Leviticus

Contains rules and instructions for rituals, offerings, and how to live a holy life.

Chapter 11

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,

*And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, telling them,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.

*Tell the people of Israel, "These animals are safe to eat from all the animals on Earth."

3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.

*Any animal with a split hoof and chews its food, among the animals you can eat.

4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

*Do not eat animals that both chew their food and split their hooves, like the camel - it chews its food but doesn't split its hoof; it's unclean for you.

5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

*And the rabbit, since it chews its food again but has a split hoof, is considered impure for you.

6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

*And the rabbit, as it chews its food again but doesn't split its hoof, is considered impure for you.

7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.

*And the pig, even though it has a split hoof and can chew food differently, still doesn't eat its food in a certain way; so it is considered impure.

8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.

*Do not eat their meat or touch their dead bodies; they are unclean.

9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.

*Eat these from the water: anything with fins and scales in seas and rivers, you may eat them.

10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:

*Any sea creatures without fins or scales in rivers or oceans, and all water-dwelling living things not considered clean, are forbidden for you to eat.

11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.

*You must consider them detestable; do not eat their meat, and treat their remains as something detestable.

12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.

*Any water creature without fins or scales is forbidden to eat.

13 And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,

*And these are the birds you must hate; do not eat them, they are detestable: eagles, and vultures, and hawks.

14 And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;

*And the scavenger bird, and the hawk of its type;

15 Every raven after his kind;

*Every raven is its own type.

16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,

*And the owl, the night hawk, the cuckoo, and the hawk, each according to their type.

17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,

*And the small owl, and the black seabird, and the big owl,

18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,

*And the swan, the pelican, and the large bird of prey.

19 And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

*And the stork, the heron, the lapwing, and the bat - all in their groups.

20 All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.

*Birds that walk using four legs are not allowed and are considered detestable.

21 Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;

*You can eat insects and other creatures with many legs that move on four limbs, which have legs above their feet, for them to jump around on the ground.

22 Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.

*You can eat these insects: locusts, bald locusts, beetles, and grasshoppers, each in their own group.

23 But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.

*But any other crawling creatures with four legs are forbidden to eat.

24 And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even.

*If you touch them, you will be unclean. You'll stay unclean until the evening.

25 And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.

*And whoever carries any part of their remains must wash their clothes and remain unclean until evening.

26 The carcases of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean.

*Any non-clovenhoofed animal that divides its hoof and doesn't chew cud is unclean for you; anyone who touches them becomes unclean too.

27 And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.

*Any animal that walks on paws, like other four-legged creatures, is unclean. If someone touches their dead body, they will be unclean until evening time.

28 And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you.

*And whoever carries their dead bodies must clean their clothes, and remain unclean until evening; for they are impure to you.

29 These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind,

*These animals are unclean: weasels, mice, and tortoises; they're not allowed with you because they crawl on the ground.

30 And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.

*And the ferret, the chameleon, the lizard, the snail, and the mole.

31 These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even.

*These creatures are unclean for you: anyone who touches them when they're dead will be unclean until evening.

32 And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed.

*If something from a dead person falls, it's unclean - like wooden items, clothes, or bags. Anything used for work needs to be washed in water and will be unclean till evening. It then gets cleaned.

33 And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.

*Any container made of clay that something from them falls into will become unclean, and you must break it.

34 Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean.

*Any meat from animals that have this kind of water on them is not to be eaten, and any liquid in those containers is also not to be drunk.

35 And every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you.

*Anything that the remains of their body touches becomes unclean, like ovens or pot stands. They must be destroyed because they are unclean and will continue to be unclean.

36 Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean.

*However, a water source with lots of water is clean. But anything that touches their dead bodies is unclean.

37 And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean.

*If a piece of their dead body falls on seeds being planted, it's okay and the seeds are still clean.

38 But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you.

*But if water is added to the seeds and any part of their dead body falls into it, it will be considered unclean.

39 And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even.

*If you eat a animal and it dies, whoever touches its body will be unclean until evening time.

40 And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.

*If you eat from it or carry its dead body, wash your clothes right away. You will be unclean until evening time.

41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.

*Anything crawling on the ground is detested, and should not be eaten.

42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.

*Anything that crawls on its stomach, anything with four legs, or any creepy creatures with more legs, you must not eat because they are unclean.

43 Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.

*Do not become impure by touching any crawling creatures. Also, do not let them make you unclean so you don't get polluted by them.

44 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

*Because I am your divine protector: you must set yourselves apart and be pure, as I am pure. Do not make yourselves unclean by touching any kind of crawling creature on the ground.

45 For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

*Because I am the one who rescued you from Egypt to be your God, you must be holy like me, since I am holy.

46 This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:

*This rule applies to all animals, birds, sea creatures, and crawling creatures on land.

47 To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.

*To tell what is dirty or clean, and which animals can be eaten and which ones cannot.

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