Imamat 11:9-19

Clean and Unclean Water Creatures

11:9 “‘These you can eat from all creatures that are in the water: Any creatures in the water that have both fins and scales, ¹  whether in the seas or in the streams, ²  you may eat. 11:10 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. 11:11 Since they are detestable to you, you must not eat their meat and their carcass you must detest. 11:12 Any creature in the water that does not have both fins and scales is detestable to you.

Clean and Unclean Birds

11:13 “‘These you are to detest from among the birds – they must not be eaten, because they are detestable: ³  the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 11:14 the kite, the buzzard of any kind, ⁴  11:15 every kind of crow, ⁵  11:16 the eagle owl, ⁶  the short-eared owl, the long-eared owl, the hawk of any kind, 11:17 the little owl, the cormorant, the screech owl, 11:18 the white owl, the scops owl, the osprey, 11:19 the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.

[11:9]  ¹ tn Heb “all which have fin and scale” (see also vv. 10 and 12).

[11:9]  ² tn Heb “in the water, in the seas and in the streams” (see also vv. 10 and 12).

[11:13]  ³ tn For zoological remarks on the following list of birds see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:662-64; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 159-60.

[11:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the buzzard to its kind” (see also vv. 16 and 19 for the same expression “of any kind”).

[11:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “every crow to its kind.” Many English versions (e.g., KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) render this as “raven.”

[11:16]  ⁶ tn Literally, “the daughter of the wasteland.” Various proposals for the species of bird referred to here include “owl” (KJV), “horned owl” (NIV, NCV), and “ostrich” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).