Deuteronomy 14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
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) 2 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
3 “You shall not eat any abhorrent thing. 4 These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat,(C) 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 6 Any animal that divides the hoof and has the hoof cleft in two and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. 7 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. 8 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)
9 “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)
Deuteronomy 14
International Standard Version
Refrain from Cutting Yourselves
14 “You are children of the Lord your God. You must not lacerate yourselves or shave your foreheads on account of the dead, 2 because you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord chose to make you his precious possession from among all the nations[a] of the earth.”
Refrain from Unclean Food
3 “You must not eat any detestable food. 4 These are the animals that you may eat: ox, sheep, goat, 5 deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, ibex, antelope, and mountain sheep. 6 You may eat every animal with a divided hoof—those with split cloven hooves—that chews the cud. 7 However, you must not eat these animals that chew the cud or have a divided hoof: the camel, hare, and rock badger. Even though they chew the cud, their hooves are not divided. Therefore, they are unclean for you. 8 And also the pig, because even though its hoof is divided, it does not chew the cud. It is therefore unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or even touch their carcasses.
9 “You may choose to eat from these creatures in the water: you may eat anything with fin and scale, 10 but you may not eat anything without fin and scale, since it is unclean to you.
11 “You may eat all clean birds, 12 but you must not eat any of these: the eagle, vulture, osprey, 13 buzzard, any kind of kite, 14 any kind of raven, 15 the ostrich, night hawk, seagull, any kind of falcon, 16 the little owl, great owl, horned owl, 17 pelican, carrion vulture, cormorant, 18 stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. 19 Any winged, swarming insect is unclean to you—they are not to be eaten. 20 You may eat every bird that is clean.
21 “You must not eat any carcass,[b] but you may give it to the alien in your cities[c] so he may either consume it or sell it to a foreigner, since you are a people that is holy to the Lord your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
Remember to Tithe
22 “Be sure to tithe annually from everything you plant that yields a harvest in the field. 23 Then in the presence of the Lord your God, in the place where he’ll choose to establish his name, you may consume the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your livestock and flock, so that you’ll learn to revere the Lord your God all your life. 24 Now the way may be distant from you, so that you are unable to transport your tithe because you have been blessed by the Lord your God and the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish his name may be distant from you. 25 In that case, convert it into cash, secure the money,[d] and then bring it to the place where the Lord will choose. 26 You may spend the money to your heart’s content to buy livestock, flocks, wine, strong drink, and whatever you desire. You and your household may eat there and rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God.”
The Levitical Tithe
27 “But you must not forget the descendant of Levi in your town,[e] because there is no tribal allotment[f] for him as there is for you. 28 Every third year, bring all the tithes of your produce of that year and store them in your cities 29 so the descendants of Levi—who have no tribal allotment as you do—foreigners, orphans, and widows who live in your cities may come, eat, and be satisfied. That way, the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.”[g]
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 14:2 Lit. peoples
- Deuteronomy 14:21 I.e., that dies of itself or in the wild
- Deuteronomy 14:21 Lit. in your gates
- Deuteronomy 14:25 Lit. bind the money with your hand
- Deuteronomy 14:27 Lit. gates
- Deuteronomy 14:27 Lit. a portion and inheritance
- Deuteronomy 14:29 . Lit. in the work of your hand that you do
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
