Leviticus 17:11

Leviticus 17:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
• New International Version (NIV)For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

Context of Leviticus 17:11

9If they did not offer it to the Lord at the Tent of Meeting's door, they are sinning. You must send them away from the camp. 10An Israelite or a foreigner who lives among you must not eat blood. And they must not drink it. If somebody does, God will turn away from him. He will take that person away from his people. The blood of an animal gives it life. You must put the blood on the altar. God has given the blood to you to atone for your sins. It makes your life right again, because of the blood. 12For this reason, Israel's people must not eat blood. And the people who are travelling with them must not eat blood. 13A person may catch an animal or a bird that is clean to eat. If he does, he must pour its blood on the ground. He must cover the blood with some earth.

Leviticus 17:11 word by word

כִּ֣י נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַבָּשָׂר֮ בַּדָּ֣ם הִוא֒ וַאֲנִ֞י נְתַתִּ֤יו לָכֶם֙ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ לְכַפֵּ֖ר עַל־נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶ֑ם כִּֽי־הַדָּ֥ם ה֖וּא בַּנֶּ֥פֶשׁ יְכַפֵּֽר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For the lifeנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
• of the fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
• in the bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• and I have givenנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• it to you upon the altarמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
• to make an atonementכִּפֶּרkâphar · to atoneH3722
• for your soulsנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soulH5315

Cross-references for Leviticus 17:11

• Ecclesiastes 12:6Remember to serve God while you are young, because one day your life will finish. It will be like a silver chain that breaks; like a gold bowl that breaks; like a water pot at the well that breaks into pieces; like a rope at the well that breaks apart.
• Leviticus 17:14The animal's life is in its blood. That is why no Israelite should eat any animal's blood. You must send any person that eats blood away from your people.
• Leviticus 8:15Moses killed the bull. He put his finger in the blood. He put the blood on the horns of the altar. That made it holy. Moses poured out the blood that he had not used. He poured it onto the floor in front of the altar. This is how he made the altar ready to make sacrifices.
• Leviticus 16:11‘Aaron must bring the bull and he must kill it. It is his atonement for his family's sins.
• Matthew 20:28Even the Son of Man himself came to earth to be a servant to other people. He did not come here to have servants who must work for him. No, he came to die so that many people can be free.’
• Matthew 26:28This is my blood that shows God's promise. When I die, my blood will pour out of my body. In that way God will forgive many people for the wrong things that they have done. That is the promise that God makes because of my death.
• Mark 14:24Jesus said to them, ‘This is my blood that shows God's promise. When I die, my blood will pour out of my body. In that way God will save many people. That is the promise that God makes because of my death.
• Romans 3:25God showed everyone that Jesus Christ died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. God forgives us if we trust in Jesus and the blood of his sacrifice. God did this to show clearly that he is always right and fair. In past times, God was patient. He did not punish people who did wrong things.
• Romans 5:9Because Christ died on the cross, God has accepted us as right with himself. So we certainly know that Christ will save us when God judges everyone. Because of Jesus, God will not be angry with us and punish us.
• Ephesians 1:7When Christ died as a sacrifice on the cross, he paid the price to make us free. Because of Christ's death on our behalf, God has forgiven our sins. God is so very kind that he has done all this for us!
• Colossians 1:14God's Son, Jesus, paid the price for our sins and made us free. Yes, God has forgiven us.
• Hebrews 9:22God's Law taught that blood was necessary to make almost everything clean. We see that God does not forgive people for their sins unless there is blood from a death.
• Hebrews 13:12In the same way, Jesus also died outside the city. He died as a sacrifice on our behalf. His blood has made his people clean from their sins.
• 1 Peter 1:2God, the Father, already decided that you should be his people. God's Spirit has made you special people who would obey Jesus Christ. God chose you so that Jesus Christ's blood would make you really clean. I pray that God will help you and give you peace in your minds more and more.
• 1 John 1:7But when we live in a right way, it is like living in the light. God is always in the light. So, if we live in the light, we share together in the life which God gives. And when Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross, he saved us from all our sins. The blood of his sacrifice makes us clean.
• 1 John 2:2Jesus died as a sacrifice to take the punishment for our sin. Then God could forgive us. Jesus did that not only for us. He did it for all people in the world, so that God could forgive them for their sins.

Commentaries on Leviticus 17:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11For the life of the flesh is in the blood - This sentence, which contains a most important truth, had existed in the Mosaic writings for 3600 years before the attention of any philosopher was drawn to the subject. This is the more surprising, as the nations in which philosophy flourished were those which especially enjoyed the Divine oracles in their respective languages. That the blood actually possesses a living principle, and that the life of the whole…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10-14Verses 10-14 The prohibition to eat blood is repeated in seven places in the Pentateuch, but in this passage two distinct grounds are given for the prohibition: first, its own nature as the vital fluid; secondly, its consecration in sacrificial worship. Leviticus 17:11 Rather, For the soul of the flesh is in the blood; and I have ordained it for you upon the altar, to make atonement for your souls, for the blood it is which makes atonement by means of the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-16Verses 10-16 Here is a confirmation of the law against eating blood. They must eat no blood. But this law was ceremonial, and is now no longer in force; the coming of the substance does away the shadow. The blood of beasts is no longer the ransom, but Christ's blood only; therefore there is not now the reason for abstaining there then was. The blood is now allowed for the nourishment of our bodies; it is no longer appointed to make an atonement for the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11the life of the flesh is in the blood: God forbade Israel to consume blood because it symbolized the life given by God (Leviticus 17:10). They set it aside as God's portion of each animal offering. God also designated the sacrificial blood as the way to atone. This means God's grace accepted the life of the animal in exchange for the life of the sinner. In the New Testament, the blood of Christ—representing his life freely given—provides eternal…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls--God, as the sovereign author and proprietor of nature, reserved the blood to Himself and allowed men only one use of it--in the way of sacrifices.Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 17:11

• Atonement
• Blood
• Sanitation

In the dictionaries

• Blood
• Devil
• Atonement, Day of
• Clean
• Cleanse
• Cornelius
• Criticism
• Eschatology of the Old Testament
• Ezekiel
• Heart

Commentaries on Leviticus 17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings