Deuteronomy 14
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Forbidden Practices
14 “You are sons of the Lord your God;(A) do not cut yourselves or make a bald spot on your head[a] on behalf of the dead,(B) 2 for you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord has chosen you to be His own possession(C) out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
Clean and Unclean Foods
3 “You must not eat any detestable thing. 4 These are the animals you may eat:
the ox, the sheep, the goat,
5 the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer,
the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope,
and the mountain sheep.
6 You may eat any animal that has hooves divided in two and chews the cud. 7 But among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves, you are not to eat these:
the camel, the hare, and the hyrax,
though they chew the cud, they do not have hooves—
they are unclean for you;
8 and the pig, though it has hooves, it does not chew the cud—
it is unclean for you.
You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses.(D)
9 “You may eat everything from the water that has fins and scales, 10 but you may not eat anything that does not have fins and scales—it is unclean for you.(E)
11 “You may eat every clean bird, 12 but these are the ones you may not eat:
the eagle, the bearded vulture,
the black vulture, 13 the kite,
any kind of falcon,[b]
14 every kind of raven, 15 the ostrich,
the short-eared owl, the gull,
any kind of hawk,
16 the little owl, the long-eared owl,
the white owl, 17 the desert owl,
the osprey, the cormorant, 18 the stork,
any kind of heron,
the hoopoe, and the bat.[c](F)
19 All winged insects are unclean for you; they may not be eaten. 20 But you may eat every clean flying creature.(G)
21 “You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to a temporary resident living within your gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
A Tenth for the Lord
22 “Each year you are to set aside a tenth of all the produce grown in your fields. 23 You are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, in the presence of Yahweh your God at the place where He chooses to have His name dwell,(H) so that you will always learn to fear(I) the Lord your God. 24 But if the distance is too great for you to carry it, since the place where Yahweh your God chooses to put His name is too far away from you and since the Lord your God has blessed you, 25 then exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place the Lord your God chooses. 26 You may spend the money on anything you want: cattle, sheep, wine, beer, or anything you desire. You are to feast there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice with your family. 27 Do not neglect the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.(J)
28 “At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and store it within your gates. 29 Then the Levite, who has no portion or inheritance among you, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates may come, eat, and be satisfied.(K) And the Lord your God will bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.(L)
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 14:1 Or forehead
- Deuteronomy 14:13 Some Hb mss, Sam, LXX; other Hb mss, Vg read the falcon, the various kinds of kite
- Deuteronomy 14:18 The identification of some of these animals is uncertain.
Deuteronomy 14
Common English Bible
Complete devotion to the Lord
14 You are the Lord’s children. Don’t cut yourselves and don’t shave your foreheads for the dead, 2 because you are a people holy to the Lord your God. You are the ones whom the Lord selected to be his own, to be a treasured people out of all other people on earth.
Dietary laws
3 Don’t eat any detestable thing. 4 Here’s a list of animals you are allowed to eat: ox, sheep, goat, 5 deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, ibex, antelope, and mountain sheep. 6 You are also allowed to eat any animal with a divided hoof—the hoof being divided into two parts—and that rechews food among the various kinds of animals. 7 However, here’s a list of animals that either rechew food or have hooves divided in two parts that you are not allowed to eat:
the camel, the hare, and the rock badger—because these rechew food but don’t have divided hoofs, they are off-limits for you;
8 and the pig—because it has a divided hoof but doesn’t rechew food, it’s off-limits for you.
You may not eat these animals’ meat, and you must not touch their carcasses.
9 Here’s a list of the water animals you are allowed to eat: you can eat anything that has fins and scales. 10 But you aren’t allowed to eat anything that lacks scales or fins. These are off-limits for you.
11 You are allowed to eat any clean bird. 12 Here’s a list of those you are not allowed to eat: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, 13 the red kite, the black kite, and any kind of bird of prey, 14 any kind of raven, 15 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the seagull, any kind of hawk, 16 the small owl and the large owl, the water hen, 17 the desert owl, the carrion vulture, the cormorant, 18 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.[a]
19 Also, all winged insects are off-limits for you. They are not to be eaten. 20 Any clean winged creature can be eaten, however.
21 You must not eat any decayed animal flesh because you are a people holy to the Lord your God. You can give decayed animal flesh to the immigrants who live in your cities, and they can eat it; or you can sell it to foreigners.
Don’t cook a lamb in its own mother’s milk.
Tenth part
22 You must reserve a tenth part of whatever your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tenth part of your grain, wine, oil, oldest offspring of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God in the location he selects for his name to reside so that you learn to fear the Lord your God at all times. 24 But if the trip is too long, because the location the Lord your God has selected to put his name is far away from where you live so that you can’t transport the tenth part—because the Lord your God will certainly bless you— 25 then you can convert it to money. Take the money with you and go to the location the Lord your God selects. 26 Then you can use the money for anything you want: cattle, sheep, wine, beer, or whatever else you might like. Then you should feast there and celebrate in the presence of the Lord your God, along with your entire household. 27 Only make sure not to neglect the Levites who are living in your cities because they don’t have a designated inheritance like you do.
28 Every third year you must bring the tenth part of your produce from that year and leave it at your city gates. 29 Then the Levites, who have no designated inheritance like you do, along with the immigrants, orphans, and widows who live in your cities, will come and feast until they are full. Do this so that the Lord your God might bless you in everything you do.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 14:18 The species of many of the birds in 14:12-18 is uncertain.
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