17The Lord said to Moses, ²“Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the people of Israel. Tell them: ‘This is what the Lord has commanded. ³If an Israelite kills an ox, a lamb, or a goat either inside the camp or outside it, ⁴when he should have brought the animal to the entrance of the Meeting Tent as a gift to the Lord in front of the Lord’s Holy Tent, he is guilty of killing. He has killed, and he must be cut off from the people. ⁵This rule is so people will bring their sacrifices, which they have been sacrificing in the open fields, to the Lord. They must bring those animals to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent; they must bring them to the priest and offer them as fellowship offerings. ⁶Then the priest will sprinkle the blood from those animals on the Lord’s altar near the entrance of the Meeting Tent. And he will burn the fat from those animals on the altar, as a smell pleasing to the Lord. ⁷They must not offer any more sacrifices to their goat idols, which they have chased like prostitutes. These rules will continue for people from now on.’

⁸“Tell the people this: ‘If any citizen of Israel or foreigner living with you offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, ⁹that person must take his sacrifice to the entrance of the Meeting Tent to offer it to the Lord. If he does not do this, he must be cut off from the people.

¹⁰“ ‘I will be against any citizen of Israel or foreigner living with you who eats blood. I will cut off that person from the people. ¹¹This is because the life of the body is in the blood, and I have given you rules for pouring that blood on the altar to remove your sins so you will belong to the Lord. It is the blood that removes the sins, because it is life. ¹²So I tell the people of Israel this: “None of you may eat blood, and no foreigner living among you may eat blood.”

¹³“ ‘If any citizen of Israel or foreigner living among you catches a wild animal or bird that can be eaten, that person must pour the blood on the ground and cover it with dirt. ¹⁴If blood is still in the meat, the animal’s life is still in it. So I give this command to the people of Israel: “Don’t eat meat that still has blood in it, because the animal’s life is in its blood. Anyone who eats blood must be cut off.”

¹⁵“ ‘If a person, either a citizen or a foreigner, eats an animal that died by itself or was killed by another animal, he must wash his clothes and bathe in water. He will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean. ¹⁶If he does not wash his clothes and bathe his body, he will be guilty of sin.’ ”

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