< Leviticus 17 >

1 The Lord told Moses,
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Tell Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites that this is what the Lord commands:
“Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the LORD has commanded:
3 Any Israelite who kills a bull, a lamb, or a goat, whether inside the camp or outside of it,
Whatever man there is of the house of Israel who kills a bull, or lamb, or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp,
4 instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord there, that person shall be held guilty of illegal killing. They have shed blood and must be expelled from their people.
and hasn’t brought it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to offer it as an offering to the LORD before the LORD’s tabernacle: blood shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood. That man shall be cut off from amongst his people.
5 This is why the Israelites have to bring to the Lord the sacrifices they currently offer out in the fields. They must bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and offer them as peace offerings to the Lord.
This is to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to the priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD.
6 The priest will sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and burn the fat to be accepted by the Lord.
The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the LORD’s altar at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and burn the fat for a pleasant aroma to the LORD.
7 They must not continue to offer their sacrifices to the goat devils with whom they have acted like prostitutes. This is a regulation for all time and for all future generations.
They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.’
8 Warn them that any Israelite or any foreigner living among them who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice
“You shall say to them, ‘Any man there is of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners amongst them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice,
9 without bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the Lord must be expelled from their people.
and doesn’t bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from his people.
10 I will disown any Israelite or any foreigner living among them who eats any blood and I will expel them from their people.
“‘Any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners amongst them, who eats any kind of blood, I will set my face against that soul who eats blood, and will cut him off from amongst his people.
11 Life is in the body's blood. I have given it to you so that by putting it on the altar your lives can be made right, for it is the lifeblood that makes people's lives right.
For the life of the flesh is in the blood. I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life.
12 That's why I'm warning the Israelites: None of you is allowed to eat blood, and no foreigner living among you is allowed to eat blood.
Therefore I have said to the children of Israel, “No person amongst you may eat blood, nor may any stranger who lives as a foreigner amongst you eat blood.”
13 Any Israelite or foreigner living among them who hunts and kills a wild animal or a bird which are allowed be eaten must drain the blood from its body and cover it with earth,
“‘Whatever man there is of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners amongst them, who takes in hunting any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood, and cover it with dust.
14 for life is in the body's blood. That's why I have warned the Israelites: You are not allowed to eat the blood of anything living, for life is in the body's blood. Anyone who eats it must be expelled.
For as to the life of all flesh, its blood is with its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, “You shall not eat the blood of any kind of flesh; for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.”
15 Anyone, Israelite or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or killed by wild animals must wash their clothes and wash with water, and they will be unclean until the evening. Then they will be clean.
“‘Every person that eats what dies of itself, or that which is torn by animals, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. Then he shall be clean.
16 But if they don't wash their clothes and wash themselves with water, then they bear responsibility for their guilt.”
But if he doesn’t wash them, or bathe his flesh, then he shall bear his iniquity.’”

< Leviticus 17 >