Deuteronomy 14
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic 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. 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.
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, 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 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 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.
9 Of all that live in water 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 any clean birds. 12 But these are the ones that you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, 13 the buzzard, the kite of any kind; 14 every raven of any kind; 15 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the seagull, 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. 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.
Regulations concerning Tithes
22 Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field. 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. 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, 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. 27 As for the Levites resident in your towns, do not neglect them, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you.
28 Every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of your produce for that year, and store it within your towns; 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.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 14:17 Or pelican
- Deuteronomy 14:18 Identification of several of the birds in verses 12–18 is uncertain
Deuteronomy 14
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 14
1 You are the children of the Lord, your God. Do not slash yourselves nor shave the front of your heads on account of the dead.[a] 2 You are a people who are holy to the Lord, your God, and the Lord has picked you out from among all the peoples on the earth to be a chosen people.
Clean and Unclean Food.[b] 3 You are not to eat any abominable thing. 4 These are the animals that you can eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 the gazelle, the roebuck, the deer, the wild goat, the antelope, the wild ox, and the mountain sheep. 6 Every animal that has a cleft hoof, its hoof is divided in two parts, and that chews its cud is an animal that you can eat. 7 However, there are animals that chew their cud, or that have a cleft hoof that you cannot eat: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger, for they chew their cud but do not have a cleft hoof, so they are unclean for you. 8 Likewise, pigs have a cleft hoof, but they do not chew their cud, so they are unclean for you. You are not to eat their meat, nor even touch their dead carcasses.
9 You can eat any water creature that has fins and scales; those you can eat. 10 Whatever does not have fins or scales, you are not to eat. It is unclean for you.
11 You can eat any clean bird. 12 These are the birds you shall not eat: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the osprey, 13 the hawk, the kite, any type of vulture, 14 any kind of raven, 15 the owl, the night hawk, the gull, any type of falcon, 16 the little owl, the great owl, the barn owl, 17 the desert owl, the carrion vulture, the cormorant, 18 the stork, any type of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. 19 Every type of flying insect is unclean for you. You shall not eat it, 20 but you can eat any type of clean bird.
21 Do not eat anything that died on its own. You can give it to a foreigner who is living in your town, and he can eat it, or you can sell it to a foreigner. But you are a people who are holy to the Lord, your God. You shall not eat a kid goat boiled in its mother’s milk.[c]
22 Tithes.[d]Each year you are to tithe the yield of your seed that has grown in the field. 23 This is what you shall eat in the presence of the Lord, your God, in the place that he has established that his name be placed: the tithe of your grain, wine, and oil, the firstborn of your herd and flock. This will be a lesson to fear the Lord, your God, always. 24 If the distance is so great that you cannot carry it to the place that the Lord, your God, has chosen to set his name, and the Lord, your God, has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, and carry the money to the place that the Lord, your God, has chosen. 26 You can use that money to buy whatever you wish, oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, whatever you wish. You and your family will consume it in the presence of the Lord, your God, and you will rejoice.
27 You are not to neglect the Levite who lives in your town, for he has no portion or inheritance among you. 28 [e]Every third year you are to bring all of your tithes from your produce for that year and you will deposit them in your town. 29 The Levite, who has no portion nor inheritance among you, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow who live in your town will consume it until they are full. Thus, the Lord, your God, will bless you in every endeavor you pursue.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 14:1 A prohibition of some traditional pagan practices.
- Deuteronomy 14:3 One would “be a slave” of alien gods if one were to eat animals consecrated to them. The law prohibits this (Ex 34:15). The list includes some other animals that are excluded either by custom or for reasons of hygiene.
- Deuteronomy 14:21 Cooking a kid in its mother’s milk was a pagan Canaanite practice.
- Deuteronomy 14:22 This description of a tithe is different from that given in Num 18:21-24 and probably replaced the earlier law.
- Deuteronomy 14:28 Never forgotten by the Lord, the orphan, foreigner, and widow were remembered in a special way by the Israelites every three years by a tithe on all the year’s produce.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
