New International Version NIV
New International Reader's Version NIRV
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
1
The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said to them,
2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat:
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"Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, 'Many animals live on land. Here are the only ones you can eat.
3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.
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You can eat any animal that has hoofs that are separated completely in two. But it must also chew the cud.
4 “ ‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you.
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" 'Some animals only chew the cud. Some only have hoofs that are separated in two. You must not eat those animals. " 'Camels chew the cud. But their hoofs are not separated in two. So they are not "clean" for you.
5 The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.
5
" 'Rock badgers chew the cud. But their hoofs are not separated in two. So they are not "clean" for you.
6 The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.
6
" 'Rabbits chew the cud. But their hoofs are not separated in two. So they are not "clean" for you.
7 And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.
7
" 'Pigs have hoofs that are separated completely in two. But they do not chew the cud. So they are not "clean" for you.
8 You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.
8
" 'You must not eat the meat of those animals. You must not even touch their dead bodies. They are not "clean" for you.
9 “ ‘Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales.
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" 'Many creatures live in the water of the oceans and streams. You can eat all of those that have fins and scales.
10 But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to regard as unclean.
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" 'But be sure to avoid all of the creatures in the oceans or streams that do not have fins and scales. That includes all of those that move together in groups and all of those that do not.
11 And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean.
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Be sure to avoid them. Do not eat their meat. Do not even touch their dead bodies.
12 Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you.
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Be sure to avoid everything that lives in the water that does not have fins and scales.
13 “ ‘These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture,
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" 'Here are the birds you must be sure to avoid. Do not eat them. Be sure to avoid them. " 'They include eagles, vultures and black vultures.
14 the red kite, any kind of black kite,
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They include red kites and all kinds of black kites.
15 any kind of raven,
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They include all kinds of ravens.
16 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,
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They include horned owls, screech owls, gulls and all kinds of hawks.
17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,
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" 'They include little owls, cormorants and great owls.
18 the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,
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They include white owls, desert owls and ospreys.
19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
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They also include storks, hoopoes, bats and all kinds of herons.
20 “ ‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you.
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" 'Be sure to avoid every flying insect that walks on all fours.
21 There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground.
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But you can eat some creatures that have wings and walk on all fours. Their legs have joints so they can hop on the ground.
22 Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper.
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" 'Here are the insects you can eat. You can eat all kinds of locusts, katydids, crickets and grasshoppers.
23 But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.
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But be sure to avoid every other creature that has wings and four legs.
24 “ ‘You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening.
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" 'You will make yourselves "unclean" if you eat those things. If you touch their dead bodies, you will be "unclean" until evening.
25 Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.
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If a person picks up one of their dead bodies, he must wash his clothes. He will be "unclean" until evening.
26 “ ‘Every animal that does not have a divided hoof or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean.
26
" 'Suppose an animal has hoofs that are not separated completely in two. Or suppose an animal does not chew the cud. Then those animals are not "clean" for you. If you touch the dead body of any of them, you will not be "clean."
27 Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening.
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" 'Many animals walk on all fours. But those that walk on their paws are not "clean" for you. Anyone who touches their dead bodies will be "unclean" until evening.
28 Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening. These animals are unclean for you.
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If he picks up their dead bodies, he must wash his clothes. He will be "unclean" until evening. They are not "clean" for him.
29 “ ‘Of the animals that move along the ground, these are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard,
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" 'Many animals move around on the ground. Here are the ones that are not "clean" for you. They include weasels, rats and all kinds of large lizards.
30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon.
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They also include geckos, monitor lizards, wall lizards, skinks and chameleons.
31 Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean till evening.
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Those are the animals that move around on the ground that are not "clean" for you. If you touch their dead bodies, you will be "unclean" until evening.
32 When one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth. Put it in water; it will be unclean till evening, and then it will be clean.
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" 'Suppose one of them dies and falls on something. Then that article will not be "clean." It does not matter what it is used for. It does not matter whether it is made out of wood, cloth, hide or black cloth. Put it in water. It will be "unclean" until evening. After that, it will be "clean."
33 If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot.
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" 'Suppose one of those animals falls into a clay pot. Then everything that is in the pot will be "unclean." You must break the pot.
34 Any food you are allowed to eat that has come into contact with water from any such pot is unclean, and any liquid that is drunk from such a pot is unclean.
34
Any food that could be eaten but has water on it that came from that pot is not "clean." And any liquid that could be drunk from it is not "clean."
35 Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as unclean.
35
" 'Anything that the dead body of one of those animals falls on becomes "unclean." If it is an oven or cooking pot, break it. It is "unclean." And you must consider it "unclean."
36 A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean.
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" 'But a spring or a well for collecting water remains "clean." That is true even if the dead body of one of those animals falls into it. But anyone who touches the dead body is not "clean."
37 If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain clean.
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" 'If the dead body falls on any seeds that have not been planted yet, the seeds remain "clean."
38 But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.
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But suppose water has already been put on the seeds. And suppose the dead body falls on them. Then they are not "clean" for you.
39 “ ‘If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass will be unclean till evening.
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" 'Suppose an animal you are allowed to eat dies. If anyone touches its dead body, he will be "unclean" until evening.
40 Anyone who eats some of its carcass must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening. Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.
40
If he eats part of the dead body, he must wash his clothes. He will be "unclean" until evening. If he picks up the dead body, he must wash his clothes. He will be "unclean" until evening.
41 “ ‘Every creature that moves along the ground is to be regarded as unclean; it is not to be eaten.
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" 'Be sure to avoid every creature that moves around on the ground. Do not eat it.
42 You are not to eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is unclean.
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Do not eat any of those creatures. It does not matter whether they move on their bellies. It does not matter whether they walk on all fours or on many feet. Be sure to avoid them.
43 Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them.
43
Do not make yourselves "unclean" by eating any of those animals. Do not make yourselves "unclean" because of them. Do not let them make you "unclean."
44 I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.
44
" 'I am the LORD your God. Set yourselves apart. Be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves "unclean" by eating any creatures that move around on the ground.
45 I am the LORD, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
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I am the Lord. I brought you up out of Egypt to be your God. So be holy, because I am holy.
46 “ ‘These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground.
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" 'Those are the rules about animals and birds. Those are the rules about every living thing that moves in the water. And those are the rules about every creature that moves around on the ground.
47 You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.’ ”
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You must be able to tell the difference between what is "clean" and what is not. You must also be able to tell the difference between the living creatures that can be eaten and those that can't.' "
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Holy Bible, New International Reader's Version® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.