Leviticus 17–18: The Blood Is the Life, and the Laws of Intimacy

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them this is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp or outside of it instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before his tabernacle—that man shall incur bloodguilt. He has shed blood and must be cut off from among his people.

For this reason the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they have been offering in the open fields. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and offer them as sacrifices of peace to the LORD. The priest will then sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons to which they have prostituted themselves. This will be a permanent statute for them for the generations to come.’

Tell them that if anyone from the house of Israel or any foreigner living among them offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice but does not bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the LORD, that man must be cut off from his people.

If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person and cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. Therefore I say to the Israelites, ‘None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner living among you eat blood.’

And if any Israelite or foreigner living among them hunts down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten, he must drain its blood and cover it with dirt. For the life of all flesh is its blood. Therefore I have told the Israelites, ‘You must not eat the blood of any living thing, because the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.’

And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean. But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, then he shall bear his iniquity.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the LORD your God. You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.

You are to practice my judgments and keep my statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God. Keep my statutes and my judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.

None of you are to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.

You must not expose the nakedness of your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her.

You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; it would dishonor your father.

You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.

You must not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for that would shame your family.

You must not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.

You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.

You must not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s close relative.

You must not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations with her; she is your aunt.

You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sexual relations with her.

You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would shame your brother.

You must not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. You are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sexual relations with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved.

You must not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.

You must not approach a woman to have sexual relations with her during her menstrual period.

You must not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife and thus defile yourself with her.

You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.

You must not lie carnally with any animal, thus defiling yourself with it; a woman must not stand before an animal to mate with it; that is a perversion.

Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for by all these things the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves. Even the land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.

But you are to keep my statutes and ordinances, and you must not commit any of these abominations—neither your native-born nor the foreigner who lives among you. For the men who were in the land before you committed all these abominations, and the land has become defiled. So if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it spewed out the nations before you.

Therefore anyone who commits any of these abominations must be cut off from among his people. You must keep my charge not to practice any of the abominable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.”