Leviticus 17:8–16

Instructions Against Eating Blood

⁸“And you shall say to them, ‘if there is anyoneⁿ from the house of Israel or^o from the alien who dwells in their midst who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice ⁹and he does not bring it to the tent of assembly’s entrance to sacrifice^p it for Yahweh, then^q that man shall be cut off from his people. ¹⁰And if there is anyone^r from the house of Israel or^s from the alien who is dwelling in their midst who eats any blood, then^t I will set my face against the person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from among his people. ¹¹Indeed^u the flesh’s life is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, because it is the blood with the life that makes atonement. ¹²Therefore^v I said to the Israelites,^w ‘None of you^x may eat blood, nor^y may the alien who is dwelling in your midst eat blood.’

¹³“And if there is anyone^z from the Israelites^a or^b from the alien who is dwelling in their midst who hunts a wild game animal or a bird that may be eaten, then^c he shall pour out its blood, and he shall cover it with the soil. ¹⁴Indeed,^d the life of all flesh, its blood, is in its life, so^e I said to the Israelites,^f ‘You may not eat the blood of any flesh, because the life of all flesh is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.’

¹⁵“And if there is any person who eats a dead body or^g a mangled carcass, whether among the native or^h among the alien, thenⁱ he shall wash his garments, and he shall wash himself^j with water, and he shall be unclean until the evening, and he shall be clean. ¹⁶But^k if he does not wash his garments^l and he does not wash his body, then^m he shall bear his guilt.”