“Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Among all the animals which are on the earth, these are the animals which you may eat.

Nevertheless, you are not to eat these, among those which chew the cud or divide the hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is [ceremonially] unclean to you.

‘These you may eat, whatever is in the water: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, these you may eat;

but whatever does not have fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, of all the teeming life in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are [to be considered] detestable to you.

Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

‘All winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you;

yet of all winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those which have legs above their feet with which to leap on the ground.

Also all animals that walk on their paws, among all kinds of animals that walk on four legs, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until the evening,

‘These also are unclean to you among the swarming things that crawl around on the ground [and multiply profusely]: the mole, the mouse, and any kind of great lizard,

These [creatures] are unclean to you among all that swarm; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening.

Any of the food which may be eaten, but on which [unclean] water falls, shall become unclean, and any liquid that may be drunk in every container shall become unclean.

‘Now everything that swarms on the ground is detestable; it is not to be eaten.

Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all fours, and whatever has many feet among all things that swarm on the ground, you shall not eat; for they are detestable.

Do not make yourselves loathsome (impure, repulsive) by [eating] any swarming thing; you shall not make yourselves unclean by them so as to defile yourselves.

For I am the Lord your God; so consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm or crawls on the ground.

This is the law regarding the animal and the bird and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth,

to make a distinction between the [ceremonially] unclean and the [ceremonially] clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.

The priest shall look, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then he shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy.

“And when there is on the skin of the body [the scar of] a boil that is healed,

“When a garment has a mark of leprosy in it, whether it is a wool garment or a linen garment,

then the priest shall order that they wash the thing in which the mark occurs, and he shall quarantine it for seven more days.

The one to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe in water; and he shall be clean. After that he may come into the camp, but he shall stay outside of his tent for seven days.

and the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the Lord.

Of the rest of the oil which is in his palm, the priest shall put some on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering.

The remaining oil that is in the priest’s palm shall be put on the head of the one to be cleansed. The priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord.

and with his right finger the priest shall sprinkle some of the oil that is in his left palm seven times before the Lord.

The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s palm shall be put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the Lord.

The priest shall order that they empty the house before he goes in to examine the mark, so that everything in the house will not have to be declared unclean; afterward he shall go in to see the house.

he shall order them to tear out the contaminated stones and throw them into an unclean place outside the city.

He shall have the entire inside area of the house scraped, and the plaster that is scraped off shall be dumped in an unclean place outside the city.

Moreover, whoever goes into the house during the time that it is quarantined becomes unclean until evening.

Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening;

Whoever touches anything that has been under him shall be unclean until evening; and whoever carries those things shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

An earthenware container that the one with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every wooden container shall be rinsed in water.

Everything on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean; and everything on which she sits shall be unclean.

When she is cleansed from her discharge, then she shall count off for herself seven days, and after that she will be clean.

“Thus you shall separate the Israelites from their uncleanness, so that they do not die in their uncleanness by their defiling My tabernacle that is among them.”

But the goat on which the lot fell for the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement on it; it shall be sent into the wilderness as the scapegoat.

and put the incense on the fire [in the censer] before the Lord, so that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is on [the ark of] the Testimony, otherwise he will die.

“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for [the sins of] the people and bring its blood within the veil [into the Most Holy Place] and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.

So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place (Holy of Holies) because of the uncleanness and transgressions of the Israelites, for all their sins. He shall also do this for the Tent of Meeting which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness (impurities).

He shall bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes, and come out and offer his burnt offering and that of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.

“This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month (nearly October) on the tenth day of the month you shall humble yourselves [by fasting] and not do any work, whether the native-born or the stranger who lives temporarily among you;

This shall be a permanent statute for you, so that atonement may be made for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year.” So he did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

and has not brought it to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting to offer it as an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, that man shall be guilty of bloodshed. He has shed blood and shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

This is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing [to idols] in the open field [where they killed them], that they may bring them in to the Lord, at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord.

‘Any man from the house of Israel, or any stranger living temporarily among you, who eats any blood, against that person I shall set My face and I will cut him off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life [which it represents].’

[do none of these things] so that the land will not vomit you out, should you defile it, as it has vomited out the nation which has been before you.

‘Now when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted.

Everyone who eats it will bear [the responsibility for] his wickedness, for he has profaned a holy thing of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

In the fifth year you may eat the fruit [of the trees], this is so that their yield may increase for you; I am the Lord your God.

“Moreover, you shall say to the children of Israel,

‘Any Israelite or any stranger residing in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech (the god of the Ammonites) [as a human sacrifice] shall most certainly be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones.

I will also set My face against that man [opposing him, withdrawing My protection from him] and will cut him off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them], because he has given some of his children to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name.

then I shall set My face against that man and against his [extended] family, and I will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in playing the prostitute (commit apostasy) with Molech.

‘As for the person who turns to mediums [who consult the dead] or to spiritists, to play the prostitute after them, I shall set My face against that person and will cut him off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

It is immoral and shameful if a man marries a woman and her mother; all three shall be burned in fire, so that there will be no immorality among you.

You shall not uncover the nakedness of (have intimate relations with) your mother’s sister or your father’s sister, for such a one has uncovered his blood relative; they will bear their guilt.

‘Therefore keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out [as it did those before you].

You are therefore to make a distinction between the [ceremonially] clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that crawls on the ground, which I have set apart from you as unclean.

You are to be holy to Me; for I the Lord am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples (nations) to be Mine.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them:

‘No one shall defile himself [that is, become ceremonially unclean] for the dead among his people [by touching a corpse or assisting in preparing it for burial],

so that he will not profane or dishonor his children among his people; for I am the Lord who sanctifies the high priest.’”

but he shall not go within the veil or approach the altar [of incense], because he has a defect, so that he will not profane My sanctuaries; for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”

“Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy things (offerings, gifts) which the children of Israel dedicate to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name; I am the Lord.

Say to them, ‘Any one of your descendants throughout your generations who approaches the holy things which the Israelites dedicate to the Lord, while he is [ceremonially] unclean, that person shall be cut off from My presence and excluded from the sanctuary; I am the Lord.

He shall not eat that which dies [of natural causes] or is torn by a predator, becoming unclean by it; I am the Lord.

But if a person unknowingly eats a holy gift [which has been offered to God], then he shall add one-fifth of its value to it and give the holy gift to the priest.

so that you may be accepted—it must be a male without blemish from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats.

When you sacrifice an offering of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.

‘For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation (calling together). You shall not do any work [on that day]; it is the Sabbath of the Lord wherever you may be.

On the first day you shall have a holy convocation (calling together); you shall not do any laborious work [on that day].

But you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord for seven days; on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work [on that day].’”

He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord so that you may be accepted; the priest shall wave it on the day after the Sabbath.

‘You shall count from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf (tied bundle of grain) of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths (seven full weeks).

On this same day you shall make a proclamation, you are to have a holy convocation (calling together); you shall not do any laborious work [on that day]. It is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you may be.

If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

If there is any person who does any work on this same day, I will destroy that person from among his people.

You shall do no work at all [on that day]. It is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you may be.

The first day is a holy convocation (calling together); you shall not do any laborious work [on that day].

For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the Lord. It is a festive assembly; you shall not do any laborious work [on that day].

so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

“Command the children of Israel to bring to you clear oil from beaten olives for the light [of the golden lampstand], to make a lamp burn continually.

You shall put pure frankincense [in two censers, one] beside each row, so that it may be with the bread as a memorial portion, an offering by fire to the Lord.

That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee for you; you shall not sow [seed], nor reap what reseeds itself, nor gather the grapes of the uncultivated vines.

then [this is My answer:] I will order My [special] blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it will produce [sufficient] crops for three years.

But if it is not redeemed for him within a full year, then the house that is in the walled city passes permanently and irrevocably to the purchaser throughout his generations. It does not revert back in the Year of Jubilee.

‘Now if your fellow countryman becomes poor and his hand falters with you [that is, he has trouble repaying you for something], then you are to help and sustain him, [with courtesy and consideration] like [you would] a stranger or a temporary resident [without property], so that he may live among you.

Moreover, from the children of the strangers who live as aliens among you, from them you may buy slaves and from their families who are with you, whom they have produced in your land; they may become your possession.

Then he [or his redeemer] shall calculate with his purchaser from the year when he sold himself to the purchaser to the Year of Jubilee, and the [original] price of his sale shall be adjusted according to the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be considered as that of a hired man.

Like a man hired year by year he shall deal with him; he shall not rule over him with harshness in your sight.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves; and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk upright [with heads held high as free men].

if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul rejects My ordinances, so that you will not [obediently] do all My commandments, and in this way break My covenant,

I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you sudden terror, consumption, and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to languish also. And you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat what you plant.

I will let loose the [wild] animals of the field among you, which will bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you so few in number that your roads will lie deserted and desolate.

I will bring a sword on you that will execute vengeance for [breaking] the covenant; and when you gather together in your cities, I will send pestilence (virulent disease) among you, and you shall be handed over to the enemy.

‘If they confess their wickedness and the wickedness of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they have committed against Me—and also in their acting with hostility toward Me—

Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so despise them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God.

But I will, for their sake, [earnestly] remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I have brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord.’”

‘Now if it is an animal of the kind which men can present as an offering to the Lord, any such that one gives to the Lord shall be holy.