Leviticus 11:9 (KJV)

Passage

These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 11:7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.

Leviticus 11:8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.

Leviticus 11:9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.

Leviticus 11:10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:

Leviticus 11:11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "waters", "whatsoever", "hath", "fins", "scales", and "seas". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "waters", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Of their flesh shall ye not eat..." into verse 10's "And all that have not fins and...", so "shall" and "waters" 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 "shall" and "waters" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.