“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.
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.
- KJV 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.
- 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.
- 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 dies of itself, or is torn by animals, he shall not eat, defiling himself by it. I am Yahweh.
- Deut 14:21You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the foreigner living among you who is within your gates, that he may eat it; or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to Yahweh your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Exod 22:31“You shall be holy men to me, therefore you shall not eat any meat that is torn by animals in the field. You shall cast it to the dogs.
- Lev 11:25Whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.
- Rev 7:14I told him, “My lord, you know.” He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb’s blood.
- Ezek 44:31The priests shall not eat of anything that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it is bird or animal.
- Lev 15:5Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
- Ezek 4:14Then I said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! Behold, my soul has not been polluted; for from my youth up even until now I have not eaten of that which dies of itself, or is torn of animals; neither came there abominable meat into my mouth!”
- Num 19:21It shall be a perpetual statute to them. He who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening.
- Num 19:8He who burns her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the evening.
- Num 19:19The clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day. On the seventh day, he shall purify him. He shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at evening.
- Lev 15:21Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
- Lev 15:10Whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening. He who carries those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
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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.