falls into a spring or a pit for storing water, the water may still be drunk, but anyone who touches one of those carcasses becomes unacceptable to me.

37 If it fall upon seed corn, it shall not defile it.

If one of those carcasses falls on seeds that are to be planted, those seeds are still acceptable to be planted.

38 But if any man pour water upon the seed, and afterwards it be touched by the carcasses, it shall be forthwith defiled.

But if water has been put on the seeds and then a carcass falls on them, the seeds must be thrown away.

39 If any beast die, of which it is lawful for you to eat, he that toucheth the carcass thereof, shall be unclean until the evening:

‘If an animal [whose meat] you are permitted to eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass must not touch other people until that evening.

40 And he that eateth or carrieth any thing thereof, shall wash his clothes, and shall be unclean until the evening.

Anyone who eats some meat from that carcass must wash his clothes, and then he must not touch anyone until that evening.

41 All that creepeth upon the earth shall be abominable, neither shall it be taken for meat.

‘All creatures that scurry across the ground, including those that move on their bellies and those that crawl, are detestable, and they must not be eaten.

42 Whatsoever goeth upon the breast on four feet, or hath many feet, or traileth on the earth, you shall not eat, because it is abominable.

43 Do not defile your souls, nor touch aught thereof, lest you be unclean,

Do not (defile yourselves/cause you to become unacceptable to me) by [eating] any of those creatures [DOU].

44 For I am the Lord your God: be holy because I am holy. Defile not your souls by any creeping thing, that moveth upon the earth.

I am Yahweh your God, and I am holy, so you must consecrate yourselves and be holy. You must avoid eating things that cause you to be unacceptable to me. Do not cause yourselves to become unacceptable to me by eating creatures that scurry across the ground.

45 For I am the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that I might be your God.

I am Yahweh, the one who freed you from [being slaves in] Egypt, in order to be your God. Therefore, because I am holy, you must be holy.

46 You shall be holy, because I am holy. This is the law of beasts and fowls, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and creepeth on the earth:

'Those are the regulations concerning animals and birds, all the living creatures that live in water or scurry across the ground.

47 That you may know the differences of the clean, and unclean, and know what you ought to eat, and what to refuse.

You must learn what things [I say] are acceptable to me and what things are not, and learn what things you are permitted to eat and what things you are not permitted to eat.’”