1 And the LORD {YHWH, Lawgiver and Instructor} spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying {lemor: introductory formula} to them,
2 “Speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘This is the living creature {chayah: living animal} which you may eat from among all the beasts that are on the land {erets: entire landmass}.’”
3 Every animal among the animals that has a split hoof {parsah: anatomical split} and brings up the cud {gerah: chewed food}—you shall eat it.
4 But of these you shall not eat those that chew the cud {gerah: chewed residue} or those that split the hoof. The camel, because it chews the cud but its hoof is not split, is unclean {tame: ritually impure} for you.
5 And the hyrax chews the cud {gerah: partly chewed substance}, but its hoof {farsah: undivided foot} is not divided; it is unclean for you.
6 And the hare, because it brings up the cud {gerah: chewed food}, but does not divide the hoof {parsah: cloven foot}, is unclean for you.
7 And the pig, though it divides the hoof and splits the hoof completely, yet does not chew the cud; it is unclean {tame: ritually impure} for you {lachem: covenant community}.
8 From their flesh {mibbsaram: their meat} you shall not eat, and you shall not touch their carcass. They are unclean {tmeim: ritually impure}.
9 This you shall eat from all that are in the waters: all that have fins {snapir: aquatic appendage} and scales {kaskeshet: protective covering} in the waters, in the seas and in the rivers—these you shall eat.
10 And all that do not have fins and scales in the seas or in the streams, from every swarming thing {sherets: aquatic creeper} of the waters and every living creature that is in the waters, are an abomination to you {lakhem: for you}.
11 They shall be a detestable thing {sheqets: ritually loathsome} for you; from their flesh you shall not eat, and you shall regard their carcasses {nivla: dead bodies} as detestable.
12 Everything that does not have a fin {snapir: appendage for swimming} and a scale in the waters is an abomination {sheqets: ritually detestable} to you.
13 And these you shall detest among the birds; they shall not be eaten, for they are an abomination {sheqets: ritual impurity}. The eagle, the vulture, and the bearded vulture {azniyyah: large carrion bird}.
14 And the da’ah and the ayyah {ayyah: black kite}, each according to its kind {min: species distinction}.
15 You shall not eat all kinds {kol: all-inclusive category} of raven {orev: carrion-eating bird}.
16 And the ostrich, the nighthawk {tachmas: night-flying bird}, the seagull, and the hawk according to its kind {le-minêhû: every species}.
17 And the little owl {kos: small nocturnal bird}, and the cormorant, and the owl {yanshuf: night raptor},
18 And the white owl {tinshemet: nocturnal raptor}, the desert owl {ka’at: wilderness owl}, and the carrion vulture.
19 And the stork {chasidah: wading bird species}, the heron according to its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat {atallef: flying mammal}.
20 Every swarming thing of the flying creatures that goes on all fours is a detestable thing {sheqets: ritually unclean} to you {lakhem: binding statute}.
21 However, of all the swarming creatures {sherets: winged swarming creatures} that go on all fours, this you may eat: any that have legs {kra’ayim: jointed jumping limbs} above their feet, with which to leap on the ground.
22 Of these {elleh: specific subset} from among them you may eat the locust {arbeh: migratory insect} according to its kind, and the bald locust according to its kind, and the cricket according to its kind, and the grasshopper according to its kind.
23 And every flying creeping thing which has four legs—it is an abomination {sheqets: ritually detestable} to you {lakhem: for your community}.
24 And concerning these you shall become unclean {tame: ritually impure}; everyone who touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening {haarev: day’s close}.
25 And anyone who carries {hanose: the one bearing} any part from their carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean {tame: ritually impure} until the evening.
26 For every animal which splits {mapreset: partial division} the hoof yet does not fully divide it and does not bring up {maalah: regurgitate nourishment} the cud, they are unclean for you; anyone who touches them will become unclean.
27 And every creature that walks on its paws {kappav: foot pads} among all four-legged animals is unclean {temeim: ritually defiled} for you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening.
28 And anyone who carries their carcass must wash his clothes {beged: garment}, and will be unclean {tame: ritually impure} until the evening. They are unclean for you.
29 And this is unclean for you among the creeping things {sherets: small ground-crawlers} that creep on the earth: the mole rat and the mouse and the lizard {tsav: large lizard} according to its kind.
30 And the gecko {anakah: Small Climbing Reptile}, and the monitor lizard, and the lizard, and the sand lizard {chomet: desert lizard}, and the chameleon.
31 These are the unclean {hatme’im: ritually impure} creatures for you among all the swarming things. Whoever touches them when they are dead will become unclean until evening {ha’arev: sunset period}.
32 And any object on which one of them falls when it dies will be unclean—whether it is any wooden vessel, garment, skin, or sackcloth. Any vessel {keli: work utensil} used for work with them must be immersed in water, and it will remain unclean until the evening {erev: day’s conclusion}; then it will be clean.
33 And every clay vessel {cheres: porous earthenware} into which any of them falls, everything inside it shall become unclean {yitma: ceremonially defiled}, and you shall break it.
34 From all the food that may be eaten, if water comes upon it while it is inside it, it shall become unclean {yitma: ritually impure}. And every drink that is drunk from any such vessel {keli: vessel for daily use} shall become unclean.
35 And anything that falls from their carcass on it shall become unclean; an oven {tannur: clay oven} or a stove must be broken down—they are unclean {temeim: ritually impure} for you.
36 However, a spring or a cistern {bor: man-made reservoir}—a pool of water—will be clean, but anyone who touches their carcass will become unclean {tame: ritually impure}.
37 And if any part of their nevelah {nevelah: dead animal} falls on any planted seed, it remains tahor {tahor: ceremonially pure}.
38 And if water {mayim: ritual purity element} is put upon seed, and from their carcass {minivlatam: animal carcass} falls upon it, it is unclean for you.
39 And if any of the animals {behemah: permitted species} that are for food to you dies, whoever touches its carcass will be unclean until the evening {erev: sunset period}.
40 And whoever eats {akhel: ritual eating} from its carcass must wash his garments and be unclean {tame: ritually impure} until the evening. And whoever carries its carcass must wash his garments and be unclean until the evening.
41 And every creeping thing {sherets: small moving creature} that creeps on the land is a detestable thing {sheqets: ritual abomination}; it is not to be eaten.
42 Every creature that moves upon its belly, and every creature that moves on four feet, even all that have many {marbeh: multiplying} feet—of all the creeping things {hasherets: swarming creatures} that swarm upon the earth—you shall not eat them, for they are detestable.
43 Do not make your souls {nefesh: life essence} detestable by any creeping thing {sherets: forbidden creature}, and do not defile yourselves by them, and you shall be made unclean by them.
44 For I am the LORD your God {YHWH Eloheichem, Divine Sanctifier}; therefore sanctify yourselves {hitkaddishtem: consecrate by action} and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile your souls with any of the creeping things that move upon the earth.
45 For I am the LORD {YHWH, Deliverer} who brings you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God; therefore you shall be holy {kedoshim: consecrated ones}, for I am holy.
46 This is the law {torat: covenant instruction} concerning the animal and the bird, and every living creature {nefesh: life-bearing being} that moves in the waters, and every creature that swarms upon the land.
47 To distinguish between the unclean {tame: ritually impure} and the clean, and between the living creature that may be eaten {ne’ekhelet: permitted for food} and the living creature that may not be eaten.