Leviticus 7:23

7:23 “Tell the Israelites, ‘You must not eat any fat of an ox, sheep, or goat.

Leviticus 7:25-27

7:25 If anyone eats fat from the animal from which he presents a gift to the Lord, that person will be cut off from his people. ¹  7:26 And you must not eat any blood of the birds or the domesticated land animals in any of the places where you live. ²  7:27 Any person who eats any blood – that person will be cut off from his people.’” ³ 

Leviticus 17:10-14

Prohibition against Eating Blood

17:10 “‘Any man ⁴  from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside ⁵  in their ⁶  midst who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, ⁷  17:11 for the life of every living thing ⁸  is in the blood. ⁹  So I myself have assigned it to you ¹⁰  on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life. ¹¹  17:12 Therefore, I have said to the Israelites: No person among you is to eat blood, ¹²  and no resident foreigner who lives among you is to eat blood. ¹³ 

17:13 “‘Any man from the Israelites ¹⁴  or from the foreigners who reside ¹⁵  in their ¹⁶  midst who hunts a wild animal ¹⁷  or a bird that may be eaten ¹⁸  must pour out its blood and cover it with soil, 17:14 for the life of all flesh is its blood. ¹⁹  So I have said to the Israelites: You must not eat the blood of any living thing ²⁰  because the life of every living thing is its blood – all who eat it will be cut off. ²¹ 

Genesis 9:4

9:4 But ²²  you must not eat meat ²³  with its life (that is, ²⁴  its blood) in it. ²⁵ 

Deuteronomy 12:16

12:16 However, you must not eat blood – pour it out on the ground like water.

Deuteronomy 12:23

12:23 However, by no means eat the blood, for the blood is life itself ²⁶  – you must not eat the life with the meat!

Deuteronomy 15:23

15:23 However, you must not eat its blood; you must pour it out on the ground like water.

Deuteronomy 15:1

Release for Debt Slaves

15:1 At the end of every seven years you must declare a cancellation ²⁷  of debts.

Deuteronomy 14:1

The Holy and the Profane

14:1 You are children ²⁸  of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald ²⁹  for the sake of the dead.

Ezekiel 33:25

33:25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, ³⁰  pray to ³¹  your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess ³²  the land?

Ezekiel 44:7

44:7 When you bring foreigners, those uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, into my sanctuary, you desecrate ³³  it – even my house – when you offer my food, the fat and the blood. You ³⁴  have broken my covenant by all your abominable practices.

Ezekiel 44:15

The Levitical Priests

44:15 “‘But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok ³⁵  who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, will approach me to minister to me; they will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the sovereign Lord.

Matthew 16:24

16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, ³⁶  he must deny ³⁷  himself, take up his cross, ³⁸  and follow me.

Matthew 26:28

26:28 for this is my blood, the blood ³⁹  of the covenant, ⁴⁰  that is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Acts 15:20-21

15:20 but that we should write them a letter ⁴¹  telling them to abstain ⁴²  from things defiled ⁴³  by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled ⁴⁴  and from blood. 15:21 For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times, ⁴⁵  because he is read aloud ⁴⁶  in the synagogues ⁴⁷  every Sabbath.”

Acts 15:29

15:29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols ⁴⁸  and from blood and from what has been strangled ⁴⁹  and from sexual immorality. ⁵⁰  If you keep yourselves from doing these things, ⁵¹  you will do well. Farewell. ⁵² 

Ephesians 1:7

1:7 In him ⁵³  we have redemption through his blood, ⁵⁴  the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

Ephesians 5:26

5:26 to sanctify her by cleansing her ⁵⁵  with the washing of the water by the word,

Ephesians 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ⁵⁶  imitators of God as dearly loved children

Ephesians 4:4

4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling,

[7:25]  ¹ sn See the note on Lev 7:20.

[7:26]  ² tn Heb “and any blood you must not eat in any of your dwelling places, to the bird and to the animal.”

[7:27]  ³ sn See the note on Lev 7:20.

[17:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “And man, man.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any (or every) man” (GKC 395-96 §123.c; cf. Lev 15:2).

[17:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”

[17:10]  ⁶ tc The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have “your” (plural) rather than “their.”

[17:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will give my faces against [literally “in”] the soul/person/life [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh, feminine] who eats the blood and I will cut it [i.e., that נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] off from the midst of its people.” The uses of נֶפֶשׁ in this and the following verse are most significant for the use of animal blood in Israel’s sacrificial system. Unfortunately, it is a most difficult word to translate accurately and consistently, and this presents a major problem for the rendering of these verses (see, e.g., G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 244-45). No matter which translation of נֶפֶשׁ one uses here, it is important to see that both man and animal have נֶפֶשׁ and that this נֶפֶשׁ is identified with the blood. See the further remarks on v. 11 below. On the “cutting off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above. In this instance, God takes it on himself to “cut off” the person (i.e., extirpation).

[17:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “the life of the flesh.” Here “flesh” stands for “every living thing,” that is, all creatures (cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT “every creature”; CEV “every living creature.”

[17:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “for the soul/life (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) of the flesh, it is in the blood” (cf. the note of v. 10 above and v. 14 below). Although most modern English versions begin a new sentence in v. 11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood” (see, e.g., NJPS, NASB, NIV, NRSV), the כִּי (ki, “for, because”) at the beginning of the verse suggests continuation from v. 10, as the rendering here indicates (see, e.g., NEB, NLT; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 261; and G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 239).

[17:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And I myself have given it to you.”

[17:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for the blood, it by (בְּ, bet preposition, “in”] the life makes atonement.” The interpretation of the preposition is pivotal here. Some scholars have argued that it is a bet of exchange; that is, “the blood makes atonement in exchange for the life [of the slaughtered animal]” (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:694-95, 697 for analysis and criticism of this view). It is more likely that, as in the previous clause (“your lives”), “life/soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) here refers to the person who makes the offering, not the animal offered. The blood of the animal makes atonement for the person who offers it either “by means of” (instrumental bet) the “life/soul” of the animal, which it symbolizes or embodies (the meaning of the translation given here); or perhaps the blood of the animal functions as “the price” (bet of price) for ransoming the “life/soul” of the person.

[17:12]  ¹² tn Heb “all/any person from you shall not eat blood.”

[17:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the sojourner, the one sojourning in your midst, shall not eat blood.”

[17:13]  ¹⁴ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “from the house of Israel” as in vv. 3, 8, and 10, but the LXX agrees with the MT.

[17:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”

[17:13]  ¹⁶ tc The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and certain mss of Smr have “your” (plural) rather than “their” (cf. v. 10 above).

[17:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[wild] game of animal.”

[17:13]  ¹⁸ tn That is, it must be a clean animal, not an unclean animal (cf. Lev 11).

[17:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for the life/soul (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) of all flesh, its blood in its life/soul (נֶפֶשׁ) it is.” The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate leave out “in its life/soul,” which would naturally yield “for the life of all flesh, its blood it is” (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 261, 263). The present translation is something of an oversimplification, but the meaning is basically the same in any case. Cf. NRSV “For the life of every creature – its blood is its life.”

[17:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “of all flesh” (also later in this verse). See the note on “every living thing” in v. 11.

[17:14]  ²¹ tn For remarks on the “cut off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above.

[9:4]  ²² tn Heb “only.”

[9:4]  ²³ tn Or “flesh.”

[9:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “its life, its blood.” The second word is in apposition to the first, explaining what is meant by “its life.” Since the blood is equated with life, meat that had the blood in it was not to be eaten.

[9:4]  ²⁵ tn The words “in it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[12:23]  ²⁶ sn The blood is life itself. This is a figure of speech (metonymy) in which the cause or means (the blood) stands for the result or effect (life). That is, life depends upon the existence and circulation of blood, a truth known empirically but not scientifically tested and proved until the 17th century a.d. (cf. Lev 17:11).

[15:1]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטָּת (shÿmittat), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the cancellation of the debt and even pledges for the debt of a borrower by his creditor. This could be a full and final remission or, more likely, one for the seventh year only. See R. Wakely, NIDOTTE 4:155-60. Here the words “of debts” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. Cf. NAB “a relaxation of debts”; NASB, NRSV “a remission of debts.”

[14:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); TEV, NLT “people.”

[14:1]  ²⁹ sn Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald. These were pagan practices associated with mourning the dead; they were not be imitated by God’s people (though they frequently were; cf. 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5; Hos 7:14 [LXX]; Mic 5:1). For other warnings against such practices see Lev 21:5; Jer 16:5.

[33:25]  ³⁰ sn This practice was a violation of Levitical law (see Lev 19:26).

[33:25]  ³¹ tn Heb “lift up your eyes.”

[33:25]  ³² tn Heb “Will you possess?”

[44:7]  ³³ tn Heb “to desecrate.”

[44:7]  ³⁴ tc The Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions read “you.” The Masoretic text reads “they.”

[44:15]  ³⁵ sn Zadok was a descendant of Aaron through Eleazar (1 Chr 6:50-53), who served as a priest during David’s reign (2 Sam 8:17).

[16:24]  ³⁶ tn Grk “to come after me.”

[16:24]  ³⁷ tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.

[16:24]  ³⁸ sn To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.

[26:28]  ³⁹ tn Grk “for this is my blood of the covenant that is poured out for many.” In order to avoid confusion about which is poured out, the translation supplies “blood” twice so that the following phrase clearly modifies “blood,” not “covenant.”

[26:28]  ⁴⁰ tc Although most witnesses read καινῆς (kainhs, “new”) here, this is evidently motivated by the parallel in Luke 22:20. Apart from the possibility of homoioteleuton, there is no good reason for the shorter reading to have arisen later on. But since it is found in such good and diverse witnesses (e.g., Ì^37,45vid א B L Z Θ 0298^vid 33 pc mae), the likelihood of homoioteleuton becomes rather remote.

[15:20]  ⁴¹ tn The translation “to write a letter, to send a letter to” for ἐπιστέλλω (epistellw) is given in L&N 33.49.

[15:20]  ⁴² tn Three of the four prohibitions deal with food (the first, third and fourth) while one prohibition deals with behavior (the second, refraining from sexual immorality). Since these occur in the order they do, the translation “abstain from” is used to cover both sorts of activity (eating food items, immoral behavior).

[15:20]  ⁴³ tn Or “polluted.”

[15:20]  ⁴⁴ sn What has been strangled. That is, to refrain from eating animals that had been killed without having the blood drained from them. According to the Mosaic law (Lev 17:13-14), Jews were forbidden to eat flesh with the blood still in it (note the following provision in Acts 15:20, and from blood).

[15:21]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “from generations of old”; the translation “fr. ancient times” is given by BDAG 192 s.v. γενεά 3.b.

[15:21]  ⁴⁶ tn The translation “read aloud” is used to indicate the actual practice; translating as “read” could be misunderstood to mean private, silent reading.

[15:21]  ⁴⁷ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[15:29]  ⁴⁸ tn There is no specific semantic component in the Greek word εἰδωλόθυτος that means “meat” (see BDAG 280 s.v. εἰδωλόθυτος; L&N 5.15). The stem –θυτος means “sacrifice” (referring to an animal sacrificially killed) and thereby implies meat.

[15:29]  ⁴⁹ tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses lack the restriction “and from what has been strangled” (καὶ πνικτῶν, kai pniktwn), though the words are supported by a wide variety of early and important witnesses otherwise and should be considered authentic.

[15:29]  ⁵⁰ tc Codex Bezae (D) as well as 323 614 945 1739 1891 sa and other witnesses have after “sexual immorality” the following statement: “And whatever you do not want to happen to yourselves, do not do to another/others.” By adding this negative form of the Golden Rule, these witnesses effectively change the Apostolic Decree from what might be regarded as ceremonial restrictions into more ethical demands. The issues here are quite complicated, and beyond the scope of this brief note. Suffice it to say that D and its allies here are almost surely an expansion and alteration of the original text of Acts. For an excellent discussion of the exegetical and textual issues, see TCGNT 379-83.

[15:29]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “from which things keeping yourselves.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (ὧν, |wn) has been replaced by a pronoun (“these things”) and a new English sentence begun. The participle διατηροῦντες (diathrounte") has been translated as a conditional adverbial participle (“if you keep yourselves”). See further L&N 13.153.

[15:29]  ⁵² tn The phrase ἔρρωσθε (errwsqe) may be understood as a stock device indicating a letter is complete (“good-bye,” L&N 33.24) or as a sincere wish that the persons involved may fare well (“may you fare well,” L&N 23.133).

[1:7]  ⁵³ tn Grk “in whom” (the relative clause of v. 7 is subordinate to v. 6). The “him” refers to Christ.

[1:7]  ⁵⁴ sn In this context his blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, refers to the price paid for believers’ redemption, which is the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross.

[5:26]  ⁵⁵ tn The direct object “her” is implied, but not found in the Greek text. It has been supplied in the English translation to clarify the sense of the passage.

[5:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “become.”