Leviticus 17

1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the LORD has commanded:

3 Whatever man there is of the house of Israel who kills a bull, or lamb, or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp,

4 and hasn’t brought it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to offer it as an offering to the LORD before the LORD’s tabernacle: blood shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood. That man shall be cut off from among his people.

5 This is to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to the priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD.

6 The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the LORD’s altar at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and burn the fat for a pleasant aroma to the LORD.

7 They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.’

8 “You shall say to them, ‘Any man there is of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice,

9 and doesn’t bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from his people.

10 “‘Any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who eats any kind of blood, I will set my face against that soul who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood. I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life.

12 Therefore I have said to the children of Israel, “No person among you may eat blood, nor may any stranger who lives as a foreigner among you eat blood.”

13 “‘Whatever man there is of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who takes in hunting any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood, and cover it with dust.

14 For as to the life of all flesh, its blood is with its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, “You shall not eat the blood of any kind of flesh; for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.”

15 “‘Every person that eats what dies of itself, or that which is torn by animals, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. Then he shall be clean.

16 But if he doesn’t wash them, or bathe his flesh, then he shall bear his iniquity.’”

Around Leviticus 17

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

Leviticus 17 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

Blood is the subject here, and the chapter treats it as something close to sacred. Any Israelite who kills a bull, lamb or goat must bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting, or be held guilty of shed blood and cut off from the people. The aim is plain: the sacrifices once made in the open field are to be brought to the LORD, and no more offered to goat idols.

Then comes the reason that echoes through the Bible: “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” God has given blood on the altar to make atonement. So no Israelite and no foreigner living among them may eat blood. A hunter pours out the blood of a clean animal and covers it with dust. The chapter ends with a rule about eating what died of itself or was torn by animals.

Background

The LORD speaks to Moses, to Aaron and his sons, and to all Israel. The chapter follows the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 and begins the section many scholars call the Holiness Code, which runs through chapter 26. Its teaching on blood is the background for later debates about eating blood, including the decision of the early church in Acts 15. Christians differ on how far these food laws still apply. Jews have kept the laws about blood in their own tradition.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 24 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes