Leviticus 10–20

Nadab and Abihu

¹⁰Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his censer, put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and they offered unholy fire before the Lord, such as he had not commanded them.^{* 2}And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.^{* 3}Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said,

‘Through those who are near me

I will show myself holy,

and before all the people

I will be glorified.’ ”

And Aaron was silent.^*

⁴Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come forward and carry your kinsmen away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.”^{* 5}They came forward and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had ordered. ⁶And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not dishevel your hair and do not tear your vestments, or you will die, and wrath will strike all the congregation; but your kindred, the whole house of Israel, may mourn the burning that the Lord has sent.^{* 7}You shall not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is on you.” And they did as Moses had ordered.^*

⁸And the Lord spoke to Aaron, ⁹“Drink no wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons, when you enter the tent of meeting, that you may not die; it is a statute forever throughout your generations.^{* 10}You are to distinguish between the holy and the common and between the unclean and the clean,^{* 11}and you are to teach the Israelites all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them through Moses.”^*

¹²Moses spoke to Aaron and to his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that is left from the Lord’s offerings by fire,^d and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy;^{* 13}you shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due, from the offerings by fire^e to the Lord, for so I am commanded. ¹⁴But the breast that is elevated and the thigh that is raised, you and your sons and daughters as well may eat in any clean place, for they have been assigned to you and your children from the sacrifices of well-being of the Israelites.^{* 15}The thigh that is raised and the breast that is elevated they shall bring, together with the offerings by fire^f of the fat, to raise for an elevation offering before the Lord; they are to be your due and that of your children forever, as the Lord has commanded.”^*

¹⁶Then Moses made inquiry about the goat of the purification offering, and it had already been burned! He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and said, ¹⁷“Why did you not eat the purification offering in the sacred area? For it is most holy, and God^g has given it to you that you may remove the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement on their behalf before the Lord.^{* 18}Its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You should certainly have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded.” ¹⁹And Aaron spoke to Moses, “See, today they offered their purification offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have befallen me! If I had eaten the purification offering today, would it have been agreeable to the Lord?”^{* 20}And when Moses heard that, he agreed.

Clean and Unclean Foods

¹¹The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, ²“Speak to the Israelites:

“From among all the land animals, these are the creatures that you may eat.^{* 3}Any animal that has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed and chews the cud—such you may eat. ⁴But among those that chew the cud or have divided hoofs, you shall not eat the following: the camel, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you. ⁵The rock badger, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you. ⁶The hare, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you. ⁷The pig, for even though it has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed, it does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.^{* 8}Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean for you.^*

⁹“These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams—such you may eat.^{* 10}But anything in the seas or the streams that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and among all the other living creatures that are in the waters—they are detestable to you,^{* 11}and detestable they shall remain. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall regard as detestable. ¹²Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

¹³“These you shall regard as detestable among the birds. They shall not be eaten; they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, ¹⁴the buzzard, the kite of any kind; ¹⁵every raven of any kind; ¹⁶the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind; ¹⁷the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, ¹⁸the water hen, the desert owl,^h the carrion vulture, ¹⁹the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.ⁱ

²⁰“All winged insects that walk upon all fours are detestable to you. ²¹But among the winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to leap on the ground. ²²Of them you may eat: locusts of every kind, bald locusts of every kind, crickets of every kind, and grasshoppers of every kind.^{* 23}But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.

Unclean Animals

²⁴“By these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening, ²⁵and whoever carries any part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.^{* 26}Every animal that has divided hoofs but is not cleft-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean for you; everyone who touches one of them shall be unclean. ²⁷All that walk on their paws, among the animals that walk on all fours, are unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening, ²⁸and the one who carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean for you.

²⁹“These are unclean for you among the creatures that swarm upon the earth: the weasel, the mouse, lizards of every kind,^{* 30}the gecko, the land crocodile, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. ³¹These are unclean for you among all that swarm; whoever touches one of them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. ³²And anything upon which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether an article of wood or cloth or leather or sackcloth, any article that is used for any purpose; it shall be dipped in water, and it shall be unclean until the evening, and then it shall be clean.^{* 33}And if any of them falls into any clay vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break the vessel.^{* 34}Any food that could be eaten shall be unclean if water from any such vessel comes upon it, and any liquid that could be drunk shall be unclean if it was in any such vessel. ³⁵Everything on which any part of the carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean and shall remain unclean for you. ³⁶But a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, while whatever touches the carcass in it shall be unclean. ³⁷If any part of their carcass falls upon any seed set aside for sowing, it is clean, ³⁸but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.

³⁹“If an animal of which you may eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. ⁴⁰Those who eat of its carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening, and those who carry the carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening.^*

⁴¹“All creatures that swarm upon the earth are detestable; they shall not be eaten.^{* 42}Whatever moves on its belly and whatever moves on all fours or whatever has many feet, all the creatures that swarm upon the earth you shall not eat, for they are detestable. ⁴³You shall not make yourselves detestable with any creature that swarms; you shall not defile yourselves with them and so become unclean.^{* 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 swarming creature that moves on the earth.^{* 45}For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy.^*

⁴⁶“This is the law pertaining to land animal and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms upon the earth, ⁴⁷to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.”^*

Purification of Women after Childbirth

¹²The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Speak to the Israelites, saying:

“If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean.^{* 3}On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.^{* 4}Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing or come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed. ⁵If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days.

⁶“When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering and a pigeon or a turtledove for a purification offering.^{* 7}He…