And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.
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.
- BSB If any of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean; you must break the pot.
- 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 6:28But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brasen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water.
- Lev 15:12And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
- Jer 48:38There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the LORD.
- 2 Cor 5:1–8For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
- Phil 3:21Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
- Lev 11:35And every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you.
- Lev 14:45And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.
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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.