Leviticus 7:18 kjv
And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.
Leviticus 7:18 nkjv
And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, nor shall it be imputed to him; it shall be an abomination to him who offers it, and the person who eats of it shall bear guilt.
Leviticus 7:18 niv
If any meat of the fellowship offering is eaten on the third day, the one who offered it will not be accepted. It will not be reckoned to their credit, for it has become impure; the person who eats any of it will be held responsible.
Leviticus 7:18 esv
If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten on the third day, he who offers it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be credited to him. It is tainted, and he who eats of it shall bear his iniquity.
Leviticus 7:18 nlt
If any of the meat from the peace offering is eaten on the third day, the person who presented it will not be accepted by the LORD. You will receive no credit for offering it. By then the meat will be contaminated; if you eat it, you will be punished for your sin.
Leviticus 7 18 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lev 7:15 | The flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering for thanksgiving... shall be eaten the same day... not leave any of it until the morning. | Stipulates one-day limit for thanksgiving offering. |
| Lev 7:16-17 | ...a vow or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day also... that which remains... on the third day must be burned. | Specifies two-day limit for vow/freewill offerings. |
| Lev 19:7-8 | If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination (pigul); it shall not be accepted... whoever eats it shall bear his iniquity... | Reinforces the prohibition and penalty, almost verbatim. |
| Num 9:13 | But if anyone who is ceremonially clean... fails to celebrate the Passover, that person must be cut off from their people... | Underscores consequences for not observing divinely appointed times. |
| Exod 23:18 | You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of My feast remain until morning. | Commands immediate consumption for other holy portions to prevent defilement. |
| Lev 22:30 | And you shall eat it on the same day; you shall leave none of it until morning: I am the LORD. | Further examples of same-day consumption requirements for sacred meals. |
| Mal 1:7-8 | "You offer defiled food on My altar... 'The table of the LORD is defiled...' If you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil?" | God's rejection of dishonored or defiled offerings. |
| Isa 1:13-15 | "Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me... Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates..." | God rejects rituals performed without reverence or true obedience. |
| Prov 15:8 | The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight. | Illustrates that an offering can be an "abomination" due to an underlying spiritual issue. |
| Lev 22:3 | Whoever of all your descendants... approaches the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has his uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence... | Highlights the strictness concerning ritual purity when approaching God's holy things. |
| Eze 22:26 | Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and the common, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean... | Consequence of failing to distinguish between the holy and profane. |
| Lev 10:10 | that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean. | The mandate for discerning holy vs. common and clean vs. unclean. |
| Heb 9:13-14 | For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer... sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ... purify our conscience from dead works...? | Contrasts limited old covenant purification with Christ's perfect, lasting cleansing. |
| Heb 10:1-4 | For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come... can never make those who approach perfect... otherwise they would have ceased to be offered... | Describes the temporary nature and inability of old covenant sacrifices to perfectly cleanse. |
| Heb 10:10 | By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. | Points to Christ's singular, final sacrifice that perfectly fulfills and renders obsolete the temporal requirements. |
| 2 Cor 6:2 | "...Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." | Though spiritual, conveys a sense of timeliness and urgency in divine matters, applicable to Christ's acceptance. |
| 1 Cor 11:27 | Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. | New Covenant parallel: partaking of sacred elements (Communion) unworthily incurs judgment. |
| 1 Cor 11:29 | For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. | Eating "judgment to himself" reflects the concept of "bearing his iniquity" in the NT context. |
| 1 Pet 1:15-16 | But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." | The ultimate reason for all purity laws: God's inherent holiness and our call to reflect it. |
| Rom 12:1 | I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. | New Covenant perspective on acceptable sacrifice as personal holiness and living obedience. |
Leviticus 7 verses
Leviticus 7 18 Meaning
The verse explicitly states that if any part of the peace offering's meat is consumed on the third day, the entire sacrifice is rejected by God and offers no benefit to the one who presented it. Instead, the offering itself becomes ritually repulsive ("abomination"), and the individual who consumes this defiled meat will bear the guilt and consequences of their transgression, thereby incurring divine judgment. This emphasizes the critical importance of strict obedience to God's temporal limits and ritual purity in worship.
Leviticus 7 18 Context
Leviticus Chapter 7 elaborates on the laws of various sacrifices, completing the instruction begun in Chapter 6. This chapter primarily addresses the priests' portions and further details concerning peace offerings, trespass offerings, and burnt offerings. Verses 11-21 specifically outline the rules for peace offerings (zevach sh'lamim), including their various types (thanksgiving, vow, freewill) and the precise timelines for consuming their meat. Verse 18 is a critical addendum within these peace offering regulations, reinforcing a strict prohibition against consuming the meat beyond the second day. This context highlights the profound sacredness of these offerings, God's demand for meticulous obedience, and the stark distinction Israel was to maintain between holy things and common life, particularly when it came to worship. This legal precision served to consecrate Israel's interactions with God and set them apart from surrounding nations whose worship often lacked such purity and exactitude.
Word Analysis
- And if any of the flesh: Refers to the physical substance of the offering. Even a minimal part eaten beyond the allowed time contaminates the entire offering spiritually.
- of the sacrifice of his peace offering: In Hebrew, zevach sh'lamim (זבח שלמים). These were voluntary offerings signifying communion, thanksgiving, vows fulfilled, or fellowship with God. The root shalem conveys concepts of completeness, peace, and payment, emphasizing the restored or celebrated relationship with God.
- be eaten at all on the third day: Hebrew: yê'âkêl ba-yom ha-sh'lishi (יאכל ביום השלישי). This specifies the exact transgression. For thanksgiving offerings, it was the same day (Lev 7:15); for vow/freewill offerings, it extended to the second day, with leftovers to be burned on the third (Lev 7:16-17). Eating it on the third day signifies violating the divine time limit. This strict temporal boundary served to emphasize the sanctity of the offering, prevent irreverence by prolonging its use for common purposes, and symbolize the need for prompt communion with God.
- it shall not be accepted: Hebrew: lo yiratseh (לא ירצה). This indicates God's rejection of the sacrifice. The Hebrew root ratsah denotes pleasure, favor, or acceptance. Despite the initial proper ritual, violating this time constraint renders the offering detestable to God, nullifying its intended spiritual purpose and preventing the offerer from receiving divine favor.
- neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: Hebrew: lo yechashev lo asher hiqriv oto (לא יחשב לו אשר הקריב אותו). The act of offering loses all its intended merit or spiritual benefit for the individual. The offering is counted for naught; the spiritual connection or benefit associated with presenting it is completely voided.
- it shall be an abomination: Hebrew: pigul hu (פיגול הוא). This particular Hebrew term for "abomination" is distinctive, referring specifically to ritually polluted meat from a sacrifice. Unlike to'evah (תּוֹעֵבָה) which designates moral or general spiritual abhorrence, pigul signifies that something once consecrated has become ritually detestable and offensive to God due to improper handling, particularly exceeding its consumption time limit. The sacred has been profaned.
- and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity: Hebrew: v'ha-nefesh ha-ochelet mimenu tisah avono (והנפש האכלת ממנו תשא עונו). "Soul" (nefesh) denotes the individual person. "Bear his iniquity" (nasa avono) is a common legal and theological phrase in Leviticus and Numbers, meaning to suffer the guilt, consequences, or punishment for one's sin or transgression. It indicates that the individual partaking of the pigul meat directly incurs divine displeasure and legal culpability for disrespecting God's holy ordinances.
Leviticus 7 18 Bonus section
The concept of "pigul" emphasizes that the state of being consecrated, and therefore edible as holy meat, was transient. Once the time limit passed, the meat transitioned from sacred food to something abominable, demonstrating God's sovereign control over what is holy and for how long. This theological teaching also implicitly combats any human inclination to extend or commercialize holy offerings for personal gain, treating consecrated items as common commodities rather than temporary sacred provisions shared with God and the worshipping community. The strictness highlights that obedience is paramount in the relationship with a holy God. The consequences of "bearing one's iniquity" could manifest as divine displeasure, removal from the congregation ("cut off"), or even direct punitive action, reinforcing the gravity of violating God's specific commands concerning sacred worship.
Leviticus 7 18 Commentary
Leviticus 7:18 powerfully articulates God's uncompromising demand for holiness and meticulous obedience in worship. While the peace offering embodied communion with God, its effectiveness hinged not merely on the initial sacrifice but on subsequent adherence to divine directives, especially concerning the temporal limits for consuming the holy meat. Eating the sacrificial meat on the third day, even if not physically spoiled, transmuted the offering from holy to "abomination" (pigul). This specific ritual defilement underscored that God's standards of purity were absolute and determined by His decree, not by human practicalities or convenience. Such a transgression entirely invalidated the offering, negating any spiritual credit for the offerer, and severely indicted the individual eater who would "bear his iniquity"—a direct pronouncement of divine judgment and guilt for treating God's sacred provisions with irreverence. The law served to inculcate a profound reverence for God's holiness, impressing upon Israel that precise obedience and a heart distinguishing holy from common were integral to acceptable worship, forewarning against any casual or presumptuous approach to the divine.