Leviticus 11:1-23

Names of God Bible

Laws about Animals the Israelites May and May Not Eat^(A)

11 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, ² “Tell the Israelites: Here are the kinds of land animals you may eat: ³ all animals that have completely divided hoofs and that also chew their cud. ⁴ However, from those that either chew their cud or have divided hoofs, these are the kinds you must never eat: You must never eat camels. (Camels are unclean because they chew their cud but do not have divided hoofs.) ⁵ You must never eat rock badgers. (Rock badgers are unclean because they chew their cud but do not have divided hoofs.) ⁶ You must never eat rabbits. (Rabbits are unclean because they chew their cud but do not have divided hoofs.) ⁷ You must never eat pigs. (Because pigs have completely divided hoofs but do not chew their cud, they are also unclean.) ⁸ Never eat the meat of these animals or touch their dead bodies. They are unclean for you.

⁹ “Here are the kinds of creatures that live in the water which you may eat—anything in the seas and streams that has fins and scales. ¹⁰ However, you must consider all swarming creatures living in the seas or the streams that have no fins or scales disgusting. ¹¹ They must remain disgusting to you. Never eat their meat. Consider their dead bodies disgusting. ¹² Every creature in the water without fins or scales is disgusting to you.

¹³ “Here are the kinds of birds you must consider disgusting and must not eat. They are eagles, bearded vultures, black vultures, ¹⁴ kites, all types of buzzards, ¹⁵ all types of crows, ¹⁶ ostriches, nighthawks, seagulls, all types of falcons, ¹⁷ little owls, cormorants, great owls, ¹⁸ barn owls, pelicans, ospreys, ¹⁹ storks, all types of herons, hoopoes, and bats.

²⁰ “Every swarming, winged insect that walks across the ground like a four-legged animal is disgusting to you. ²¹ However, you may eat winged insects that swarm if they use their legs to hop on the ground. ²² You may eat any kind of locust, cricket, katydid, or grasshopper. ²³ Every kind of winged insect that walks across the ground like a four-legged animal is disgusting to you.