Leviticus 11:43

43 Ye shall not make yourselves abominable through any crawling thing which crawleth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.

Leviticus 11:43 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 11:43

Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping
thing that creepeth
With any creeping thing that flies in the air, excepting the four sorts of locusts, ( Leviticus 11:22 ) and with any creeping thing in the waters, ( Leviticus 11:10 ) or with anything that creeps on the land, by eating any of them; which being abominable for food, would make the eater of them so to God, he thereby breaking a command of his:

neither shall you make yourselves unclean with them;
by touching and bearing them, as with dead beasts, so with dead flies and the like:

that ye should be defiled thereby;
in a ceremonial sense.

Leviticus 11:43 In-Context

41 And every crawling thing which crawleth on the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.

42 Whatever goeth on the belly, and whatever goeth on all four, and all that have a great many feet, of every manner of crawling thing which crawleth on the earth -- these ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.

43 Ye shall not make yourselves abominable through any crawling thing which crawleth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.

44 For I am Jehovah your God; and ye shall hallow yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy; and ye shall not make yourselves unclean through any manner of crawling thing which creepeth on the earth.

45 For I am Jehovah who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit. 'your souls.'