Clean and Unclean Foods

“You must not eat any detestable thing. These are the animals you may eat:

oxen, sheep, goats,

deer, gazelles, roe deer,

wild goats, ibexes, antelopes,

and mountain sheep.

You may eat any animal that has hooves divided in two and chews the cud.[a] But among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves, you are not to eat these:

camels, hares, and hyraxes,

though they chew the cud, they do not have hooves—

they are unclean for you;

and pigs, though they have hooves, they do not chew the cud—

they are unclean for you.

Do not eat their meat or touch their carcasses.(A)

“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.(B)

11 “You may eat every clean bird, 12 but these are the ones you may not eat:

eagles, bearded vultures,

black vultures, 13 the kites,

any kind of falcon,[b]

14 every kind of raven, 15 ostriches,

short-eared owls, gulls,

any kind of hawk,

16 little owls, long-eared owls,

barn owls, 17 eagle owls,

ospreys, cormorants, 18 storks,

any kind of heron,

hoopoes, and bats.[c](C)

19 All winged insects are unclean for you; they may not be eaten. 20 But you may eat every clean flying creature.(D)

21 “You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to a resident alien within your city 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. Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

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Footnotes

  1. 14:6 The Hb does not specify chewing the cud, but bringing up partially digested food and swallowing it again.
  2. 14:13 Some Hb mss, Sam, LXX; other Hb mss, Vg read the falcon, the various kinds of kite
  3. 14:5–18 The identification of some of these animals is uncertain.

(A)“You shall not eat any abomination. (B)These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex,[a] the antelope, and the mountain sheep. Every animal that parts the hoof and has the hoof cloven in two and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cloven you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the (C)rock badger, because they chew the cud but do not part the hoof, are unclean for you. 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 (D)their carcasses you shall not touch.

“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 (E)“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 (F)you are a people holy to the Lord your God.

(G)“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 14:5 Or addax
  2. Deuteronomy 14:12 The identity of many of these birds is uncertain