1And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2“Say to the Israelites, ‘These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth: 3Any animal that parts (divides) the hoof, that is cloven-footed, and chews the cud, you may eat. 4However, there are some that chew the cud, or that divide the hoof, that you shall not eat: the camel, because he chews the cud, but does not divide the hoof; he is unclean to you; 5And the hyrax (rock badger), because he chews the cud, but does not divide the hoof; he is unclean to you; 6And the hare (rabbit), because he chews the cud, but does not divide the hoof; he is unclean to you. 7And the swine, though he divides the hoof, and is cloven-footed, he does not chew the cud; he is unclean to you. 8You shall not eat of their meat, and their carcass you shall not touch; they are unclean to you. 9‘These shall you eat of all that are in the waters - seas and rivers: whatever has fins and scales. 10But all that do not have fins and scales shall be an abomination to you: 11You shall not eat their meat, but shall regard their carcasses as an abomination. 12Whatever has no fins nor scales in the waters shall be an abomination to you. 13‘And these are they which you shall regard as unclean among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the ossifrage, the osprey, any vulture, 14The kite, and any kind of falcon; 15Any kind of raven; 16The ostrich, owl, night hawk, the sea gull, any kind of hawk, 17The white owl, the cormorant, and the horned owl, 18The swan, pelican, the carrion eagle, 19The stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. 20‘All flying (winged) insects that walk upon all fours shall be an abomination to you. 21Yet there are some flying insects that you may you eat of winged insects that that walk upon all fours: those which have legs above their feet (jointed legs), that hop upon the earth; 22These you may eat: any kind of locust, the beetle after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind. 23But all other flying insects, which have four legs shall be an abomination to you. 24‘These shall make you unclean; whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. 25And whoever picks up the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening: 26The carcasses of every animal which divides the hoof, and is not cloven-footed, nor chews the cud, are unclean to you: every one that touches them shall be unclean. 27Of all animals that walk on all fours, those that have paws are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. 28And anyone who picks up their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening: they are unclean to you. Verse 26 - Note that we are able to touch and use some of these animals while they are alive – camels, horses, donkeys, etc., - it is only when they were dead that that they could not touch their carcasses without becoming unclean. 29‘These also shall be unclean to you among the things that move along the ground: the weasel, mouse, rat, tortoise, 30The ferret, chameleon, any type of lizard, snail, and the mole. 31These are all unclean to you; whoever touches their dead carcass, shall be unclean until the evening. 32And any article that their carcass falls in or upon shall be unclean; this is true whether the object is made of wood, cloth, leather, or burlap. Whatever its use, you must dip it in water, and it will remain defiled until evening. After that, it will be ceremonially clean and may be used again. 33And if one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot. 34And if water from any such pot comes in contact with any food that you are allowed to eat, it will be unclean; and any liquid that is drunk from such a pot is unclean. 35And everything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as unclean. 36However, a spring, or a cistern used to collect water will remain clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean. 37And if carcass falls on seed grain to be planted in the field, the seed will still be considered clean. 38But if any water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you. 39‘And if any animal that you may eat dies; anyone who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. 40And anyone who eats some of its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening; also, anyone that carries its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. 41‘And every creature that creeps upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten. 42Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever goes upon all fours, or on many feet among all creeping things on the earth, those you shall not eat; for they are an abomination. 43You shall not defile yourselves with anything that creeps; do not defile yourselves with them. 44For I am the LORD your God: you shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and be holy; for I am holy: nor shall you defile yourselves with anything that creeps upon the ground. 45I am the LORD Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. 46‘This is the law regarding animals, birds, and every living creature that moves in the waters, or moves upon the earth; 47To enable you to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.’” Reader-Friendly Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2024 by Jim Musser. 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