Leviticus 11:33 (ASV)

Passage

And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean, and it ye shall break.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 11:31 These are they which are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they are dead, shall be unclean until the even.

Leviticus 11:32 And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherewith any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; then shall it be clean.

Leviticus 11:33 And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean, and it ye shall break.

Leviticus 11:34 All food [therein] which may be eaten, that on which water cometh, shall be unclean; and all drink that may be drunk in every [such] vessel shall be unclean.

Leviticus 11:35 And every thing whereupon [any part] of their carcass falleth shall be unclean; whether oven, or range for pots, it shall be broken in pieces: they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "earthen", "vessel", "whereinto", "falleth", "whatsoever", "shall", and "unclean". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "earthen" and "vessel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 32's "And upon whatsoever any of them when..." into verse 34's "All food therein which may be eaten...", so "earthen" and "vessel" belong inside that flow. In Leviticus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "earthen" and "vessel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.