Deuteronomy 14
English Standard Version
Clean and Unclean Food
14 “You are (A)the sons of the Lord your God. (B)You shall not cut yourselves or make any (C)baldness on your foreheads for the dead. 2 For (D)you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
3 (E)“You shall not eat any abomination. 4 (F)These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex,[a] the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 6 Every animal that parts the hoof and has the hoof cloven in two and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. 7 Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cloven you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the (G)rock badger, because they chew the cud but do not part the hoof, are unclean for you. 8 And the pig, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and (H)their carcasses you shall not touch.
9 “Of all that are in the waters you may eat these: whatever has fins and scales you may eat. 10 And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.
11 “You may eat all clean birds. 12 But these are the ones that you shall not eat: the eagle,[b] the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 13 the kite, the falcon 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 short-eared owl, the barn owl 17 and the tawny owl, the carrion vulture and the cormorant, 18 the stork, the heron of any kind; the hoopoe and the bat. 19 And all winged insects are unclean for you; they shall not be eaten. 20 All clean winged things you may eat.
21 (I)“You shall not eat anything that has died naturally. You may give it to the sojourner who is within your towns, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For (J)you are a people holy to the Lord your God.
(K)“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
Tithes
22 (L)“You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. 23 And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, (M)you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, (N)and the firstborn of your herd and flock, (O)that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the Lord your God blesses you, because (P)the place is too far from you, which the Lord your God chooses, to set his name there, 25 then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses 26 and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And (Q)you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. 27 And you shall not neglect (R)the Levite who is within your towns, for (S)he has no portion or inheritance with you.
28 (T)“At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. 29 And the Levite, because (U)he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that (V)the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 14:5 Or addax
- Deuteronomy 14:12 The identity of many of these birds is uncertain
Deuteronomy 14
Complete Jewish Bible
14 (iv) “You are the people of Adonai your God. You are not to gash yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead, 2 because you are a people set apart as holy for Adonai your God. Adonai your God has chosen you to be his own unique treasure out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
3 “You are not to eat anything disgusting. 4 The animals which you may eat are: ox, sheep, goat, 5 deer, gazelle, roebuck, ibex, antelope, oryx and mountain sheep. 6 Any animal that has a separate hoof that is completely divided and also chews the cud, these animals you may eat. 7 But you are not to eat those that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof. For example, the camel, the hare and the coney are unclean for you because they chew the cud but don’t have a separate hoof; 8 while the pig is unclean for you because, although it has a separate hoof, it doesn’t chew the cud. You are not to eat meat from these or touch their carcasses.
9 “Of all that lives in the water, you may eat these: anything in the water that has fins and scales, these you may eat. 10 But whatever lacks fins and scales you are not to eat; it is unclean for you.
11 “You may eat any clean bird; 12 but these you are not to eat: eagles, vultures, ospreys, 13 kites, any kind of buzzard, 14 any kind of raven, 15 ostriches, screech-owls, seagulls, any kind of hawk, 16 little owls, great owls, horned owls, 17 pelicans, barn owls, cormorants, 18 storks, any kind of heron, hoopoes and bats.
19 “All winged swarming creatures are unclean for you; they are not to be eaten; 20 but all clean flying creatures you may eat.
21 “You are not to eat any animal that dies naturally; although you may let a stranger staying with you eat it, or sell it to a foreigner; because you are a holy people for Adonai your God.
“You are not to boil a young animal in its mother’s milk.
(v) 22 “Every year you must take one tenth of everything your seed produces in the field, 23 and eat it in the presence of Adonai your God. In the place where he chooses to have his name live you will eat the tenth of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so that you will learn to fear Adonai your God always. 24 But if the distance is too great for you, so that you are unable to transport it, because the place where Adonai chooses to put his name is too far away from you; then, when Adonai your God prospers you, 25 you are to convert it into money, take the money with you, go to the place which Adonai your God will choose, 26 and exchange the money for anything you want — cattle, sheep, wine, other intoxicating liquor, or anything you please — and you are to eat there in the presence of Adonai your God, and enjoy yourselves, you and your household.
27 “But don’t neglect the Levi staying with you, because he has no share or inheritance like yours. 28 At the end of every three years you are to take all the tenths of your produce from that year and store it in your towns. 29 Then the Levi, because he has no share or inheritance like yours, along with the foreigner, the orphan and the widow living in your towns, will come, eat and be satisfied — so that Adonai your God will bless you in everything your hands produce.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.