1 Do Not Eat Meat That Has Blood in It
1 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 2 "Speak to Aaron and his sons. Speak to all of the people of Israel. Tell them, 'Here is what the Lord has commanded. He has said, 3 "Suppose you sacrifice an ox, a lamb or a goat. You sacrifice it in the camp or outside of it. 4 You do it instead of bringing your animal to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. You sacrifice it instead of giving it as an offering to me in front of my holy tent. Then you will be thought of as guilty of spilling blood. Because you have done that, you must be cut off from your people.
5 " ' "The people of Israel are now making sacrifices in the open fields. But they must bring their sacrifices to the priest. They must bring them to me at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. There they must sacrifice them as friendship offerings. 6 The priest must sprinkle the blood against my altar. It is the altar at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He must burn the fat. It will give a pleasant smell to me.
7 " ' "Israel must stop offering any of their sacrifices to statues of gods that look like goats. When they offer sacrifices to those statues, they are not faithful to me. That is a law for them that will last for all time to come." '
8 "Tell them, 'Suppose any of you offers a burnt offering or sacrifice. It does not matter whether you are an Israelite or an outsider. 9 And suppose you do not bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to me. Then you must be cut off from your people.
10 " 'Suppose any of you eats meat that still has blood in it. It does not matter whether you are an Israelite or an outsider. I will turn against you if you eat it. I will cut you off from your people.
11 " 'The life of each creature is in its blood. So I have given you the blood of animals to pay for your sin on the altar. Blood is life. That is why blood pays for your sin.
12 " 'So I say to the people of Israel, "You must not eat meat that still has blood in it. And an outsider who lives among you must not eat it either."
13 " 'Suppose any of you hunts any animal or bird that can be eaten. It does not matter whether you are an Israelite or an outsider. You must let the blood flow out of the animal or bird. You must cover the blood with dirt.
14 " 'That is because every creature's life is its blood. And that is why I have said to the people of Israel, "You must not eat any creature's meat that still has blood in it. Every creature's life is its blood. Anyone who eats that kind of meat must be cut off."
15 " 'Suppose any of you eats anything that is found dead or is torn apart by wild animals. It does not matter whether you are Israelites or outsiders. You must wash your clothes. You must take a bath. You will be "unclean" until evening. After that, you will be "clean."
16 " 'But suppose you do not wash your clothes. And suppose you do not take a bath. Then you will be held accountable for what you have done.' "
