If any of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean; you must break the pot.
Parallel translations
- WEB Every earthen vessel, into which any of them falls, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it.
- KJV And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.
- NKJV Any earthen vessel into which any of them falls you shall break; and whatever is in it shall be unclean:
- NASB As for any earthenware vessel into which one of them may fall, whatever is in it becomes unclean and you shall break the vessel.
- NLT “If such an animal falls into a clay pot, everything in the pot will be defiled, and the pot must be smashed.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
An earthen pot that a carcass falls into must be broken. Porous clay could not be cleansed, so it had to be destroyed.
Overview
Unlike washable items, an earthenware vessel that is contaminated must be smashed, for it absorbed the defilement permanently. This vivid measure underscored how seriously God regards purity in the lives of His people. The fragile clay vessel also pictures human frailty, a reminder that we hold treasure in jars of clay, dependent on God's power and not our own (2 Corinthians 4:7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Lev 6:28The clay pot in which the sin offering is boiled must be broken; if it is boiled in a bronze pot, the pot must be scoured and rinsed with water.
- Lev 15:12Any clay pot that the man with the discharge touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil must be rinsed with water.
- Jer 48:38On all the rooftops of Moab and in the public squares, everyone is mourning; for I have shattered Moab like an unwanted jar,” declares the LORD.
- 2 Cor 5:1–8Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
- Phil 3:21who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.
- Lev 11:35Anything upon which one of their carcasses falls will be unclean. If it is an oven or cooking pot, it must be smashed; it is unclean and will remain unclean for you.
- Lev 14:45It must be torn down with its stones, its timbers, and all its plaster, and taken outside the city to an unclean place.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 11:33 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.