New King James Version
Leviticus 17:15
15“And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean.
Leviticus 17:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.
- New International Version (NIV)“ ‘Anyone, whether native-born or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then they will be clean.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And every person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“And if any native-born Israelites or foreigners eat the meat of an animal that died naturally or was torn up by wild animals, they must wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water. They will remain ceremonially unclean until evening, but then they will be clean.
Context of Leviticus 17:15
13“Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust; 14for 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.’ “And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean. 16But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt.”
Read all of Leviticus 17Leviticus 17:15 word by word
וְכָל־נֶ֗פֶשׁ אֲשֶׁ֨ר תֹּאכַ֤ל נְבֵלָה֙ וּטְרֵפָ֔ה בָּאֶזְרָ֖ח וּבַגֵּ֑ר וְכִבֶּ֨ס בְּגָדָ֜יו וְרָחַ֥ץ בַּמַּ֛יִם וְטָמֵ֥א עַד־הָעֶ֖רֶב וְטָהֵֽר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And every soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: personH5315
- that eatethאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- that which diedנְבֵלָהnebêlâh · carcassH5038
- or that which was tornטְרֵפָהţerêphâh · torn animalH2966
- one of your own countryאֶזְרָח'ezrâch · bornH249
- or a strangerגֵּרgêr gêyr · sojournerH1616
- he shall both washכָּבַסkâbas · to washH3526
- his clothesבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
- and batheרָחַץrâchats · to wash: washH7364
- in waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- and be uncleanטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
- until the evenעֶ֫רֶב‛ereb · eveningH6153
- then shall he be cleanטָהֵרţâhêr · be pureH2891
Cross-references for Leviticus 17:15
- Leviticus 22:8Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the Lord.
- Exodus 22:31“And you shall be holy men to Me: you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.
- Deuteronomy 14:21“You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Ezekiel 4:14So I said, “Ah, Lord God! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has abominable flesh ever come into my mouth.”
- Ezekiel 44:31The priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that died naturally or was torn by wild beasts.
- Leviticus 11:25whoever carries part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening:
- Leviticus 15:5And whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.
- Numbers 19:8And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening.
- Revelation 7:14And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Commentaries on Leviticus 17:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15That which died of itself, or that which was torn - Because, in both cases, the blood was retained in the body; hence the council at Jerusalem forbade things strangled as well as blood, because in such beasts the blood was coagulated in the veins and arteries. See Acts 15:28-29. Every thing considered, surely there is as little propriety in eating of blood as there is necessity to do it. They who will do otherwise must bear their iniquity. If blood eating…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15This law appears to be grounded on the fact that the body of an animal killed by a wild beast, or which has died of itself, still retains a great portion of its blood. The importance ascribed to this law in later times may be seen in 1 Samuel 14:32-35; Ezekiel 4:14; Ezekiel 44:31, and still more in the apostolic decision regarding “things strangled,” which are pointedly connected with blood Acts 15:20.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. 15-16An animal killed by a predator or that died naturally still had blood in its tissues. This made it ceremonially unclean and a possible source of ceremonial uncleanness (Leviticus 22:8). Israelites must throw such an animal to the dogs or give or sell it to a non-Israelite (Exodus 22:31; Deuteronomy 14:21). If an Israelite ate an animal with undrained blood, he or she became ceremonially unclean. Then they had to wash in water. The uncleanness was not a…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-1615-16. every soul that eateth that which died of itself (Ex 22:31; Le 7:24; Ac 15:20), be unclean until the even--that is, from the moment of his discovering his fault until the evening. This law, however, was binding only on an Israelite. (See De 14:21).Read the comment
Topics related to Leviticus 17:15
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries