Leviticus 11–13

Chapter 11

¹And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²“Say to the people of Israel, These are the living things which you may eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. ³Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. ⁴Nevertheless among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. ⁵And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. ⁶And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. ⁷And the swine, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. ⁸Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean to 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 rivers, you may eat. ¹⁰But anything in the seas or the rivers that has not fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is an abomination to you. ¹¹They shall remain an abomination to you; of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall have in abomination. ¹²Everything in the waters that has not fins and scales is an abomination to you.

¹³“And these you shall have in abomination among the birds, they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, ¹⁴the kite, the falcon according to its kind, ¹⁵every raven according to its kind, ¹⁶the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk according to its kind, ¹⁷the owl, the cormorant, the ibis, ¹⁸the water hen, the pelican, the carrion vulture, ¹⁹the stork, the heron according to its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.

²⁰“All winged insects that go upon all fours are an abomination to you. ²¹Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those which have legs above their feet, with which to leap on the earth. ²²Of them you may eat: the locust according to its kind, the bald locust according to its kind, the cricket according to its kind, and the grasshopper according to its kind. ²³But all other winged insects which have four feet are an abomination to you.

²⁴“And by these you shall become unclean; whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, ²⁵and whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. ²⁶Every animal which parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you; every one who touches them shall be unclean. ²⁷And all that go on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, ²⁸and he who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.

²⁹“And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm upon the earth: the weasel, the mouse, the great lizard according to its kind, ³⁰the gecko, the land crocodile, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. ³¹These are unclean to you among all that swarm; whoever touches 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 it is an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any vessel that is used for any purpose; it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean. ³³And if any of them falls into any earthen vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it. ³⁴Any food in it which may be eaten, upon which water may come, shall be unclean; and all drink which may be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean. ³⁵And everything upon which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean; whether oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. ³⁶Nevertheless a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean; but whatever touches their carcass shall be unclean. ³⁷And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed for sowing that is to be sown, it is clean; ³⁸but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.

³⁹“And if any animal of which you may eat dies, he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening, ⁴⁰and he who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; he also who carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.

⁴¹“Every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth is an abomination; it shall not be eaten. ⁴²Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, all the swarming things that swarm upon the earth, you shall not eat; for they are an abomination. ⁴³You shall not make yourselves abominable with any swarming thing that swarms; and you shall not defile yourselves with them, lest you become unclean. ⁴⁴For I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls upon the earth. ⁴⁵For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”

⁴⁶This is the law pertaining to beast 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.

Chapter 12

¹The Lord said to Moses, ²“Say to the people of Israel, If a woman conceives, and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. ³And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. ⁴Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying; she shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed. ⁵But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days.

⁶“And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the door of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, ⁷and he shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement for her; then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. ⁸And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.”

Chapter 13

¹The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²“When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a leprous disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests, ³and the priest shall examine the diseased spot on the skin of his body; and if the hair in the diseased spot has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous disease; when the priest has examined him he shall pronounce him unclean. ⁴But if the spot is white in the skin of his body, and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall shut up the diseased person for seven days; ⁵and the priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up seven days more; ⁶and the priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the diseased spot is dim and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only an eruption; and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean. ⁷But if the eruption spreads in the skin, after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest; ⁸and the priest shall make an examination, and if the eruption has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy.

⁹“When a man is afflicted with leprosy, he shall be brought to the priest; ¹⁰and the priest shall make an examination, and if there is a white swelling in the skin, which has turned the hair white, and there is quick raw flesh in the swelling, ¹¹it is a chronic leprosy in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not shut him up, for he is unclean. ¹²And if the leprosy breaks out in the skin, so that the leprosy covers all the skin of the diseased person from head to foot, so far as the priest can see, ¹³then the priest shall make an examination, and if the leprosy has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; it has all turned white, and he is clean. ¹⁴But when raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. ¹⁵And the priest shall examine the raw flesh, and pronounce him unclean; raw flesh is unclean, for it is leprosy. ¹⁶But if the raw flesh turns again and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest, ¹⁷and the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce the diseased person clean; he is clean.

¹⁸“And when there is in the skin of one’s body a boil that has healed, ¹⁹and in the place of the boil there comes a white swelling or a reddish-white spot, then it shall be shown to the priest; ²⁰and the priest shall make an examination, and if it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is…