Leviticus 17

The Sanctity of Blood

17And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the Lord has commanded, saying: ³“Whatever man of the house of Israel who ^akills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, ⁴and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, the guilt of bloodshed shall be ^bimputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be ¹cut off from among his people, ⁵to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices ^cwhich they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the Lord. ⁶And the priest ^dshall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and ^eburn the fat for a sweet aroma to the Lord. ⁷They shall no more offer their sacrifices ^fto ²demons, after whom they ^ghave played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.” ’

⁸“Also you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, ^hwho offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, ⁹and does not ⁱbring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the Lord, that man shall be ³cut off from among his people.

^10j‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, ^kI will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. ¹¹For the ^llife of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar ^mto make atonement for your souls; for ⁿit is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ ¹²Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’

¹³“Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who ^ohunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall ^ppour out its blood and ^qcover it with dust; ^14rfor it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’

^15s“And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, ^the shall both wash his clothes and ^ubathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean. ¹⁶But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then ^vhe shall bear his ⁴guilt.”