Old/New Testament
Norms Concerning Ritual Purity[a]
Chapter 11
Clean and Unclean Animals.[b] 1 The Lord said to Moses and to Aaron, 2 “Tell the children of Israel: These are the animals that you may eat from among all the animals upon the earth. 3 You may eat any animal that has a cloven hoof and that eats its cud. 4 From among those animals that chew their cud and have cloven hoofs, you shall not eat the following: camels, for it chews its cud but does not have a divided hoof, so it will be considered to be unclean; 5 the rock badger, for it chews its cud but does not have a divided hoof, so it will be considered to be unclean; 6 the hare, for it chews its cud but does not have a divided hoof, so it will be considered to be unclean; 7 the pig, for its hoof is divided and is cloven hoofed, but it does not chew its cud, so it will be considered to be unclean. 8 You shall not eat their meat nor shall you touch their carcasses. They will be considered to be unclean.
9 “These are the animals that you may eat that live in the water: you may eat anything that has fins and scales in the seas or the rivers. 10 But all the animals that move through the water, whether seas or rivers, that do not have fins or scales will be considered to be an abomination.
11 “They will be an abomination for you. You shall not eat their meat and you shall consider their carcasses to be an abomination. 12 Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales will be an abomination for you.
13 “Among birds the following will be considered to be an abomination; they will not be eaten for they are an abomination: the eagle, the bearded vulture and the osprey, 14 the vulture and every type of falcon, 15 every type of raven, 16 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, and every type of hawk, 17 the owl, the cormorant, the ibis, 18 the swan, the pelican, the carrion vulture, 19 the stork, every kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.
20 “All winged creatures that crawl upon four legs will be considered to be an abomination for you. 21 Yet from among the insects that walk upon all fours, you may eat those that have two legs above their feet to jump upon the earth. 22 Therefore, you may eat the following: all kinds of locusts, every kind of bald locust, every kind of grasshopper, and every kind of cricket. 23 But every other flying insect that has four feet will be considered to be an abomination.
24 “By these you shall become unclean, whoever touches their carcasses shall be unclean until the evening 25 and whoever carries their carcasses must wash his clothes and shall be unclean until the evening. 26 You shall consider every animal to be unclean that has undivided hoofs and does not chew its cud. Whoever touches them shall be unclean. 27 Every animal that walks upon all fours and walks upon its paws will be unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcasses shall be considered to be unclean until the evening. 28 Whoever carries their carcasses must wash his clothes and shall be considered to be unclean until the evening. These animals will be considered to be unclean.
29 [c]“These are the animals that crawl upon the earth that will be considered to be unclean: the weasel, the mouse, every kind of tortoise, 30 the gecko, the crocodile, the lizard, the snail, and the chameleon. 31 These creeping things will be unclean for you. Whoever touches their dead bodies will be considered to be unclean until the evening. 32 Anything upon which one of these falls when it is dead will be considered to be unclean, whether it be a wooden vessel or clothing or a skin or a sack, no matter what it is made of. It is to be washed in water and will be considered to be unclean until the evening. Then it will be clean. 33 If one of them falls into an earthen vessel, whatever it contains, it will be considered to be unclean, and it will be broken. 34 Any food upon which water falls will be considered to be unclean. Any liquid that can be drunk in any vessel will be considered to be unclean. 35 Everything upon which any part of their carcass falls will be considered to be unclean. Ovens and stoves will be smashed. They are unclean, and will be held to be unclean by you. 36 But a spring or a cistern where water is stored will be clean. Whoever touches their carcasses shall be unclean. 37 If any part of their carcasses falls upon seed for sowing, it will still be clean. 38 But if water falls on the seed and part of their carcasses falls on it, it is unclean to you.
39 “If an animal dies that was intended for food, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. 40 Whoever eats some of its carcass shall wash his clothes and shall be unclean until the evening. Whoever picks up its carcass shall wash his clothes and shall be unclean until the evening.
41 “Every creeping thing that crawls upon the earth will be an abomination. It will not be eaten. 42 Everything that goes about upon its belly, and everything that goes about upon on all four legs, and everything that has many feet, hence, any of the creeping things that crawl upon the earth, are not to be eaten, for they are an abomination. 43 You shall not make yourselves abominable with any of the creeping things that crawl, nor shall you defile yourselves because of them, lest you make yourselves unclean.
44 [d]“I am the Lord, your God. Consecrate yourselves and be holy for I am holy.[e] You will not defile yourselves with any of the creeping things that crawl upon the earth. 45 I am the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. Therefore, be holy, for I am holy.
46 “This is the law concerning animals and birds and every living creature that moves in the water and everything that crawls upon the earth, 47 so that you might know the difference between that which is unclean and that which is clean, between the animals that you can eat and those that you should not eat.”
Chapter 12
Purification after Childbirth.[f] 1 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel: 2 When a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a male child, she shall be considered to be unclean for seven days, just as when she menstruates. 3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin will be circumcised. 4 Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch any holy thing nor shall she enter into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are complete. 5 But if she gives birth to a girl, she shall be unclean for two weeks as during her menstruation. She shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days.[g]
6 “When the days of her purification for a son or a daughter are complete, she shall bring a year-old lamb as a burnt offering and a pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering to the priest at the entrance to the meeting tent. 7 He shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her. She shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for a woman who has borne a male or female child. 8 If she cannot afford to offer a lamb, she shall offer two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. The priest shall make atonement for her and she shall be clean.”[h]
The Passion and Resurrection[a]
Chapter 26
The Plot against Jesus.[b] 1 When Jesus had finished discoursing on all these subjects, he said to his disciples, 2 “In two days it will be Passover, at which time the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
3 Meanwhile, the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled together in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,[c] 4 and they made plans to arrest Jesus by deceit and have him put to death. 5 However, they said, “It must not occur during the feast, or the people may begin to riot.”
A Woman of Bethany Anoints Jesus.[d] 6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment and poured it over his head as he reclined at table. 8 When the disciples saw this, they became indignant, and they remarked, “Why this waste? 9 This ointment could have been sold for a considerable sum, with the money given to the poor.”
10 Jesus was aware of their attitude, and he said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has performed a good deed for me. 11 The poor you will always have with you,[e] but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has prepared me for burial. 13 Amen, I say to you, wherever in the whole world this gospel is proclaimed, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”
14 Judas Betrays Jesus.[f] Then one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, 16 and from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.
17 The Preparations for the Passover Supper.[g] On the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread,[h] the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He said: “Go to a certain man in the city and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My appointed time is near. I intend to celebrate the Passover at your house with my disciples.” ’ ” 19 The disciples thereupon followed Jesus’ instructions, and they prepared the Passover.
20 The Treachery of Judas Foretold.[i] When evening came, he reclined at table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 Greatly distressed on hearing this, they began to ask him, one after another, “Is it I, Lord?”
23 He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me is the one who will betray me. 24 The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said: “Is it I, Rabbi?” Jesus replied, “You have said so.”
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