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[a]Any Israelite who slaughters an ox or a sheep or a goat, whether in the camp or outside of it, without first bringing it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the Lord’s tabernacle, shall be judged guilty of bloodshed[b](A)—that individual has shed blood, and shall be cut off(B) from the people. This is so that such sacrifices as they used to offer in the open field the Israelites shall henceforth bring to the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, to the priest, and sacrifice them there as communion sacrifices to the Lord.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 17:3–4 Any animal slaughtered must be brought to the tent of meeting as an offering. This differs from Dt 12:15–28, which allows those living too far from the temple to slaughter an animal for food at home without offering it as a sacrifice.
  2. 17:4 Guilty of bloodshed: human beings and animals can incur blood guilt for killing human beings (cf. Gn 9:5–6); human beings can incur blood guilt for killing animals (see note on Lv 24:17–22).

Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox,[a] a lamb(A) or a goat(B) in the camp or outside of it instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meeting(C) to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord(D)—that person shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; they have shed blood and must be cut off from their people.(E) This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the Lord, at the entrance to the tent of meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings.(F)

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 17:3 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.