Discovery BoxLeviticus 17:15-16 
Context17:15 “‘Any person 1 who eats an animal that has died of natural causes 2 or an animal torn by beasts, whether a native citizen or a foreigner, 3 must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening; then he becomes clean. 17:16 But if he does not wash his clothes 4 and does not bathe his body, he will bear his punishment for iniquity.’” 5
1 tn Heb “And any soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh).
2 tn Heb “carcass,” referring to the carcass of an animal that has died on its own, not the carcass of an animal slaughtered for sacrifice or killed by wild beasts. This has been clarified in the translation by supplying the phrase “of natural causes”; cf. NAB “that died of itself”; TEV “that has died a natural death.”
3 tn Heb “in the native or in the sojourner.”
4 tn The words “his clothes” are not in the Hebrew text, but are repeated in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “and he shall bear his iniquity.” The rendering “bear the punishment for the iniquity” reflects the use of the word “iniquity” to refer to the punishment for iniquity. This is sometimes referred to as the consequential use of the term (cf. Lev 5:17; 7:18; 10:17; etc.).
sn For the interpretation of this verse reflected in the present translation, see the remarks on Lev 5:1 in J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:292-97.
