Laws on various subjects

Where to offer sacrifices

1The LORD told Moses 2to tell Aaron, his sons, and everyone else in Israel:

3-4Whenever you kill any of your cattle, sheep, or goats as sacrifices to me, you must do it at the entrance to the sacred tent. If you don't, you will be guilty of pouring out blood, and you will no longer belong to the community of Israel. 5And so, when you sacrifice an animal to ask my blessing,17.5 sacrifice…to ask my blessing: See the note at 3.1. it must not be done out in a field, 6but in front of the sacred tent. Then a priest can splatter its blood against the bronze altar and send its fat up in smoke with a smell that pleases me. 7Don't ever turn from me again and offer sacrifices to goat-demons. This law will never change.

8Remember! No one in Israel, including foreigners, is to offer a sacrifice anywhere 9except at the entrance to the sacred tent. If you do, you will no longer belong to my people.

Do not eat blood

The LORD said:

10I will turn against any of my people who eat blood. This also includes any foreigners living among you.17.10: Gn 9.4; Lv 7.26,27; 19.26; Dt 12.16,23; 15.23. 11Life is in the blood, and I have given you the blood of animals to sacrifice in place of your own.17.11: He 9.22. 12That's also why I have forbidden you to eat blood. 13Even if you should hunt and kill a bird or an animal, you must drain out the blood and cover it with soil.

14The life of every living creature is in its blood. That's why I have forbidden you to eat blood and why I have warned you that anyone who does will no longer belong to my people.

15If you happen to find a dead animal and eat it, you must take a bath and wash your clothes, but you are still unclean until evening. 16If you don't take a bath, you will suffer for what you did wrong.