Leviticus 17–18

Forbidden Sacrifices

17The Lord spoke to Moses: ²“Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: This is what the Lord has commanded: ³Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters ^van ox, sheep, or goat in the camp, or slaughters it outside the camp, ⁴instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord before His tabernacle—that person will be considered guilty. ^wxHe has shed blood ^yand must be cut off from his people. ^z5This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices ^athey have been offering in the open country. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting and offer them as fellowship sacrifices ^bto the Lord. ⁶The priest will then sprinkle the blood on the Lord’s altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ⁷They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat-demons ^cthat they have prostituted ^dthemselves with. This will be a permanent statute ^efor them throughout their generations.

⁸“Say to them: Anyone from the house of Israel or from the foreigners ^fwho live among them who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice ⁹but does not bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to sacrifice it to the Lord, that person must be cut off from his people.

Eating Blood and Carcasses Prohibited

¹⁰“Anyone from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who live among them who eats any blood, ^gI will turn ^hagainst that person who eats blood and cut him off from his people. ¹¹For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for ⁱyour lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement. ^j12Therefore I say to the Israelites: None of you and no foreigner who lives among you may eat blood.

¹³“Any Israelite or foreigner living among them, who hunts ^kdown a wild animal or bird that may be eaten must drain its blood ^land cover it with dirt. ¹⁴Since the life of every creature is its blood, I have told the Israelites: You must not eat the blood of any creature, ^mbecause the life of every creature is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.

¹⁵“Every person, whether the native or the foreigner, ⁿwho eats an animal that died a natural death or was mauled by wild beasts ^ois to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening; then he will be clean. ¹⁶But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, he will bear his punishment.”

Prohibited Pagan Practices

18Yahweh spoke to Moses: ²“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am Yahweh your God. ^p3Do not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, ^qwhere you used to live, or follow the practices of the land of Canaan, ^rwhere I am bringing you. You must not follow their customs. ^s4You are to practice My ordinances ^tand you are to keep My statutes ^uby following them; I am Yahweh your God. ⁵Keep My statutes and ordinances; a person will live ^vif he does them. ^wI am Yahweh.

⁶“You are not to come near ^xany close relative ^yfor sexual intercourse; ^zI am Yahweh. ⁷You are not to shame your father ^aby having sex with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual intercourse with her. ⁸You are not to have sex with your father’s wife; ^bit will shame your father. ^c9You are not to have sexual intercourse with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s, ^dwhether born at home or born elsewhere. You are not to have sex with her. ¹⁰You are not to have sexual intercourse with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, because it will shame your family. ^e11You are not to have sexual intercourse with your father’s wife’s daughter, ^fwho is adopted by ^gyour father; she is your sister. ¹²You are not to have sexual intercourse with your father’s sister; ^hshe is your father’s close relative. ¹³You are not to have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister, ⁱfor she is your mother’s close relative. ¹⁴You are not to shame your father’s brother by coming near his wife to have sexual intercourse; she is your aunt. ^j15You are not to have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law. ^kShe is your son’s wife; you are not to have sex with her. ¹⁶You are not to have sexual intercourse with your brother’s wife; it will shame your brother. ^l17You are not to have sexual intercourse with a woman and her daughter. ^mYou are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sex with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved. ⁿ¹⁸You are not to marry a woman as a rival to her sister and have sexual intercourse with her during her sister’s lifetime. ^o

¹⁹“You are not to come near ^pa woman during her menstrual impurity to have sexual intercourse with her. ^q20You are not to have sexual intercourse with ^ryour neighbor’s wife, defiling yourself with her. ^s

²¹“You are not to make any of your children pass through the fire to Molech. ^tDo not profane the name ^uof your God; I am Yahweh. ²²You are not to sleep with a man as with a woman; ^vit is detestable. ^w23You are not to have sexual intercourse with ^xany animal, defiling yourself with it; a woman is not to present herself to an animal to mate with it; ^yit is a perversion.

²⁴“Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves by all these things. ²⁵The land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants. ^z26But you are to keep My statutes and ordinances. You must not commit any of these detestable things—not the native or the foreigner who lives among you. ²⁷For the men who were in the land prior to you have committed all these detestable things, and the land has become defiled. ²⁸If you defile the land, it will vomit ^ayou out as it has vomited out the nations that were before you. ²⁹Any person who does any of these detestable practices must be cut off from his people. ³⁰You must keep My instruction to not do any of the detestable customs ^bthat were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them; I am Yahweh your God.”