< Leviticus 17 >

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
2 “Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded:
“Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the other Israeli people, and say this to them: ‘This is what Yahweh has commanded:
3 Whatever man there is of the house of Israel who kills a bull, or lamb, or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp,
If you sacrifice an ox or a lamb or a goat, you must bring it [to the priest] at the entrance of the Sacred Tent [area], to present/offer it to me there.
4 and hasn’t brought it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to offer it as an offering to Yahweh before Yahweh’s tabernacle: blood shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood. That man shall be cut off from among his people.
If you slaughter it to be a sacrifice anywhere else in the camp or outside the camp, you will be guilty of killing an animal [in an unacceptable place]. As a result you will no longer be allowed to be/associate with my people.
5 This is to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to Yahweh, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to the priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of peace offerings to Yahweh.
That rule is in order that you Israeli people, instead of offering sacrifices in the open fields, will offer them to me by taking them to the priest at the entrance of the Sacred Tent [area], to be offerings to maintain fellowship [with me].
6 The priest shall sprinkle the blood on Yahweh’s altar at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and burn the fat for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
[After the animal is slaughtered], the priest must sprinkle some of its blood against the altar at the entrance of the Sacred Tent, and burn its fat to be an aroma that is pleasing to me.
7 They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.’
You people must no longer give sacrifices to the demons that resemble goats which you are worshiping. You people must obey this command forever.’
8 “You shall say to them, ‘Any man there is of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice,
“And tell this to the people: ‘If any Israeli or any foreigner who is living among them brings an offering that is to be completely burned [on the altar], or any other sacrifice,
9 and doesn’t bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to Yahweh, that man shall be cut off from his people.
and does not bring it to the entrance of the Sacred Tent [area] to be a sacrifice to me, that person will no longer be allowed to associate with my people.
10 “‘Any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who eats any kind of blood, I will set my face against that soul who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
‘I will reject [IDM] any Israeli or any foreigner who is living among you who eats any blood, and I [will command that he] no longer be allowed to associate with my people.
11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood. I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life.
That is because the life of every creature is in its blood; I have declared that it is blood that is to be offered on the altar to enable people to be forgiven for their sins.
12 Therefore I have said to the children of Israel, “No person among you may eat blood, nor may any stranger who lives as a foreigner among you eat blood.”
That is why I say that you Israelis must not eat blood, and the foreigners who live among you must also not eat blood.
13 “‘Whatever man there is of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who takes in hunting any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood, and cover it with dust.
‘Any Israeli or any foreigner who is living among you who hunts any animal or bird that is permitted for you to eat, must drain out the blood [of the animal or bird that he kills], and cover the blood with dirt.
14 For as to the life of all flesh, its blood is with its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, “You shall not eat the blood of any kind of flesh; for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.”
This is because the life of every creature is in its blood. And that is why I have said [DOU] to you Israelis that anyone who eats blood must no longer [be allowed to associate with my people].
15 “‘Every person that eats what dies of itself, or that which is torn by animals, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. Then he shall be clean.
‘Anyone in Israel, including foreigners, who eats any of the meat of any creature that is found dead, or that had been killed by wild animals, must wash his clothes and bathe. Then he must not touch anyone until that evening.
16 But if he doesn’t wash them, or bathe his flesh, then he shall bear his iniquity.’”
If he does not do those things, he will be punished for what he did.’”

< Leviticus 17 >