Leviticus 11

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

² 'Speak to the Israelites and say: "Of al animals living on land these are the creatures 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 fol owing, which either chew the cud or have a cloven hoof, are the ones that you may not eat: youwil regard the camel as unclean, because though it is ruminant, it does not have a cloven hoof;

⁵ you wil regard the coney as unclean, because though it is ruminant, it does not have a cloven hoof;

⁶ you wil regard the hare as unclean, because though it is ruminant, it does not have a cloven hoof;

⁷ you wil regard the pig as unclean, because though it has a cloven hoof, divided into two parts, it is nota ruminant.

⁸ You will not eat the meat of these or touch their dead bodies; you wil regard them as unclean.

⁹ "Of al 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 does not have fins and scales, of al the smal water-creatures and althe living things found there, you wil regard as detestable.

¹¹ You wil regard them as detestable; you must not eat their meat and you wil regard their carcases asdetestable.

¹² Anything that lives in water, but not having fins and scales, you wil regard as detestable.

¹³ "Of the birds these are the ones that you wil regard as detestable; they may not be eaten, they aredetestable for eating: "The tawny vulture, the griffon, the osprey,

¹⁴ the kite, the various kinds of buzzard,

¹⁵ all kinds of raven,

¹⁶ the ostrich, the screech owl, the seagul , the various kinds of hawk,

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

¹⁸ ibis, pelican, white vulture,

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

²⁰ "Al winged insects moving on four feet you wil regard as detestable for eating.

²¹ Of al these winged insects you may eat only the fol owing: those with the sort of legs above their feetwhich enable them to leap over the ground.

²² These are the ones you may eat: the various kinds of migratory locust, the various kinds of solhamlocust, hargol locust and hagab locust.

²³ But al other winged insects on four feet you wil regard as detestable for eating.

²⁴ "By the fol owing you wil be made unclean. Anyone who touches the carcase of one wil be uncleanuntil evening.

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

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

²⁷ Those four-footed animals which walk on the flat of their paws you wil regard as unclean; anyonewho touches their carcases wil be unclean until evening,

²⁸ and anyone who picks up their carcases must wash his clothing and wil be unclean until evening.You will regard them as unclean.

²⁹ "Of the smal creatures which crawl along the ground, these are the ones which you wil regard asunclean: the mole, the rat, the various kinds of lizard:

³⁰ gecko, koah, letaah, chameleon and tinshamet.

³¹ "Of al the smal creatures, these are the animals which you must regard as disgusting. Anyone whotouches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening.

³² "Any object on which one of these creatures fal s when it is dead becomes unclean: wooden utensil,clothing, skin, sacking, any utensil whatever. It must be immersed in water and wil remain unclean until evening:then it wil be clean.

³³ If the creature fal s into an earthenware vessel, the vessel must be broken; whatever the vesselcontains is unclean.

³⁴ Any edible food wil be unclean if the water touches it; any drinkable liquid will be unclean, no matterwhat its container.

³⁵ Anything on which the carcase of such a creature may fal wil be unclean: be it oven or stove, it mustbe destroyed; for they are unclean and you wil regard them as unclean

³⁶ (although springs, wel s and stretches of water wil remain clean); anyone who touches one of theircarcases wil be unclean.

³⁷ If one of their carcases fal s on any kind of seed, the seed will remain clean;

³⁸ but if the seed has been moistened and one of their carcases fal s on it, you wil regard it as unclean.

³⁹ "If one of the animals that you use as food dies, anyone who touches the carcase wil be unclean untilevening;

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

⁴¹ "Any creature that swarms on the ground is detestable for eating; it must not be eaten.

⁴² Anything that moves on its bel y, anything that moves on four legs or more -- in short all the creaturesthat swarm on the ground -- you will not eat, since they are detestable.

⁴³ Do not make yourselves detestable with al these swarming creatures; do not defile yourselves withthem, do not be defiled by them.

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

⁴⁵ Yes, it is I, Yahweh, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God: you must therefore be holybecause I am holy." '

⁴⁶ Such is the law concerning animals, birds, al living creatures that move in water and al creaturesthat swarm on the ground.

⁴⁷ Its purpose is to distinguish the clean from the unclean, the creatures that may be eaten from thosethat may not be eaten.