Back to Leviticus 11

Leviticus 11:40-43

He who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.

“ ‘Every creeping thing that creeps on the earth is an abomination. It shall not be eaten. Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, even all creeping things that creep on the earth, them you shall not eat; for they are an abomination. You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps. You shall not make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled by them.

World English Bible · Public Domain
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Leviticus 11:40-43 sits inside this longer paragraph.

“ ‘If any animal of which you may eat dies, he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. He who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.

“ ‘Every creeping thing that creeps on the earth is an abomination. It shall not be eaten. Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, even all creeping things that creep on the earth, them you shall not eat; for they are an abomination. You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps. You shall not make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled by them. For I am Yahweh your God. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any kind of creeping thing that moves on the earth. For I am Yahweh who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

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Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    He who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.

    “ ‘Every creeping thing that creeps on the earth is an abomination. It shall not be eaten.

    Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, even all creeping things that creep on the earth, them you shall not eat; for they are an abomination.

    You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps. You shall not make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled by them.

  • KJV King James Version

    And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.

    And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.

    Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.

    Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.

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  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    And he that eateth of the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even; he also that beareth the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.

    And every swarming thing that swarmeth upon the earth is a detestable thing; it shall not be eaten.

    Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all fours, or whatsoever hath many feet, even all swarming things that swarm upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are a detestable thing.

    Ye shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarmeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.

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Examined in Scripture Analysis

Commandments (3)

The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.

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Cross-references (35)

  • Leviticus 22:8 (v40) He shall not eat that which dies of itself or is torn by animals, defiling himself by it. I am Yahweh.
  • Ezekiel 44:31 (v40) The priests shall not eat of anything that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it is bird or animal.
  • Leviticus 11:29 (v41) “ ‘These are they which are unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard,
  • Leviticus 20:25 (v43) “ ‘You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the clean. You shall…
  • Deuteronomy 14:21 (v40) You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the foreigner living among you who is within your gates, that he may…
Show all 35 cross-references
  • Exodus 22:31 (v40) “You shall be holy men to me, therefore you shall not eat any meat that is torn by animals in the field. You shall cast it to the dogs.
  • Leviticus 11:41-42 (v43) “ ‘Every creeping thing that creeps on the earth is an abomination. It shall not be eaten. Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on…
  • Ezekiel 4:14 (v40) Then I said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! Behold, my soul has not been polluted; for from my youth up even until now I have not eaten of that which…
  • Genesis 3:14-15 (v42) Yahweh God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You…
  • Leviticus 11:20 (v41) “ ‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are an abomination to you.
  • Leviticus 11:23 (v41) But all winged creeping things which have four feet are an abomination to you.
  • Leviticus 11:25 (v40) Whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.
  • Leviticus 11:28 (v40) He who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. They are unclean to you.
  • Leviticus 14:8-9 (v40) “He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean. After that…
  • Leviticus 15:5-10 (v40) Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. He who sits on anything on…
  • Leviticus 15:27 (v40) Whoever touches these things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
  • Leviticus 16:26 (v40) “He who lets the goat go as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.
  • Leviticus 16:28 (v40) He who burns them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.
  • Leviticus 17:15-16 (v40) “ ‘Every person that eats what dies of itself, or that which is torn by animals, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, shall wash his…
  • Numbers 19:7-8 (v40) Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest…
  • Numbers 19:19 (v40) The clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day. On the seventh day, he shall purify him. He shall…
  • Isaiah 1:16 (v40) Wash yourselves. Make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil.
  • Isaiah 65:25 (v42) The wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. Dust will be the serpent’s food. They will not hurt nor…
  • Ezekiel 36:25 (v40) I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness, and from all your idols.
  • Micah 7:17 (v42) They will lick the dust like a serpent. Like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their dens. They will come with…
  • Zechariah 13:1 (v40) “In that day there will be a spring opened to David’s house and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
  • Matthew 3:7 (v42) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to…
  • Matthew 23:23 (v42) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law:…
  • John 8:44 (v42) You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand…
  • 1 Corinthians 6:11 (v40) Some of you were such, but you were washed. But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the…
  • 1 Corinthians 10:21 (v40) You can’t both drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You can’t both partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons.
  • 2 Corinthians 11:3 (v42) But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is…
  • 2 Corinthians 11:13 (v42) For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as Christ’s apostles.
  • Titus 1:12 (v42) One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and idle gluttons.”
  • 1 John 1:7 (v40) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses…

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

Explain this passage (13 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv40–43 Lev 11:40 And he that eateth of the carcase…

Lev 11:40 And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.

Ver. 40. Shall wash his clothes.] To teach them to "hate even the garment spotted by the flesh," {Jdg 1:23} all provocations and instruments of sin.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv40–42 He that eateth, to wit, unwittingly; for if he…
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v43 Here is, I. The exposition of this law, or…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv40–43 And he that eateth of the carcass of it,....…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv40–42 He that eateth - Unwittingly, for if he did…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v42 Verse 42. Whatsoever goeth upon the belly] In the…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly - i. e. all…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv40, 42 Clothes, and his whole body, either together or separate,…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v43 43. Ye shall not make yourselves abominable — Hebrew,…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv40–41 40. Eating the carcase is forbidden as in Deu_14:21.…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv40–43 (40) And he that eateth.—That is, ignorantly, since for…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v41 Vers. 41-43. The last class is that of vermin,…
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv41, 43 General Information:
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