Leviticus, 10

1. The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

1. Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took his censer, put fire in it and incense on the fire, and presented unauthorised fire before Yahweh, which was not in accordance with his orders.

2. "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: Of all land animals these are the ones you may eat:

2. At this a flame leapt out from Yahweh's presence and swallowed them up, and they perished before Yahweh.

3. any animal that has hoofs you may eat, provided it is cloven-footed and chews the cud.

3. Moses then said to Aaron, 'That is what Yahweh meant when he said: In those who are close to me I show my holiness, and before all the people I show my glory.' Aaron remained silent.

4. But you shall not eat any of the following that only chew the cud or only have hoofs: the camel, which indeed chews the cud, but does not have hoofs and is therefore unclean for you;

4. Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel, and said to them, 'Come here and take your brothers away from the sanctuary, out of the camp.'

5. the rock badger, which indeed chews the cud, but does not have hoofs and is therefore unclean for you;

5. They came and carried them away, still in their tunics, out of the camp, as Moses had said.

6. the hare, which indeed chews the cud, but does not have hoofs and is therefore unclean for you; and the pig,

6. Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, 'Do not disorder your hair or tear your clothes; or you may incur death and his retribution may overtake the whole community. No, it is for the entire House of Israel to lament your brothers who have been the victims of Yahweh's fire.

7. which does indeed have hoofs and is cloven-footed, but does not chew the cud and is therefore unclean for you.

7. To avoid incurring death, do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, for Yahweh's anointing oil is on you.' And they did as Moses said.

8. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their dead bodies you shall not touch; they are unclean for you.

8. Yahweh spoke to Aaron and said:

9. "Of the various creatures that live in the water, you may eat the following: whatever in the seas or in river waters has both fins and scales you may eat.

9. 'When you come to the Tent of Meeting, you and your sons with you, to avoid incurring death you may not drink wine or any other fermented liquor. This is a perpetual law for all your descendants.

10. But of the various creatures that crawl or swim in the water, whether in the sea or in the rivers, all those that lack either fins or scales are loathsome for you,

10. And so shall it be also when you separate the sacred from the profane, the unclean from the clean,

11. and you shall treat them as loathsome. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their dead bodies you shall loathe.

11. and when you teach the Israelites any of the decrees that Yahweh has pronounced for them through Moses.'

12. Every water creature that lacks fins or scales is loathsome for you.

12. Moses said to Aaron and his surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, 'Take the cereal offering left over from the food burnt for Yahweh. Eat the unleavened part of it beside the altar, since it is especially holy.

13. "Of the birds, these you shall loathe and, as loathsome, they shall not be eaten: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey,

13. Eat it in the holy place, since it is the portion of the food burnt for Yahweh that is prescribed for you and your sons; this is the order I have received.

14. the kite, the various species of falcons,

14. 'You, your sons and daughters with you, will eat in a clean place the forequarter offered and the thigh presented, for these have been given to you and your children as your due from the Israelites' communion sacrifices.

15. the various species of crows,

15. The thigh presented and the forequarter offered, once the fat has been burnt, revert to you and your sons with you, after they have been presented before Yahweh with the gesture of offering, in virtue of a perpetual law as Yahweh has ordered.'

16. the ostrich, the nightjar, the gull, the various species of hawks,

16. Moses then enquired carefully about the goat offered as a sacrifice for sin, and found that they had burnt it. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's surviving sons, and said,

17. the owl, the cormorant, the screech owl,

17. 'Why did you not eat this victim for sin in the holy place, since it is especially holy and was given to you to take away the community's guilt, by performing the rite of expiation for them before Yahweh?

18. the barn owl, the desert owl, the buzzard,

18. Since its blood was not taken inside the sanctuary, you should have eaten its meat there, as I ordered you.'

19. the stork, the various species of herons, the hoopoe, and the bat.

19. Aaron said to Moses, 'Look, today they offered their sacrifice for sin and their burnt offering before Yahweh, and these disasters have befallen me. If I had eaten the sin offering today, would this have met with Yahweh's approval?'

20. "The various winged insects that walk on all fours are loathsome for you.

20. And when Moses heard this, he was satisfied.

21. But of the various winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs for leaping on the ground;

21.

22. hence of these you may eat the following: the various kinds of locusts, the various kinds of grasshoppers, the various kinds of katydids, and the various kinds of crickets.

22.

23. All other winged insects that have four legs are loathsome for you.

23.

24. "Such is the uncleanness that you contract, that everyone who touches their dead bodies shall be unclean until evening,

24.

25. and everyone who picks up any part of their dead bodies shall wash his garments and be unclean until evening.

25.

26. All hoofed animals that are not cloven-footed or do not chew the cud are unclean for you; everyone who touches them becomes unclean.

26.

27. Of the various quadrupeds, all those that walk on paws are unclean for you; everyone who touches their dead bodies shall be unclean until evening,

27.

28. and everyone who picks up their dead bodies shall wash his garments and be unclean until evening. Such is their uncleanness for you.

28.

29. "Of the creatures that swarm on the ground, the following are unclean for you: the rat, the mouse, the various kinds of lizards,

29.

30. the gecko, the chameleon, the agama, the skink, and the mole.

30.

31. Among the various swarming creatures, these are unclean for you. Everyone who touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening.

31.

32. Everything on which one of them falls when dead becomes unclean. Any such article that men use, whether it be an article of wood, cloth, leather or goat hair, must be put in water and remain unclean until evening, when it again becomes clean.

32.

33. Should any of these creatures fall into a clay vessel, everything in it becomes unclean, and the vessel itself you must break.

33.

34. Any solid food that was in contact with water, and any liquid that men drink, in any such vessel become unclean.

34.

35. Any object on which one of their dead bodies falls, becomes unclean; if it is an oven or a jar-stand, this must be broken to pieces; they are unclean and shall be treated as unclean by you.

35.

36. However, a spring or a cistern for collecting water remains clean; but whoever touches the dead body becomes unclean.

36.

37. Any sort of cultivated grain remains clean even though one of their dead bodies falls on it;

37.

38. but if the grain has become moistened, it becomes unclean when one of these falls on it.

38.

39. "When one of the animals that you could otherwise eat, dies of itself, anyone who touches its dead body shall be unclean until evening;

39.

40. and anyone who eats of its dead body shall wash his garments and be unclean until evening; so also, anyone who removes its dead body shall wash his garments and be unclean until evening.

40.

41. "All the creatures that swarm on the ground are loathsome and shall not be eaten.

41.

42. Whether it crawls on its belly, goes on all fours, or has many legs, you shall eat no swarming creature: they are loathsome.

42.

43. Do not make yourselves loathsome or unclean with any swarming creature through being contaminated by them.

43.

44. For I, the LORD, am your God; and you shall make and keep yourselves holy, because I am holy. You shall not make yourselves unclean, then, by any swarming creature that crawls on the ground.

44.

45. Since I, the LORD, brought you up from the land of Egypt that I might be your God, you shall be holy, because I am holy.

45.

46. "This is the law for animals and birds and for all the creatures that move about in the water or swarm on the ground,

46.

47. that you may distinguish between the clean and the unclean, between creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten."

47.