Leviticus 11:1-23

New American Standard Bible

Laws about Animals for Food

11 The Lord spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘^(A)These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth. ³ Whatever has a divided hoof, showing split hoofs, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat. ⁴ Nevertheless, ^(B)you are not to eat of these, among those which chew the cud, or among those which have a divided hoof: the camel, for though it chews cud, it does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean to you. ⁵ Likewise, the rock hyrax, for though it chews cud, it does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean to you. ⁶ The ^[a]rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean to you. ⁷ And the pig, for though it has a divided hoof, and so it shows a split hoof, it does not chew cud; it is unclean to you. ⁸ You shall not eat any of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.

⁹ ‘^(C)These you may eat, of whatever is in the water: everything that has fins and scales, in the water, in the seas, or in the rivers, you may eat. ^10 (D)But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you, ¹¹ and they shall be detestable to you; you may not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. ¹² Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

Avoid the Unclean

¹³ ‘Moreover, these ^(E)you shall detest among the birds; they are detestable, not to be eaten: the ^[b]eagle, the vulture, and the ^[c]buzzard, ¹⁴ the red kite, the falcon in its kind, ¹⁵ every raven in its kind, ¹⁶ the ostrich, the owl, the seagull, and the hawk in its kind, ¹⁷ the little owl, the cormorant, and the ^[d]great owl, ¹⁸ the white owl, the ^[e]pelican, and the carrion vulture, ¹⁹ the stork, the heron in its kinds, the hoopoe, and the bat.

²⁰ ‘All the ^[f]winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you. ²¹ Yet these you may eat among all the ^[g]winged insects that walk on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to jump on the earth. ²² These of them you may eat: the locust in its kinds, the devastating locust in its kinds, the cricket in its kinds, and the grasshopper in its kinds. ²³ But all other ^[h]winged insects which are four-footed are detestable to you.