Lê-vi Ký 17

Where sacrifices are to be offered

¹The LORD spoke to Moses. He said, ²“Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites, and tell them: This is what the LORD has commanded: ³Anyone from the people of Israel who slaughters an ox, a sheep or a goat, whether in the camp or outside it, ⁴and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD in front of the tabernacle of the LORD, is to be held guilty of bloodshed. That person has shed blood and must be cut off from among the people, ⁵so that the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they have been making out in the open country. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting and sacrifice them to the LORD as peace offerings. ⁶The priest is to splash the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting and burn the fat as a soothing aroma to the LORD. ⁷They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat-demons that they have been chasing after like a prostitute. This is to be a permanent rule for them for all their generations.^{a 8}Tell them also: Anyone from the people of Israel, or from the outsiders who live among them, who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice ⁹and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to the LORD, must be cut off from the people. ¹⁰If anyone from the people of Israel or from the outsiders who live among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood and will cut that person off from among the people. ¹¹The life of every creature is in its blood. I have given the blood to you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, because the blood makes atonement by means of the life that is in it.^{b 12}That is why I have said to the Israelites, ‘None of you may eat blood, and neither may any outsider who lives among you.’

Draining the blood of game

¹³When anyone from the Israelites or from the outsiders who live among them hunts down a wild animal or a bird that may be eaten, they must drain out its blood and cover it with earth. ¹⁴For the life of every creature is its blood; its blood is its life. That is why I have said to the Israelites, ‘You must not eat the blood of any creature.’ For the life of every creature is its blood, and anyone who eats it must be cut off.^{c 15}Anyone, whether native-born or outsider, who eats an animal that has died or one torn by wild beasts must wash their clothes and bathe in water and will be unclean until evening; then they will be clean. ¹⁶But if they do not wash their clothes or bathe their body, they will bear the consequences of their guilt.”