Bible in Basic English
These you may have for food of all things living in the water: anything living in the water, in the seas or rivers, which has special parts for swimming and skin formed of thin plates, may be used for food.
All other things living and moving in the water, in the sea or in the rivers, are a disgusting thing to you;
They may not be used for food, and their dead bodies are disgusting to you.
Anything in the water which has no special parts for swimming and no thin plates on its skin is disgusting to you.
And among birds these are to be disgusting to you, and not to be used for food: the eagle and the gier-eagle and the ospray;
And the kite and the falcon, and birds of that sort;
Every raven, and birds of that sort;
And the ostrich and the night-hawk and the sea-hawk, and birds of that sort;
And the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl;
And the water-hen and the pelican and the vulture;
The stork and the heron, and birds of that sort, and the hoopoe and the bat.
Every winged four-footed thing which goes on the earth is disgusting to you;
But of the winged four-footed things, those which have long legs for jumping on the earth you may have for food;
Such as all the different sorts of locust.
But all other winged four-footed things which go on the earth are disgusting to you.
By these you will be made unclean; anyone touching their dead bodies will be unclean till evening:
Whoever takes away the dead body of one of them is to have his clothing washed, and will be unclean till evening.
Every beast, in the horn of whose foot there is not a complete division, and whose food does not come back, is unclean to you: anyone touching one of these will be unclean.
Any four-footed beast which goes on the ball of its foot, is unclean to you: anyone touching the dead body of one of these will be unclean till evening.
Anyone who takes away the dead body of one of these is to have his clothing washed and be unclean till evening.
And these are unclean to you among things which go low down on the earth; the weasel and the mouse and the great lizard, and animals of that sort;
And the ferret and the land crocodile and the lizard and the sand-lizard and the chameleon.
All these are unclean to you: anyone touching them when they are dead will be unclean till evening.
The dead body of any of these, falling on anything, will make that thing unclean; if it is any vessel of wood, or clothing, or skin, or bag, whatever it is, if it is used for any purpose, it will have to be put into water, and will be unclean till evening; after that it will be clean.
And if one of them gets into any vessel of earth, whatever is in the vessel will be unclean and the vessel will have to be broken.
Any food in it, and anything on which water from it comes, will be unclean: any drink taken from such a vessel will be unclean.
Any part of the dead body of one of these, falling on anything, will make it unclean; if it is an oven or a cooking-pot it will have to be broken: they are unclean and will be unclean to you.
But at the same time a fountain or a place where water is stored for use will be clean; but anyone touching their dead bodies will be unclean.
If any part of the dead body of one of these gets on to any seed for planting, it is clean;
But if water is put on the seed, and any part of the dead body gets on to it, it will be unclean to you.
And if any beast which may be used for food comes to a natural death, anyone touching its dead body will be unclean till evening.
And he who makes use of any part of its body for food is to have his clothing washed and be unclean till evening; and anyone taking away its body is to have his clothing washed and be unclean till evening.
Everything which goes flat on its body on the earth is disgusting, and is not to be used for food.
Whatever goes on its stomach or on four feet or has a great number of feet, even all those going flat on the earth, may not be used for food, for they are disgusting.
You are not to make yourselves disgusting with anything which goes about flat on the earth; you may not make yourselves unclean with them, in such a way that you are not holy to me.
For I am the Lord your God: for this reason, make and keep yourselves holy, for I am holy; you are not to make yourselves unclean with any sort of thing which goes about flat on the earth.
For I am the Lord, who took you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; so be you holy, for I am holy.
This is the law about beasts and birds and every living thing moving in the waters, and every living thing which goes flat on the earth:
Marking out the unclean from the clean, and the living thing which may be used for food from that which may not.
— Leviticus 11:9-1964, Bible in Basic English
“These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination. Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you. And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; Every raven after his kind; And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you. And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even. And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. The carcases of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean. And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even. And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you. These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole. These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even. And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed. And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it. Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean. And every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you. Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean. And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean. But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you. And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even. 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. For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten. ”
“These may ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, that may ye eat. And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are an abomination unto you, and they shall be an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses ye shall have in abomination. Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that is an abomination unto you. And these ye shall have in abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the gier-eagle, and the ospray, and the kite, and the falcon after its kind, every raven after its kind, and the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the sea-mew, and the hawk after its kind, and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, and the horned owl, and the pelican, and the vulture, and the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat. All winged creeping things that go upon all fours are an abomination unto you. Yet these may ye eat of all winged creeping things that go upon all fours, which have legs above their feet, wherewith to leap upon the earth; even these of them ye may eat: the locust after its kind, and the bald locust after its kind, and the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind. But all winged creeping things, which have four feet, are an abomination unto you. And by these ye shall become unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcass of them shall be unclean until the even; and whosoever beareth aught of the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. Every beast which parteth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, is unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean. And whatsoever goeth upon its paws, among all beasts that go on all fours, they are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcass shall be unclean until the even. And he that beareth the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you. And these are they which are unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth: the weasel, and the mouse, and the great lizard after its kind, and the gecko, and the land-crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand-lizard, and the chameleon. These are they which are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they are dead, shall be unclean until the even. And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherewith any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; then shall it be clean. And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean, and it ye shall break. All food therein which may be eaten, that on which water cometh, shall be unclean; and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean. And every thing whereupon any part of their carcass falleth shall be unclean; whether oven, or range for pots, it shall be broken in pieces: they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you. Nevertheless a fountain or a pit wherein is a gathering of water shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcass shall be unclean. And if aught of their carcass fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it is clean. But if water be put upon the seed, and aught of their carcass fall thereon, it is unclean unto you. And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcass thereof shall be unclean until the even. 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 creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth is an abomination; it shall not be eaten. Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all fours, or whatsoever hath many feet, even 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. For I am Jehovah your God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that moveth upon the earth. For I am Jehovah that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the beast, and of the bird, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth; to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten. ”
“Clean and Unclean Water Creatures“‘These you can eat from all creatures that are in the water: Any creatures in the water that have both fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams, you may eat. But any creatures that do not have both fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams, from all the swarming things of the water and from all the living creatures that are in the water, are detestable to you. Since they are detestable to you, you must not eat their meat and their carcass you must detest. Any creature in the water that does not have both fins and scales is detestable to you. Clean and Unclean Birds“‘These you are to detest from among the birds– they must not be eaten, because they are detestable: the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, the kite, the buzzard of any kind, every kind of crow, the eagle owl, the short-eared owl, the long-eared owl, the hawk of any kind, the little owl, the cormorant, the screech owl, the white owl, the scops owl, the osprey, the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. Clean and Unclean Insects“‘Every winged swarming thing that walks on all fours is detestable to you. However, this you may eat from all the winged swarming things that walk on all fours, which have jointed legs to hop with on the land. These you may eat from them: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, the grasshopper of any kind. But any other winged swarming thing that has four legs is detestable to you. Carcass Uncleanness“‘By these you defile yourselves; anyone who touches their carcass will be unclean until the evening, and anyone who carries their carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until the evening. Inedible Land Quadrupeds“‘All animals that divide the hoof but it is not completely split in two and do not chew the cud are unclean to you; anyone who touches them becomes unclean. All that walk on their paws among all the creatures that walk on all fours are unclean to you. Anyone who touches their carcass will be unclean until the evening, and the one who carries their carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you. Creatures that Swarm on the Land“‘Now this is what is unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the land: the rat, the mouse, the large lizard of any kind, the Mediterranean gecko, the spotted lizard, the wall gecko, the skink, and the chameleon. These are the ones that are unclean to you among all the swarming things. Anyone who touches them when they die will be unclean until evening. Also, anything they fall on when they die will become unclean– any wood vessel or garment or article of leather or sackcloth. Any such vessel with which work is done must be immersed in water and will be unclean until the evening. Then it will become clean. As for any clay vessel they fall into, everything in it will become unclean and you must break it. Any food that may be eaten which becomes soaked with water will become unclean. Anything drinkable in any such vessel will become unclean. Anything their carcass may fall on will become unclean. An oven or small stove must be smashed to pieces; they are unclean, and they will stay unclean to you. However, a spring or a cistern which collects water will be clean, but one who touches their carcass will be unclean. Now, if such a carcass falls on any sowing seed which is to be sown, it is clean, but if water is put on the seed and such a carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you. Edible Land Quadrupeds“‘Now if an animal that you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass will be unclean until the evening. One who eats from its carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening, and whoever carries its carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. Every swarming thing that swarms on the land is detestable; it must not be eaten. You must not eat anything that crawls on its belly or anything that walks on all fours or on any number of legs of all the swarming things that swarm on the land, because they are detestable. Do not make yourselves detestable by any of the swarming things. You must not defile yourselves by them and become unclean by them, for I am the LORD your God and you are to sanctify yourselves and be holy because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any of the swarming things that creep on the ground, for I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, and you are to be holy because I am holy. This is the law of the land animals, the birds, all the living creatures that move in the water, and all the creatures that swarm on the land, to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between the living creatures that may be eaten and the living creatures that must not be eaten.’””
And the hare, because the horn of its foot is not parted in two, is unclean to you.
And the pig is unclean to you, because though the horn of its foot is parted, its food does not come back.
Their flesh may not be used for food, and their dead bodies may not even be touched; they are unclean to you.
These you may have for food of all things living in the water: anything living in the water, in the seas or rivers, which has special parts for swimming and skin formed of thin plates, may be used for food.
All other things living and moving in the water, in the sea or in the rivers, are a disgusting thing to you;
They may not be used for food, and their dead bodies are disgusting to you.
Anything in the water which has no special parts for swimming and no thin plates on its skin is disgusting to you.
And among birds these are to be disgusting to you, and not to be used for food: the eagle and the gier-eagle and the ospray;
And the kite and the falcon, and birds of that sort;
Every raven, and birds of that sort;
And the ostrich and the night-hawk and the sea-hawk, and birds of that sort;
And the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl;
And the water-hen and the pelican and the vulture;
The stork and the heron, and birds of that sort, and the hoopoe and the bat.
Every winged four-footed thing which goes on the earth is disgusting to you;
But of the winged four-footed things, those which have long legs for jumping on the earth you may have for food;
Such as all the different sorts of locust.
But all other winged four-footed things which go on the earth are disgusting to you.
By these you will be made unclean; anyone touching their dead bodies will be unclean till evening:
Whoever takes away the dead body of one of them is to have his clothing washed, and will be unclean till evening.
Every beast, in the horn of whose foot there is not a complete division, and whose food does not come back, is unclean to you: anyone touching one of these will be unclean.
Any four-footed beast which goes on the ball of its foot, is unclean to you: anyone touching the dead body of one of these will be unclean till evening.
Anyone who takes away the dead body of one of these is to have his clothing washed and be unclean till evening.
And these are unclean to you among things which go low down on the earth; the weasel and the mouse and the great lizard, and animals of that sort;
And the ferret and the land crocodile and the lizard and the sand-lizard and the chameleon.
All these are unclean to you: anyone touching them when they are dead will be unclean till evening.
The dead body of any of these, falling on anything, will make that thing unclean; if it is any vessel of wood, or clothing, or skin, or bag, whatever it is, if it is used for any purpose, it will have to be put into water, and will be unclean till evening; after that it will be clean.
And if one of them gets into any vessel of earth, whatever is in the vessel will be unclean and the vessel will have to be broken.
Any food in it, and anything on which water from it comes, will be unclean: any drink taken from such a vessel will be unclean.
Any part of the dead body of one of these, falling on anything, will make it unclean; if it is an oven or a cooking-pot it will have to be broken: they are unclean and will be unclean to you.
But at the same time a fountain or a place where water is stored for use will be clean; but anyone touching their dead bodies will be unclean.
If any part of the dead body of one of these gets on to any seed for planting, it is clean;
But if water is put on the seed, and any part of the dead body gets on to it, it will be unclean to you.
And if any beast which may be used for food comes to a natural death, anyone touching its dead body will be unclean till evening.
And he who makes use of any part of its body for food is to have his clothing washed and be unclean till evening; and anyone taking away its body is to have his clothing washed and be unclean till evening.
Everything which goes flat on its body on the earth is disgusting, and is not to be used for food.
Whatever goes on its stomach or on four feet or has a great number of feet, even all those going flat on the earth, may not be used for food, for they are disgusting.
You are not to make yourselves disgusting with anything which goes about flat on the earth; you may not make yourselves unclean with them, in such a way that you are not holy to me.
For I am the Lord your God: for this reason, make and keep yourselves holy, for I am holy; you are not to make yourselves unclean with any sort of thing which goes about flat on the earth.
For I am the Lord, who took you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; so be you holy, for I am holy.
This is the law about beasts and birds and every living thing moving in the waters, and every living thing which goes flat on the earth:
Marking out the unclean from the clean, and the living thing which may be used for food from that which may not.