Clean and Unclean Animals
(Deuteronomy 14:1–21; Acts 10:9–16)

1And YHWH spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, 2“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This is the living thing that you⁺ may eat from among all the beasts that are on the earth: 3Every one dividing the hoof, and cleaving the cleft of the hooves, and bringing up the cud among the beasts, it you⁺ may eat.

4Nevertheless this you⁺ shall not eat from among the ones bringing up the cud, and from among the ones dividing the hoof:†

The camel, though it is bringing up the cud, but the hoof it is not dividing—it is unclean to you⁺.

5And the rock badger,† though it is bringing up the cud, but the hoof it is not dividing—it is unclean to you⁺.

6And the hare, though it is bringing up the cud, but the hoof it has not divided—it is unclean to you⁺.

7And the swine, though it is dividing the hoof and cleaving the cleft of the hoof, but the cud it does not chew—it is unclean to you⁺.

8From their flesh you⁺ shall not eat, and their carcass you⁺ shall not touch—they are unclean to you⁺.

9This you⁺ shall eat from all that are in the waters: Everything that has fin and scale in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them you⁺ shall eat.

10And everything that does not have fin and scale in the seas and in the rivers, from every swarming thing of the waters, and from every living creature that is in the waters—they are an abomination to you⁺. 11And an abomination they shall be to you⁺; from their flesh you⁺ shall not eat, and their carcasses you⁺ shall detest. 12All that does not have fin and scale in the waters—it is an abomination to you⁺.

13And these you⁺ shall detest from the birds; they shall not be eaten; they are an abomination:

The eagle, and the bearded vulture, and the black vulture,

14and the kite, and the falcon according to its kind,

15every raven according to its kind,

16and the daughter of the ostrich,† and the screech owl, and the gull, and the hawk according to its kind,

17and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,

18and the white owl, and the desert owl,† and the osprey,

19and the stork, the heron according to its kind, and

the hoopoe, and the bat.

20Every swarming thing that flies, the one walking on four legs, it is an abomination to you⁺. 21Only this you⁺ may eat from every swarming thing that flies, the one walking on four legs: That which has jointed legs above its feet to leap with them on the earth. 22These from them you⁺ may eat: The locust according to its kind, and the katydid according to its kind, and the cricket according to its kind, and the grasshopper according to its kind. 23And every swarming thing that flies that has four feet, it is an abomination to you⁺.

24And by these you⁺ shall become unclean; anyone who touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. 25And everyone who lifts from their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.

26To every beast that is dividing the hoof, and is not cleaving a cleft, and is not bringing up the cud, it is unclean to you⁺. Anyone who touches them shall be unclean.

27And everything walking on its palms among all the living that go on four legs, they are unclean to you⁺. Everyone who touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. 28And the one lifting their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening—they are unclean to you⁺.

29And this is unclean to you⁺ among the swarming things that swarm upon the earth: The mole, and the mouse, and the large lizard according to its kind, 30and the gecko, and the monitor lizard, and the lizard, and the skink, and the chameleon.

31These are unclean to you⁺ among every swarming thing; anyone who touches them in their death shall be unclean until the evening. 32And on all that, from their death, it falls, shall be unclean. From every vessel of wood, or garment, or skin, or sackcloth. Every vessel in which work is done, it must be put in the water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; and it shall be clean. 33And every earthen vessel that falls from them into its midst, all that is in its midst shall be unclean, and you⁺ shall break it. 34From all the food that may be eaten, on which water comes, it shall be unclean, and all drink that may be drunk from such a vessel shall be unclean.

35And everything on which their carcass falls, it shall be unclean: An oven or a hearth, it shall be broken down. They are unclean, and they shall be unclean to you⁺. 36Only a spring and a cistern, a collection of water, shall be clean, and the one touching their carcass shall be unclean. 37And if their carcass falls on any planting seed that is to be sown, it is clean. 38And if water is put on the seed, and their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you⁺.

39And if from the beast that is for food for you⁺ dies, the one touching its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. 40And the one eating from its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; and the one lifting its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.

41And every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth it is an abomination; it shall not be eaten. 42Everything crawling on its belly and everything walking on four legs, as far as everything multiplying feet among all the swarming things that swarm upon the earth, you⁺ shall not eat them, for they are an abomination.

43You⁺ shall not make your⁺ souls detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you⁺ shall not make yourselves unclean with them, and you⁺ shall not become unclean by them. 44For I am YHWH your⁺ God. And you⁺ shall sanctify yourselves, and you⁺ shall be holy, for I am holy.† And you⁺ shall not make unclean your souls with any swarming thing that crawls upon the earth. 45For I am YHWH, the One bringing you⁺ up from the land of Egypt, to be your⁺ God; and you⁺ shall be holy, for I am holy.

46This is the law of the beast and the bird and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that swarms upon the earth, 47to distinguish between the unclean and between the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and between the living thing that may not be eaten.’”