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Leviticus 17

The Place of Sacrifice

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel and say to them, This is the thing that the Lord has commanded. 3 If any one of the house of Israel ^akills an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or kills it outside the camp, 4 and ^bdoes not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a gift to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord, bloodguilt shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood, and that man ^cshall be cut off from among his people. 5 This is to the end that the people of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice ^din the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and sacrifice them ^eas sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord. 6 And the priest shall ^fthrow the blood on the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting and burn the fat ^gfor a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 7 So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they ^hwhore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.

8 “And you shall say to them, Any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who ⁱoffers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and ^jdoes not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to the Lord, ^kthat man shall be cut off from his people.

Laws Against Eating Blood

10 “If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them ^leats any blood, I will ^mset my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. 11 ⁿFor the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar ^oto make atonement for your souls ^pfor it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. 12 Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.

13 “Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall ^qpour out its blood and ^rcover it with earth. 14 For the life of every creature ^{▼

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Hebrew all flesh} is its ^tblood: its blood is its life. ^{▼

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Hebrew it is in its life} Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off. 15 ^vAnd every person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, ^wwhether he is a native or a sojourner ^xshall wash his clothes and ^ybathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean. 16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his flesh, ^zhe shall bear his iniquity.”