because the Israelites are my own servants; ¹  they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

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.

“‘All ¹  animals that divide the hoof but it is not completely split in two ²  and do not chew the cud ³  are unclean to you; anyone who touches them becomes unclean. ⁴ 

Also, anything they fall on ¹  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 ²  and will be unclean until the evening. Then it will become clean.

You must not eat anything that crawls ¹  on its belly or anything that walks on all fours or on any number of legs ²  of all the swarming things that swarm on the land, because they are detestable.

He must put on a holy linen tunic, ¹  linen leggings are to cover his body, ²  and he is to wrap himself with a linen sash ³  and wrap his head with a linen turban. ⁴  They are holy garments, so he must bathe ⁵  his body in water and put them on.

This is so that ¹  the Israelites will bring their sacrifices that they are sacrificing in the open field ²  to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent to the priest and sacrifice them there as peace offering sacrifices to the Lord.

“Tell Aaron and his sons that they must deal respectfully with the holy offerings ¹  of the Israelites, which they consecrate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name. ²  I am the Lord.

“‘You must not present to the Lord something blind, or with a broken bone, or mutilated, or with a running sore, ¹  or with a festering eruption, or with a feverish rash. ²  You must not give any of these as a gift ³  on the altar to the Lord.