1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,2‘Say to the Israelites: “Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat:3you may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.4‘ “There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you.5The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.6The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.7And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.8You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.9‘ “Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales.10But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales – whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water – you are to regard as unclean.11And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean.12Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you.13‘ “These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle,[1] the vulture, the black vulture,14the red kite, any kind of black kite,15any kind of raven,16the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,17the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,18the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,19the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.20‘ “All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you.21There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground.22Of these you may eat any kind of locust, cricket, cicada or grasshopper.23But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.24‘ “You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening.25Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.26‘ “Every animal that does not have a divided hoof or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean.27Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening.28Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening. These animals are unclean for you.29‘ “Of the animals that move along the ground, these are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard,30the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon.31Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean till evening.32When one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth. Put it in water; it will be unclean till evening, and then it will be clean.33If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot.34Any food you are allowed to eat that has come into contact with water from any such pot is unclean, and any liquid that is drunk from such a pot is unclean.35Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as unclean.36A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean.37If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain clean.38But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.39‘ “If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass will be unclean till evening.40Anyone who eats some of its carcass must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening. Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.41‘ “Every creature that moves along the ground is to be regarded as unclean; it is not to be eaten.42You are not to eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is unclean.43Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them.44I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.45I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.46‘ “These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground.47You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.” ’
Leviticus 11
English Standard Version
Clean and Unclean Animals
1And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them,2“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. (De 14:3; Mt 15:11; Mr 7:15; Mr 7:18; Ac 10:12; Ac 11:6; Ro 14:14; 1Co 8:8; Col 2:16; Col 2:21; Heb 9:10)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. (Ps 104:18; Pr 30:26)6And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you.7And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. (Isa 65:4; Isa 66:3; Isa 66:17)8You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; 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 does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is detestable to you. (Le 7:21)11You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses.12Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.13“And these you shall detest among the birds;[1] they shall not be eaten; they are detestable: the eagle,[2] the bearded vulture, the black vulture, (Le 11:10; Job 39:26; Job 39:30)14the kite, the falcon of any kind, (Job 28:7)15every raven of any kind,16the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind, (Job 39:26)17the little owl, the cormorant, the short-eared owl, (Ps 102:6; Isa 34:11)18the barn owl, the tawny owl, the carrion vulture, (Ps 102:6; Isa 34:11; Zep 2:14)19the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. (Isa 2:20)20“All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you.21Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to hop on the ground.22Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind. (Ex 10:4; Joe 1:4; Mt 3:4; Mr 1:6)23But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable 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. (Le 13:6; Le 13:34; Le 14:8; Le 14:47; Le 15:5; Le 16:26; Le 16:28; Le 17:15; Nu 19:10; Nu 31:24)26Every animal that parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean.27And all that walk 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. (Le 11:25)29“And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground: the mole rat, the mouse, the great lizard of any kind, (Isa 66:17)30the gecko, the monitor lizard, 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 on 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 article 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. (Le 15:12)33And if any of them falls into any earthenware vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it. (Le 6:28; Le 15:12)34Any food in it that could be eaten, on which water comes, shall be unclean. And all drink that could be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean.35And everything on 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 remain unclean for you.36Nevertheless, a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, but whoever touches a carcass in them shall be unclean.37And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed grain 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 which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening,40and whoever eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. (Le 17:15; Le 22:8; De 14:21; Eze 4:14; Eze 44:31)41“Every swarming thing that swarms on the ground is detestable; it shall not be eaten. (Le 11:29)42Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, any swarming thing that swarms on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are detestable.43You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them. (Le 20:25)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 on the ground. (Ex 19:6; Le 11:43; Le 19:2; Le 20:7; Le 20:26; Le 21:8; 1Th 4:7; 1Pe 1:16)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.” (Ex 6:7; Le 11:44)46This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground,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. (Le 10:10; Le 20:25)