Leviticus 17 - Easy To Read Version

¹ The Lord said to Moses,

² “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and to all the people of Israel. Tell them, this is what the Lord has commanded:

³ An Israelite person might kill a bull, or a lamb, or a goat in the camp or outside the camp.

⁴ That person must bring that animal to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. [305] He must give {a part of} that animal as a gift to the Lord. That person has spilled blood (killed), so he must take his gift to the Lord’s Holy Tent. [306] If he does not take {part of the animal as a gift to the Lord}, then that person must be separated from his people!

⁵ This rule is so people will bring their fellowship offering to the Lord. The people of Israel must bring the animals they kill in the fields. They must bring those animals to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. They must bring those animals to the priest.

⁶ Then the priest will throw the blood from those animals onto the Lord’s altar [307] near the entrance of the Meeting Tent. And the priest will burn the fat from those animals {on the altar}. Its smell will please the Lord.

⁷ They must not offer any more sacrifices to their ‘goat idols’! They have chased after those other gods. In that way, they have acted like prostitutes. [308] These rules will continue forever!

⁸ “Tell the people: Some citizen of Israel or some traveler or foreigner living among you might offer a burnt offering or a sacrifice.

⁹ That person must take his sacrifice to the entrance of the Meeting Tent and offer it to the Lord. If that person does not do this, then that person must be separated from his people.

¹⁰ “I (God) will be against any person who eats blood. It does not matter if that person is a citizen of Israel or if that person is a foreigner living among you! I will separate that person from his people.

¹¹ Why? Because the life of the body is in the blood. I have given you rules for pouring that blood on the altar. [309] You must do this to make yourselves pure. [310] You must give that blood {to me} as payment for the life {that you took}.

¹² So I tell the people of Israel: None of you people may eat blood. And no foreigner living among you may eat blood.

¹³ “If any person catches a wild animal or a bird that can be eaten, then that person must pour the blood on the ground and cover it with dirt. It does not matter if that person is a citizen of Israel or a foreigner living among you!

¹⁴ Why must you do this? Because, if blood is still in the meat, that animal’s life is still in the meat. So I give this command to the people of Israel: Don’t eat meat that still has blood in it! Any person who eats blood must be separated {from his people}.

¹⁵ “Also, if any person eats an animal that died by itself, or if any person eats an animal that was killed by some other animal, then that person will be unclean [311] until evening. That person must wash his clothes and wash his {whole} body with water. It does not matter if that person is a citizen of Israel or if he is a foreigner living among you!

¹⁶ If that person does not wash {his clothes} or bathe his body, then he will be guilty {of sin}.”