Leviticus 11:12 (LSB)

Passage

Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 11:10 But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the swarming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you,

Leviticus 11:11 and they shall be detestable to you; you may not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses you shall detest.

Leviticus 11:12 Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

Leviticus 11:13 ‘These, moreover, you shall detest among the birds; they shall not be eaten; they are detestable: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard,

Leviticus 11:14 and the kite and the falcon in its kind,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whatever", "water", "does", "fins", "scales", and "detestable". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whatever" and "water", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "and they shall be detestable to you..." into verse 13's "These moreover you shall detest among the...", so "whatever" and "water" 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 "whatever" and "water" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.