Leviticus 11
1 Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
2 “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:
Say to the sons of Israel: These are the animals that you ought to eat out of all the living things of the earth.
3 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).
All that has a divided hoof, and that chews over again, among the cattle, you shall eat.
4 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.
But whatever certainly chews over again, but has a hoof that is not divided, such as the camel and others, these you shall not eat, and you shall consider them to be among what is unclean.
5 Rock badgers chew their cuds but do not have split hooves, so they are unacceptable for you to eat.
The rock rabbit which chews over again, and whose hoof is not divided, is unclean,
6 Rabbits chew their cuds but do not have split hooves, so they are unacceptable for you to eat.
and so also is the hare, for it too chews over again, yet its hoof is not divided,
7 Pigs have completely split hooves but they do not chew their cuds, so they are unacceptable for you to eat.
and also the swine, which, though its hoof is divided, does not chew over again.
8 All of those animals are unacceptable for you, so you must not eat their meat or even touch their carcasses.
The flesh of these you shall not eat, nor shall you touch their carcasses, because they are unclean to you.
9 From all the creatures that live in the oceans and the streams, you are permitted to eat any that have fins and scales.
These are the things that breed in the waters, and which it is lawful to eat. All that has little fins and scales, as much in the sea, as in the rivers and ponds, you shall eat.
10 But you must detest [and not eat] those that do not have fins and scales. That includes ones that are very small.
But whatever does not have fins and scales, of those things that live and move in the waters, shall be abominable to you,
11 You must despise them, and you must not eat their meat, and you must detest their carcasses.
and detestable; their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall avoid.
12 You must detest everything that lives in the water that does not have fins and scales.
All that does not have fins and scales in the waters shall be polluted.
13 There are some birds that you must detest [and not eat]. They include eagles, bearded vultures, black vultures,
These are those things among the birds which you must not eat, and which are to be avoided by you: the eagle, and the griffin, and the osprey,
14 kites, any kind of falcon/buzzard,
and the kite, as well as the vulture, according to their kind,
15 any kind of raven,
and all that is of the raven kind, according to their likeness,
16 horned owls, screech owls, seagulls, any kind of hawk,
the ostrich, and the owl, and the gull, and the hawk, according to its kind,
17 small owls, cormorants, large owls,
the owl, and the sea bird, and the ibis,
18 white owls, desert owls, vultures that eat dead animals,
and the swan, and the pelican, and the marsh hen,
19 storks, any kind of heron, hoopoes, and bats.
the heron, and the plover according to its kind, the crested hoopoe, and also the bat.
20 You must detest [and not eat] flying insects that [sometimes] walk on the ground [MTY].
Of all that flies, whatever steps upon four feet shall be abominable to you.
21 But you are permitted to eat creatures with wings that sometimes walk on the ground if they have jointed legs for hopping around.
But whatever certainly walks upon four feet, and also has longer legs behind, with which it hops upon the earth,
22 They include locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers.
you shall eat, such as the beetle in its kind, and the cricket, and grasshopper, and the locust, each one according to its kind.
23 But you must detest [and not eat] other insects with wings that have four legs.
But among flying things, whatever has only four feet shall be detestable to you.
24 ‘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.
And whoever will have touched their carcasses shall be defiled, and he shall be unclean until evening.
25 Anyone who picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes and not touch other people until that evening.
And if it will be necessary to carry any of these dead things, he shall wash his clothes, and he shall be unclean until the sun sets.
26 ‘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).
Every animal that certainly has a hoof, but which is not divided, nor does it chew over again, shall be unclean. And whoever will have touched it shall be contaminated.
27 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.
Whatever walks upon its hands, out of all the animals that advance on all fours, shall be unclean. Whoever will have touched their carcasses shall be polluted until evening.
28 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).
And whoever will have carried this kind of carcass shall wash his clothes, and he shall be unclean until evening. For all these are unclean to you.
29 ‘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,
Likewise, these shall be considered among the polluted things, out of all that moves upon the earth: the weasel, and the mouse, and the crocodile, each one according to its kind,
30 geckos, skinks, and chameleons.
the shrew, and the chameleon, and the gecko, and the lizard, and the mole.
31 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.
All these are unclean. Whoever will have touched their carcasses shall be unclean until evening.
32 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.
And anything upon which something from their carcasses will have fallen shall be defiled, whether it is a vessel of wood, or a garment, or skins, or haircloths, or anything by which work is done. These shall be dipped in water and shall be defiled until evening, but then afterwards these shall be clean.
33 If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it becomes defiled, and you must break that pot into pieces.
But an earthen vessel, into which something from these will fall, shall be defiled; and therefore it is to be broken.
34 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.
Any of the foods that you eat, if water from such a vessel will have been poured upon it, it shall be unclean. And every liquid which one may drink from such a vessel shall be unclean.
35 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.
And if anything from among these kinds of dead things has fallen upon it, it shall be unclean, whether it be an oven, or a pot with feet, these shall be unclean and shall be destroyed.
36 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.
Yet truly, fountains and cisterns, and all reservoirs of water shall be clean. Whoever will have touched their carcasses shall be defiled.
37 If one of those carcasses falls on seeds that are to be planted, those seeds are still acceptable to be planted.
If it falls upon seed grain, it shall not defile it.
38 But if water has been put on the seeds and then a carcass falls on them, the seeds must be thrown away.
But if anyone has poured water upon the seed grain, and afterwards it was touched by the carcasses, it shall be immediately defiled.
39 ‘If an animal [whose meat] you are permitted to eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass must not touch other people until that evening.
If any animals will have died, from which it is lawful for you to eat, whoever will have touched its carcass shall be unclean until evening.
40 Anyone who eats some meat from that carcass must wash his clothes, and then he must not touch anyone until that evening.
And whoever will have eaten or carried anything of these shall wash his clothes, and he shall be unclean until evening.
41 ‘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.
All that creeps across the earth shall be abominable, neither shall it be taken up as food.
Whatever advances by four feet upon the chest, or that has many feet, or that drags across the soil, you shall not eat, because it is abominable.
43 Do not (defile yourselves/cause you to become unacceptable to me) by [eating] any of those creatures [DOU].
Do not be willing to contaminate your souls, nor shall you touch any of these, lest you become unclean.
44 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.
For I am the Lord your God. Be holy, for I am Holy. Do not pollute your souls with any creeping thing, which moves across the land.
45 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.
For I am the Lord, who led you away from the land of Egypt, so that I would be your God; you shall be holy, for I am Holy.
46 'Those are the regulations concerning animals and birds, all the living creatures that live in water or scurry across the ground.
This is the law of animals and flying things, and of every living soul that moves in the waters or creeps upon the land,
47 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.’”
so that you may know the difference between clean and unclean, and so that you may know what you ought to eat, and what you ought to refuse.
