1 The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron,
saying to them,
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying,
‘These are the living things which you may
eat among all the animals that are on the
earth.
3 Whatever parts the hoof, and is clovenfooted,
and chews the cud among the animals,
that you may eat.
4 “ ‘Nevertheless these you shall not eat
of those that chew the cud, or of those who
part the hoof: the camel, because it chews
the cud but doesn’t have a parted hoof, is
unclean to you.
5 The hyrax,† because it chews the cud
but doesn’t have a parted hoof, is unclean
to you.
6 The hare, because it chews the cud but
doesn’t have a parted hoof, is unclean to
you.
7 The pig, because it has a split hoof, and
is cloven-footed, but doesn’t chew the cud,
is unclean to you.
8 You shall not eat their meat. You shall
not touch their carcasses. They are unclean
to you.
9 “ ‘You may eat of all these that are in the
waters: whatever has fins and scales in the
waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, that
you may eat.
10 All that don’t have fins and scales in
the seas and rivers, all that move in the
waters, and all the living creatures that are
in the waters, they are an abomination to
you,
11 and you shall detest them. You shall
not eat of their meat, and you shall detest
their carcasses.
12 Whatever has no fins nor scales in the
waters is an abomination to you.
13 “ ‘You shall detest these among the
birds; they shall not be eaten because they
are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture,
the black vulture,
14 the red kite, any kind of black kite,
15 any kind of raven,
16 the horned owl, the screech owl, the
gull, any kind of hawk,
17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great
owl,
18 the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,
19 the stork, any kind of heron, the
hoopoe, and the bat.
20 “ ‘All flying insects that walk on all
fours are an abomination to you.
21 Yet you may eat these: of all winged
creeping things that go on all fours, which
have long, jointed legs for hopping on the
earth.
22 Even of these you may eat: any kind
of locust, any kind of katydid, any kind of
cricket, and any kind of grasshopper.
23 But all winged creeping things which
have four feet are an abomination to you.
24 “ ‘By these you will become unclean:
whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean
until the evening.
25 Whoever carries any part of their carcass
shall wash his clothes, and be unclean
until the evening.
26 “ ‘Every animal which has a split hoof
that isn’t completely divided, or doesn’t
chew the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone
who touches them shall be unclean.
27 Whatever goes on its paws, among
all animals that go on all fours, they are
unclean to you. Whoever touches their
carcass shall be unclean until the evening.
28 He who carries their carcass shall
wash his clothes, and be unclean until the
evening. They are unclean to you.
29 “ ‘These are they which are unclean to
you among the creeping things that creep
on the earth: the weasel, the rat, any kind
of great lizard,
30 the gecko, and the monitor lizard, the
wall lizard, the skink, and the chameleon.
31 These are they which are unclean
to you among all that creep. Whoever
touches them when they are dead shall be
unclean until the evening.
32 Anything they fall on when they are
dead shall be unclean; whether it is any
vessel of wood, or clothing, or skin, or sack,
whatever vessel it is, with which any work
is done, it must be put into water, and it
shall be unclean until the evening. Then it
will be clean.
33 Every earthen vessel into which any
of them falls and all that is in it shall be
unclean. You shall break it.
34 All food which may be eaten which is
soaked in water shall be unclean. All drink
that may be drunk in every such vessel
shall be unclean.
35 Everything whereupon part of their
carcass falls shall be unclean; whether
oven, or range for pots, it shall be broken
in pieces. They are unclean, and shall be
unclean to you.
36 Nevertheless a spring or a cistern in
which water is gathered shall be clean, but
that which touches their carcass shall be
unclean.
37 If part of their carcass falls on any
sowing seed which is to be sown, it is clean.
38 But if water is put on the seed, and part
of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to
you.
39 “ ‘If any animal of which you may eat
dies, he who touches its carcass shall be
unclean until the evening.
40 He who eats of its carcass shall wash
his clothes, and be unclean until the
evening. He also who carries its carcass
shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until
the evening.
41 “ ‘Every creeping thing that creeps on
the earth is an abomination. It shall not be
eaten.
42 Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever
goes on all fours, or whatever has
many feet, even all creeping things that
creep on the earth, them you shall not eat;
for they are an abomination.
43 You shall not make yourselves abominable
with any creeping thing that creeps.
You shall not make yourselves unclean
with them, that you should be defiled by
them.
44 For I am the LORD your God. Sanctify
yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am
holy. You shall not defile yourselves with
any kind of creeping thing that moves on
the earth.
45 For I am the LORD who brought you
up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God.
You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
46 “ ‘This is the law of the animal, and of
the bird, and of every living creature that
moves in the waters, and of every creature
that creeps on the earth,
47 to make a distinction between the unclean
and the clean, and between the living
thing that may be eaten and the living
thing that may not be eaten.’ ”
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