Dietary Laws: Animals and and Impurity

¹The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them: ²Speak to the Israelite people thus:

These are the creatures that you may eat from among all the land animals: ³any animal that has true hoofs, with clefts through the hoofs, and that chews^a the cud— such you may eat. ⁴The following, however, of those that either chew the cud or have true hoofs, you shall not eat: the camel—although it chews the cud, it has no true hoofs: it is unclean for you; ⁵the daman—although it chews the cud, it has no true hoofs: it is unclean for you; ⁶the hare—although it chews the cud, it has no true hoofs: it is unclean for you; ⁷and the swine—although it has true hoofs, with the hoofs cleft through, it does not chew the cud: it is unclean for you. ⁸You shall not eat of their flesh or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.

⁹These you may eat of all that live in water: anything in water, whether in the seas or in the streams, that has fins and scales—these you may eat. ¹⁰But anything in the seas or in the streams that has no fins and scales, among all the swarming things of the water and among all the other living creatures that are in the water—they are an abomination for you ¹¹and an abomination for you they shall remain: you shall not eat of their flesh and you shall abominate their carcasses. ¹²Everything in water that has no fins and scales shall be an abomination for you.

¹³The following^b you shall abominate among the birds—they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, and the black vulture; ¹⁴the kite, falcons of every variety; ¹⁵all varieties of raven; ¹⁶the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull; hawks of every variety; ¹⁷the little owl, the cormorant, and the great owl; ¹⁸the white owl, the pelican, and the bustard; ¹⁹the stork; herons of every variety; the hoopoe, and the bat.

²⁰All winged swarming things that walk on fours shall be an abomination for you. ²¹But these you may eat among all the winged swarming things that walk on fours: all that have, above their feet, jointed legs to leap with on the ground. [ . . . ]

³⁹If an animal that you may eat has died, anyone who touches its carcass shall be unclean until evening; ⁴⁰any-one who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and remain unclean until evening; and anyone who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes and remain unclean until evening. [ . . . ]

⁴²You shall not eat, among all things that swarm upon the earth, anything that crawls on its belly, or anything that walks on fours, or anything that has many legs; for they are an abomination. ⁴³[ . . . ] you shall not make yourselves unclean therewith and thus become unclean. ⁴⁴For I the Lord am your God: you shall sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not make yourselves unclean through any swarming thing that moves upon the earth. ⁴⁵For I the Lord am He who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God: you shall be holy, for I am holy.

⁴⁶These are the instructions concerning animals, birds, all living creatures that move in water, and all creatures that swarm on earth, ⁴⁷for distinguishing between the unclean and the clean, between the living things that may be eaten and the living things that may not be eaten.