Leviticus 11

¹ Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron and said to them,

² Speak to the sons of Israel and say: “Of all the beasts on the earth these are the animals you may eat:

³ You may eat any animal that has a cloven hoof, divided into two parts, and that is a ruminant.

⁴ The following, which either chew the cud or have a cloven hoof, are the ones that you may not eat: the camel must be held unclean, because though it is ruminant, it has not a cloven hoof;

⁵ the hyrax must be held unclean, because though it is ruminant, it has not a cloven hoof;

⁶ the hare must be held unclean, because though it is ruminant, it has not a cloven hoof;

⁷ the pig must be held unclean, because though it has a cloven hoof, divided into two parts, it is not ruminant.

⁸ You must not eat the meat of such animals nor touch their dead bodies; you must hold them unclean.

⁹ Of all that lives in water, these you may eat: “Anything that has fins and scales, and lives in the water, whether in sea or river, you may eat.

¹⁰ But anything in sea or river that has not fins or scales, of all the small water-creatures and all the living things found there, must be held detestable.

¹¹ You must hold them detestable; you are not to eat their flesh and you must avoid their carcases.

¹² Anything that lives in water, but has no fins or scales, is to be held detestable.

¹³   Among the birds here are those you must hold detestable; they may not be eaten, they are detestable: “The tawny vulture, the griffon, the osprey,

¹⁴ the kite, the several kinds of buzzard,

¹⁵ all kinds of raven,

¹⁶ the ostrich, the screech owl, the seagull, the several kinds of hawk,

¹⁷ horned owl, night owl, cormorant, barn owl,

¹⁸ ibis, pelican, white vulture,

¹⁹ stork, the several kinds of heron, hoopoe and bat.

²⁰ All winged insects that move on four feet[*a] you must hold detestable.

²¹ Of all these winged insects you may eat only the following: those that have legs above their feet so that they can leap over the ground.

²² These are the ones you may eat: the several kinds of migratory locust, solham, hargol and hagab locusts in their several kinds.

²³ But all winged insects on four feet you are to hold detestable.

²⁴   By these you will be made unclean. Anyone who touches the carcase of one will be unclean until evening.

²⁵ Anyone who picks up their carcases must wash his clothing and will be unclean until evening.

²⁶ Animals that have hoofs, but not cloven, and that are not ruminant, you are to hold unclean; anyone who touches them will be unclean.

²⁷ Those four-footed animals which walk on the flat of their foot[*b] must be held unclean; anyone who touches their carcases will be unclean until evening,

²⁸ and anyone who picks up their carcases must wash his clothing and will be unclean until evening. You are to hold them unclean.

²⁹ These are the small beasts crawling on the ground that you are to hold unclean: the mole, the rat, the several kinds of lizard:

³⁰ gecko, koah, letaah, chameleon and tinshameth.

³¹ Of all the small beasts, these are the creatures that you are to hold unclean. Anyone who touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening.

³² Any object on which one of these creatures falls when it is dead becomes unclean: wooden utensil, clothing, skin, sackcloth – any utensil at all. It must be dipped in water and will remain unclean until evening: then it will be clean.

³³ If the creature falls into an earthenware vessel, the vessel must be broken; whatever the vessel contains is unclean.

³⁴ Any food that is eaten will be unclean, even if it is steeped in water; any liquid that is drunk will be unclean, no matter what its container.

³⁵ Anything on which a carcase of such a creature may fall will be unclean: oven or stove must be destroyed, for unclean they are and unclean they must be for you

³⁶ (although springs, wells and stretches of water will remain clean); anyone who touches a carcase of theirs will be unclean.

³⁷ If one of their carcases falls on any seed whatever, the seed will remain clean; but if the seed has been wet, and a carcase of theirs falls on it, then you must hold it unclean.

³⁹ If one of the animals that you use as food dies, then anyone who touches the carcase will be unclean until evening;

⁴⁰ anyone who eats the dead meat must wash his clothing and will remain unclean until evening; anyone who picks up the carcase must wash his clothing and will remain unclean until evening.

⁴¹ Any small beast that crawls on the ground is detestable; you must not eat it.

⁴² Anything that moves on its belly, anything that moves on four legs or more – in short all the small beasts that crawl on the ground – you must not eat these because they are detestable.

⁴³ Do not make yourself detestable with all these crawling beasts; do not defile yourself with them, do not be defiled

⁴⁴ For it is I, Yahweh, who am your God. You have been sanctified and have become holy because I am holy: do not defile yourself with all these beasts that crawl on the ground.

⁴⁵ Yes, it is I, Yahweh, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God: you therefore must be holy because I am holy.”‘

⁴⁶ Such is the law concerning animals, birds, all living creatures that move in water and every creature that crawls on the ground.

⁴⁷ Its purpose is to separate the clean from the unclean; creatures that may be eaten from those that must not be eaten.