But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be held responsible. The failure to perform the required purification after eating naturally dead meat creates ongoing responsibility: the person who ignores the purification requirement bears the consequence. The blood and purity regulations of Leviticus 17 close with the principle of personal responsibility: the covenant's regulations are not self-enforcing; the person who violates them and fails to address the violation bears the guilt. The chapter that began with the divine declaration I will set my face against closes with the individual's responsibility to maintain the purity that the covenant requires.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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