Leviticus 11
1 Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
And the LORD spoke unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
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:
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which all of you shall eat among all the beasts that are on 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).
Whatsoever parts the hoof, and is cloven footed, and chews the cud, among the beasts, that shall all of you 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.
Nevertheless these shall all of you not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he chews the cud, but divides not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
5 Rock badgers chew their cuds but do not have split hooves, so they are unacceptable for you to eat.
And the coney, because he chews the cud, but divides not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
6 Rabbits chew their cuds but do not have split hooves, so they are unacceptable for you to eat.
And the hare, because he chews the cud, but divides not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
7 Pigs have completely split hooves but they do not chew their cuds, so they are unacceptable for you to eat.
And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven footed, yet he chews not the cud; he is unclean to you.
8 All of those animals are unacceptable for you, so you must not eat their meat or even touch their carcasses.
Of their flesh shall all of you not eat, and their carcass shall all of you not touch; 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 shall all of you eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall all of you eat.
10 But you must detest [and not eat] those that do not have fins and scales. That includes ones that are very small.
And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11 You must despise them, and you must not eat their meat, and you must detest their carcasses.
They shall be even an abomination unto you; all of you shall not eat of their flesh, but all of you shall have their carcasses in abomination.
12 You must detest everything that lives in the water that does not have fins and scales.
Whatsoever has no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.
13 There are some birds that you must detest [and not eat]. They include eagles, bearded vultures, black vultures,
And these are they which all of you shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the vulture, and the buzzard,
14 kites, any kind of falcon/buzzard,
And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
15 any kind of raven,
Every raven after his kind;
16 horned owls, screech owls, seagulls, any kind of hawk,
And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind,
17 small owls, cormorants, large owls,
And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,
18 white owls, desert owls, vultures that eat dead animals,
And the swan, and the pelican, and the carrion vulture,
19 storks, any kind of heron, hoopoes, and bats.
And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
20 You must detest [and not eat] flying insects that [sometimes] walk on the ground [MTY].
All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto 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.
Yet these may all of you eat of every flying creeping thing that goes upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap likewise upon the earth;
22 They include locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers.
Even these of them all of you may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.
23 But you must detest [and not eat] other insects with wings that have four legs.
But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto 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 for these all of you shall be unclean: whosoever touches the carcass of them shall be unclean until the even.
25 Anyone who picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes and not touch other people until that evening.
And whosoever bears ought of the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
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).
The carcasses of every beast which divides the hoof, and is not cloven footed, nor chews the cud, are unclean unto you: every one that touches them shall be unclean.
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.
And whatsoever goes upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso touches their carcass shall be unclean until the even.
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 he that bears the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto 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,
These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind,
30 geckos, skinks, and chameleons.
And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, 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.
These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever does touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even.
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 upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, does fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed.
33 If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it becomes defiled, and you must break that pot into pieces.
And every earthen vessel, into where any of them falls, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and all of you shall break it.
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.
Of all food which may be eaten, that on which such water comes shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such 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 every thing whereupon any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean and shall be unclean unto you.
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.
Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which touches their carcass shall be unclean.
37 If one of those carcasses falls on seeds that are to be planted, those seeds are still acceptable to be planted.
And if any part of their carcass fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean.
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 any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcass fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you.
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.
And if any beast, of which all of you may eat, die; he that touches the carcass thereof shall be unclean until the even.
40 Anyone who eats some meat from that carcass must wash his clothes, and then he must not touch anyone until that evening.
And he that eats of the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that bears the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
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.
And every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.
Whatsoever goes upon the belly, and whatsoever goes upon all four, or whatsoever has more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them all of you shall not eat; for they are an abomination.
43 Do not (defile yourselves/cause you to become unacceptable to me) by [eating] any of those creatures [DOU].
All of you shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps, neither shall all of you make yourselves unclean with them, that all of you should be defiled thereby.
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: all of you shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and all of you shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall all of you defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
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 that brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: all of you shall therefore 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 the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps upon the earth:
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.’”
To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.
