< Leviticus 17 >

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
The Lord told Moses,
2 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, saying,
“Tell Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites that this is what the Lord commands:
3 What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that kills an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that kills it out of the camp,
Any Israelite who kills a bull, a lamb, or a goat, whether inside the camp or outside of it,
4 And brings it not to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD; blood shall be imputed to that man; he has shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people:
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.
5 To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them to the LORD, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to the priest, and offer them for peace offerings to the LORD.
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.
6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet smell to the LORD.
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.
7 And they shall no more offer their sacrifices to devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever to them throughout their generations.
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.
8 And you shall say to them, Whatever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offers a burnt offering or sacrifice,
Warn them that any Israelite or any foreigner living among them who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice
9 And brings it not to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it to the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people.
without bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the Lord must be expelled from their people.
10 And whatever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eats any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
I will disown any Israelite or any foreigner living among them who eats any blood and I will expel them from their people.
11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you on the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul.
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.
12 Therefore I said to the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourns among you eat blood.
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.
13 And whatever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunts and catches any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.
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,
14 For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said to the children of Israel, You shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whoever eats it shall be cut off.
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.
15 And every soul that eats 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.
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.
16 But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.
But if they don't wash their clothes and wash themselves with water, then they bear responsibility for their guilt.”

< Leviticus 17 >