Imamat 17:14

17:14 for the life of all flesh is its blood. ¹  So I have said to the Israelites: You must not eat the blood of any living thing ²  because the life of every living thing is its blood – all who eat it will be cut off. ³ 

Imamat 20:17

20:17 “‘If a man has sexual intercourse with ⁴  his sister, whether the daughter of his father or his mother, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. ⁵  He has exposed his sister’s nakedness; he will bear his punishment for iniquity. ⁶ 

[17:14]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “of all flesh” (also later in this verse). See the note on “every living thing” in v. 11.

[17:14]  ³ tn For remarks on the “cut off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above.

[20:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “takes.” The verb “to take” in this context means “to engage in sexual intercourse,” though some English versions translate it as “marry” (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV).

[20:17]  ⁵ tn Regarding the “cut off” penalty, see the note on Lev 7:20.

[20:17]  ⁶ tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.