Leviticus 3:17
חֻקַּת עוֹלָם לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם בְּכֹל מֽוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם כָּל־חֵלֶב וְכָל־דָּם לֹא תֹאכֵֽלוּ׃ פ
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
חֻקַּ֤ת עוֹלָם֙ לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם בְּכֹ֖ל מֽוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶ֑ם כָּל־חֵ֥לֶב וְכָל־דָּ֖ם לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽלוּ׃ פ
νόμιμον εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα εἰς τὰς γενεὰς ὑμῶν ἐν ία ὑμῶν· πᾶν στέαρ καὶ πᾶν αἷμα οὐκ ἔδεσθε.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
jure perpetuo in generationibus, et cunctis habitaculis vestris: nec sanguinem nec adipem omnino comedetis.
“‘Este será un estatuto perpetuo para todas sus generaciones, dondequiera que vivan: No deberán comer ninguna grasa ni ninguna sangre’”.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Estatuto perpetuo por vuestras edades; en todas vuestras moradas, ningún sebo ni ninguna sangre comeréis.
This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.”
✦ What the text says
Summary
Leviticus 3:17 closes a section on offerings by establishing a permanent prohibition against eating fat and blood. The rule is marked as binding across all future generations and in every place where the addressees reside.
Key words
- chuqqat ("a statute of", H2708) — construct form of "statute," linking it to olam to form the fixed phrase "a statute of perpetuity."
- olam ("perpetuity", H5769G) — indicates unlimited duration; combined with chuqqat it frames the command as enduring rather than temporary.
- dorotei-khem ("generations of you", H1755 + H9026) — plural construct noun with pronominal suffix, meaning "your generations," extending the statute's reach across time.
- moshevotei-khem ("dwelling places of you", H4186 + H9026) — plural construct noun with suffix, "your dwelling places," extending the statute's reach across space.
- lo' tokhelu ("you must not eat", H3808 + H0398) — negation plus qal imperfect second person plural; the imperfect here expresses an ongoing, generalized prohibition rather than a single event.
What the text says
The verse opens with two construct-chain phrases that function adverbially: chuqqat olam ("statute of perpetuity") and le-dorotei-khem ("to your generations"), establishing temporal scope. This is paired with a second construct phrase, be-khol moshevotei-khem ("in all your dwelling places"), establishing spatial scope. Together these two phrases frame the coming prohibition as valid across all time and all locations, before the actual content of the rule is stated.
The core prohibition itself is built with kol chelev ve-khol dam ("any fat and any blood"), using the construct noun kol ("all/any") twice to make the scope of forbidden items comprehensive — not just some fat or some blood, but all instances of both. The clause ends with the negated verb lo' tokhelu ("you must not eat"), placed at the very end of the sentence in Hebrew word order, which is typical for placing the verb after its objects in this kind of legal formula. The qal imperfect form of akal ("to eat", H0398) conveys durative or habitual prohibition, fitting the "statute of perpetuity" framing rather than a one-time instruction.
Differences between versions
The Vulgate (VULCLEM) reorders the prohibited items as "nec sanguinem nec adipem" (blood then fat), reversing the Hebrew order of chelev ("fat") before dam ("blood"). The LXX (LXXSWETE) preserves the Hebrew order with στέαρ ("fat") before αἷμα ("blood"). This is a difference in sequence only; the content of what is prohibited is the same across all versions.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.