And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘Every person that eats what dies of itself, or that which is torn by animals, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening: then he shall be clean.
- BSB 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.
- NKJV “And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean.
- NASB And any person who eats an animal which dies or is torn by animals, whether he is a native or a stranger, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean.
- NLT “And if any native-born Israelites or foreigners eat the meat of an animal that died naturally or was torn up by wild animals, they must wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water. They will remain ceremonially unclean until evening, but then they will be 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
Eating an animal found dead or torn renders a person unclean until evening after washing.
Overview
Because such animals had not been properly drained of blood, eating them brought ceremonial defilement requiring washing and waiting. The law applied equally to native-born and foreigner, showing God's consistent standard. These purity rules cultivated holiness in daily life and a sense of distinction between the clean and unclean before a holy God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Lev 22:8That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD.
- Deut 14:21Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
- Exod 22:31And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
- Lev 11:25And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
- Rev 7:14And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
- Ezek 44:31The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
- Lev 15:5And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
- Ezek 4:14Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
- Num 19:21And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.
- Num 19:8And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.
- Num 19:19And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
- Lev 15:21And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
- Lev 15:10And whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth any of those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
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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 17:15 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.