Leviticus 17

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, 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.

₁₀I will turn against any of my people who eat blood. This also includes any foreigners living among you. ₁₁Life is in the blood, and I have given you the blood of animals to sacrifice in place of your own. 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.