Clean and Unclean Animals

14 “You are (A)sons of the Lord your God; (B)you shall not cut yourselves nor [a]shave a bald spot [b]above your forehead for the dead. For you are (C)a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a (D)people for His personal possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

(E)You shall not eat any detestable thing. (F)These are the animals that you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, [c]the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. And any animal that has a divided hoof and has its hoofs split in two, and [d]chews the cud, among the animals, [e]that animal you may eat. However, you are not to eat these among the ones that [f]chew the cud, or among those that have the hoof divided in [g]two: the camel, the [h]rabbit, and the rock hyrax, for though they [i]chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof; they are unclean to you. And the pig, because it has a divided hoof but does not chew the cud, it is unclean for you. You shall not eat any of their flesh, nor touch their carcasses.

“These you may eat of everything that is in the water: anything that has fins and scales you may eat, 10 but anything that does not have fins and scales, you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.

11 “You may eat any clean bird. 12 But (G)these are the ones that you shall not eat: the [j]eagle and the vulture and the [k]buzzard, 13 and the red kite, the falcon, and the kite in their kinds, 14 and every raven in its kind, 15 and the ostrich, the owl, the seagull, and the hawk in their kinds, 16 the little owl, the [l]great owl, the white owl, 17 the pelican, the carrion vulture, the cormorant, 18 the stork, and the heron in their kinds, and the hoopoe and the bat. 19 And all the swarming insects with wings are unclean to you; they shall not be eaten. 20 You may eat any clean bird.

21 (H)You shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the stranger who is in your [m]town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a stranger; for you are (I)a holy people to the Lord your God. (J)You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

22 “You (K)shall certainly tithe all the produce from [n]what you sow, which comes from the field every year. 23 You shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God, (L)at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may (M)learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 But if the [o]distance is so great for you that you are not able to [p]bring the tithe, since the place where the Lord your God chooses (N)to set His name is too far away from you when the Lord your God blesses you, 25 then you shall [q]exchange it for money, and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 26 And you may spend the money on whatever your [r]heart desires: on oxen, sheep, wine, other strong drink, or whatever your [s]heart [t]desires; and (O)there you shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. 27 Also you shall not neglect (P)the Levite who is in your [u]town, (Q)for he has no portion or inheritance among you.

28 (R)At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and you shall deposit it in your [v]town. 29 And the Levite, (S)because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and (T)the stranger, the [w]orphan, and the widow who are in your [x]town, shall come and (U)eat and be satisfied, in order that (V)the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 14:1 Lit make
  2. Deuteronomy 14:1 Lit between your eyes
  3. Deuteronomy 14:5 Exact identification of these animals is uncertain
  4. Deuteronomy 14:6 Lit brings up
  5. Deuteronomy 14:6 Lit it
  6. Deuteronomy 14:7 Lit bring up
  7. Deuteronomy 14:7 Lit a cleaving
  8. Deuteronomy 14:7 Or hare
  9. Deuteronomy 14:7 Lit bring up
  10. Deuteronomy 14:12 Or vulture
  11. Deuteronomy 14:12 Or black vulture
  12. Deuteronomy 14:16 Or great horned owl
  13. Deuteronomy 14:21 Lit gates
  14. Deuteronomy 14:22 Lit your seed
  15. Deuteronomy 14:24 Lit way
  16. Deuteronomy 14:24 Lit carry it
  17. Deuteronomy 14:25 Lit give in money
  18. Deuteronomy 14:26 Lit soul
  19. Deuteronomy 14:26 Lit soul
  20. Deuteronomy 14:26 Lit asks of you
  21. Deuteronomy 14:27 Lit gates
  22. Deuteronomy 14:28 Lit gates
  23. Deuteronomy 14:29 Or fatherless
  24. Deuteronomy 14:29 Lit gates

Pagan Practices Forbidden

14 “You are children of the Lord your God. You must not lacerate yourselves or shave your forelocks for the dead.(A) For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; it is you the Lord has chosen out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession.(B)

Clean and Unclean Foods

“You shall not eat any abhorrent thing. These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat,(C) the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. Any animal that divides the hoof and has the hoof cleft in two and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cleft you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger because they chew the cud but do not divide the hoof; they are unclean for you. And the pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. You shall not eat their meat, and you shall not touch their carcasses.(D)

“Of all that live in water you may eat these: whatever has fins and scales you may eat.(E) 10 And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.

11 “You may eat any clean birds. 12 But these are the ones that you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey,(F) 13 the buzzard, the kite of any kind; 14 every raven of any kind; 15 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind; 16 the little owl and the great owl, the water hen 17 and the desert owl,[a] the carrion vulture and the cormorant, 18 the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.[b] 19 And all winged insects are unclean for you; they shall not be eaten.(G) 20 You may eat any clean winged creature.

21 “You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to aliens residing in your towns for them to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God.

“You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.(H)

Regulations concerning Tithes

22 “Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field.(I) 23 In the presence of the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose as a dwelling for his name, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the firstlings of your herd and flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.(J) 24 But if, when the Lord your God has blessed you, the distance is so great that you are unable to transport it, because the place where the Lord your God will choose to set his name is too far away from you,(K) 25 then you may turn it into money. With the money secure in hand, go to the place that the Lord your God will choose; 26 spend the money for whatever you wish: oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, or whatever you desire. And you shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your household rejoicing together.(L) 27 As for the Levites resident in your towns, do not neglect them, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you.(M)

28 “Every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of your produce for that year and store it within your towns;(N) 29 the Levites, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you, as well as the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work that you undertake.(O)

Footnotes

  1. 14.17 Or pelican
  2. 14.18 Identification of several of the birds in 14.12–18 is uncertain