If part of their carcass falls on any sowing seed which is to be sown, it is clean.
Parallel translations
- KJV And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean.
- BSB If a carcass falls on any seed for sowing, the seed is clean;
- NKJV And if a part of any such carcass falls on any planting seed which is to be sown, it remains clean.
- NASB Now if a part of their carcass falls on any seed for sowing which is to be sown, it is clean.
- NLT If the carcass falls on seed grain to be planted in the field, the seed will still be considered clean.
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
Seed for sowing stays clean if a carcass falls on it while dry. Dry seed did not absorb defilement and could still be planted.
Overview
If a carcass falls on dry seed meant for sowing, the seed remains clean. The distinction turns on whether the seed has been moistened and thus made absorbent. These careful rulings show God's wisdom in giving practical, livable laws that preserved both purity and Israel's livelihood.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 1 Jn 5:18We know that whoever is born of God doesn’t sin, but he who was born of God keeps himself, and the evil one doesn’t touch him.
- 1 Cor 15:37That which you sow, you don’t sow the body that will be, but a bare grain, maybe of wheat, or of some other kind.
- 1 Jn 3:9Whoever is born of God doesn’t commit sin, because his seed remains in him; and he can’t sin, because he is born of God.
- 1 Pet 1:23having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever.
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 11:37 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.