22 Bible Verses about Unclean Animals

Most Relevant Verses

Genesis 7:2

Of every clean animal you shall take with you seven pair, the male and his female, and of animals that are not clean, two each the male and his female;

Genesis 7:9

they came [motivated by God] into the ark with Noah two by two, the male and the female, just as God had commanded Noah.

Leviticus 27:11-12

If it is any unclean animal of the kind which men do not present as an offering to the Lord, then he shall bring the animal before the priest, and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; it shall be as you, the priest, value it.

Leviticus 27:27

If it is among the unclean animals, the owner may redeem it in accordance with your valuation, and add one-fifth to it; or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold in accordance with your valuation.

Acts 10:14-15

But Peter said, “Not at all, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common (unholy) and [ceremonially] unclean.” And the voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed and pronounced clean, no longer consider common (unholy).”

Acts 11:8-9

But I said, ‘Not at all, Lord; for nothing common (unholy) or [ceremonially] unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But the voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed and pronounced clean, no longer consider common (unholy).’

Leviticus 7:19

‘The meat that comes in contact with anything that is unclean shall not be eaten; it shall be burned in the fire. As for other meat, everyone who is [ceremonially] clean may eat it.

Isaiah 65:4


Who sit among the graves [trying to conjure up evil spirits] and spend the night in the secret places [where spirits are thought to dwell];
Who eat swine’s flesh,
And their pots hold the broth of unclean meat;

2 Peter 2:22

The thing spoken of in the true proverb has happened to them, “The dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “A sow is washed only to wallow [again] in the mire.”

Malachi 1:7

You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ By thinking that the table of the Lord is contemptible and may be despised.

Revelation 18:2

And he shouted with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen [certainly to be destroyed] is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a dungeon haunted by every unclean spirit, and a prison for every unclean and loathsome bird.

Leviticus 11:27

Also all animals that walk on their paws, among all kinds of animals that walk on four legs, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until the evening,

Leviticus 11:42

Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all fours, and whatever has many feet among all things that swarm on the ground, you shall not eat; for they are detestable.

Leviticus 11:10

but whatever does not have fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, of all the teeming life in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are [to be considered] detestable to you.

Leviticus 11:12

Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

Deuteronomy 14:10

but you may not eat anything that does not have fins and scales; it is unclean for you.

Leviticus 11:4

Nevertheless, you are not to eat these, among those which chew the cud or divide the hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is [ceremonially] unclean to you.

Deuteronomy 14:7

However, you are not to eat any of these [animals] among those which chew the cud, or among those that divide the hoof in two: the camel, the hare and the shaphan, for though they chew the cud, they do not split the hoof; they are unclean for you.

Leviticus 11:5

And the shaphan, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you.

Leviticus 11:6

And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you.

Leviticus 11:7

And the swine, because it divides the hoof and makes a split hoof, but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you.

Deuteronomy 14:8

The swine, because it has a divided hoof but does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You shall not eat their meat nor touch their carcasses.

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From Thematic Bible


Meat » Separating » From » Unclean animals

Leviticus 20:25

You are therefore to make a distinction between the [ceremonially] clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that crawls on the ground, which I have set apart from you as unclean.

Exodus 22:31

“You shall be holy men to Me; therefore you shall not eat meat [from any animal] that has been torn to pieces [by predators] in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Leviticus 11:2-47

Say to the Israelites: These are the animals which you may eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, any of these animals you may eat. Nevertheless these you shall not eat of those that chew the cud or divide the hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you. read more.
And the coney or rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you. And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you. And the swine, because it divides the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean to you. These you may eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, these you may eat; But all that have not fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, of all the creeping things in the waters, and of all the living creatures which are in the waters, they are [to be considered] an abomination and abhorrence to you. They shall continue to be an abomination to you; you shall not eat of their flesh, but you shall detest their carcasses. Everything in the waters that has not fins or scales shall be abhorrent and detestable to you. These you shall have in abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, for they are detestable: the eagle, the ossifrage, the ospray, The kite, the whole species of falcon, Every kind of raven, The ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, every species of hawk, The owl, the cormorant, the ibis, The swan, the pelican, the vulture, The stork, all kinds of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. All winged insects that go upon all fours are to be an abomination to you; Yet of all winged insects that go upon all fours you may eat those which have legs above their feet with which to leap on the ground. Of these you may eat: the whole species of locust, of bald locust, of cricket, and of grasshopper. But all other winged insects which have four feet shall be detestable to you. And by [contact with] these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass of them shall be unclean until the evening, And whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. Every beast which parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you; everyone who touches them shall be unclean. And all that go on their paws, among all kinds of four-footed beasts, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, And he who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you. These also are unclean to you among the creeping things [that multiply greatly] and creep upon the ground: the weasel, the mouse, any kind of great lizard, The gecko, the land crocodile, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. These are unclean to you among all that creep; whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. And upon whatever they may fall when they are dead, it shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or clothing or skin (bottle) or sack, any vessel in which work is done; it must be put in water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; so it shall be cleansed. And every earthen vessel into which any of these [creeping things] falls, whatever may be in it shall be unclean, and you shall break the vessel. Of all the food [in one of these unclean vessels] which may be eaten, that on which such water comes shall be unclean, and all drink that may be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean. And everything upon which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven, or pan with a lid, or hearth for pots, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. Yet a spring or a cistern or reservoir of water shall be clean; but whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean. If a part of their carcass falls on seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean; But if any water be put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it shall be unclean to you. If any animal of which you may eat dies [unslaughtered], he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. And he who eats of its carcass [ignorantly] shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening; he also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. And everything that creeps on the ground and [multiplies in] swarms shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten. Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has more [than four] feet among all things that creep on the ground and swarm you shall not eat; for they are detestable. You shall not make yourselves loathsome and abominable [by eating] any swarming thing that [multiplies by] swarms, neither shall you make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled by them. For I am the Lord your God; so consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy; neither defile yourselves with any manner of thing that multiplies in large numbers or swarms. For I am the Lord Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God; therefore you shall be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the beast, and of the bird, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and creeps on the earth and multiplies in large numbers, To make a difference (a distinction) between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.

Deuteronomy 14:3-21

You shall not eat anything that is abominable [to the Lord and so forbidden by Him]. These are the beasts which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, The hart, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. read more.
And every beast that parts the hoof and has it divided into two and brings up and chews the cud among the beasts you may eat. Yet these you shall not eat of those that chew the cud or have the hoof split in two: the camel, the hare, and the coney, because they chew the cud but divide not the hoof; they are unclean for you. And the swine, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. You shall not eat of their flesh or touch their dead bodies. These you may eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales you may eat, And whatever has not fins and scales you may not eat; it is unclean for you. Of all clean birds you may eat. But these are the ones which you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the ospray, The buzzard, the kite in its several species, The raven in all its species, The ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any variety, The little owl, the great owl, the horned owl, The pelican, the carrion vulture, the cormorant, The stork, the heron of any variety, the hoopoe, and the bat. And all flying insects are unclean for you; they shall not be eaten. But of all clean winged things you may eat. You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the stranger or the foreigner who is within your towns, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to an alien. [They are not under God's law in this matter] but you are a people holy to the Lord your God. You shall not [even] boil a kid in its mother's milk.

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