Leviticus 17:14

Leviticus 17:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.
• New International Version (NIV)because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.
• New King James Version (NKJV)for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’

Context of Leviticus 17:14

12That is why I have said to the people of Israel: Neither you nor foreigners should ever eat blood. 13“If Israelites or foreigners hunt any animal or bird that may be eaten, they must pour out the animal’s blood and cover it with dirt. This is because the life of any creature is in its blood. So I have said to the people of Israel: Never eat any blood, because the life of any creature is in its blood. Whoever eats blood must be excluded ⌞from the people⌟. 15“Native Israelites or foreigners who eat the body of an animal that dies naturally or is killed by another animal must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. Then they will be clean. 16If they don’t wash their clothes and their bodies, they will be guilty of sin.”

Leviticus 17:14 word by word

כִּֽי־נֶ֣פֶשׁ כָּל־בָּשָׂ֗ר דָּמ֣וֹ בְנַפְשׁוֹ֮ הוּא֒ וָֽאֹמַר֙ לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל דַּ֥ם כָּל־בָּשָׂ֖ר לֹ֣א תֹאכֵ֑לוּ כִּ֣י נֶ֤פֶשׁ כָּל־בָּשָׂר֙ דָּמ֣וֹ הִ֔וא כָּל־אֹכְלָ֖יו יִכָּרֵֽת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• the lifeנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
• of all fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
• the bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• thereof: therefore I saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• Ye shall eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• it shall be cut offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772

Cross-references for Leviticus 17:14

• Leviticus 17:11because blood contains life. I have given this blood to you to make peace with me on the altar. Blood is needed to make peace with me.
• Genesis 9:4“But you are not to eat meat with blood in it. (Blood is life.)
• Deuteronomy 12:23However, be sure you never eat blood, because blood contains life. Never eat the life with the meat.

Commentaries on Leviticus 17:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh - Independently of the moral reasons given above, we may add, That blood, being highly alkalescent, especially in hot climates, is subject to speedy putrefaction. That it affords a gross nutriment, being very difficult of digestion, so much so that bull's blood was used in ancient times as poison, "Its extreme viscidity rendering it totally indigestible by the powers of the human stomach." It is allowed that…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
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1413-14. whatsoever man ... hunteth--It was customary with heathen sportsmen, when they killed any game or venison, to pour out the blood as a libation to the god of the chase. The Israelites, on the contrary, were enjoined, instead of leaving it exposed, to cover it with dust and, by this means, were effectually debarred from all the superstitious uses to which the heathen applied it.Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 17:14

• Blood
• Food
• Sanitation

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Children of Israel
• Blood
• Devil
• Atonement, Day of
• Clean
• Cleanse
• Cornelius

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