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

12Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, nor may any stranger who resides among you eat blood.’ 13So when anyone from the sons of Israel, or from the strangers who reside among them, while hunting catches an animal or a bird which may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dirt. “For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’ 15And any person who eats an animal which dies or is torn by animals, whether he is a native or a stranger, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean. 16But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe his body, then he shall bear the responsibility for his guilt.”

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

• lifeנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
• of allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
• its bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• Therefore I saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• to the sonsבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• You are not to eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• it shall be cutכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772
• offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772

Cross-references for Leviticus 17:14

• Leviticus 17:11For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’
• Genesis 9:4But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
• Deuteronomy 12:23Only be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh.

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