Do not eat any detestable thing.(A) These are the animals you may eat:(B) the ox, the sheep, the goat,(C) the deer,(D) the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat,(E) the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep.[a] You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. However, of those that chew the cud or that have a divided hoof you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the hyrax. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you. The pig is also unclean; although it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.(F)

Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. 10 But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is unclean.

11 You may eat any clean bird. 12 But these you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, 13 the red kite, the black kite, any kind(G) of falcon,(H) 14 any kind of raven,(I) 15 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 16 the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, 17 the desert owl,(J) the osprey, the cormorant, 18 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.

19 All flying insects are unclean to you; do not eat them. 20 But any winged creature that is clean you may eat.(K)

21 Do not eat anything you find already dead.(L) You may give it to the foreigner residing in any of your towns, and they may eat it, or you may sell it to any other foreigner. But you are a people holy to the Lord your God.(M)

Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.(N)

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 14:5 The precise identification of some of the birds and animals in this chapter is uncertain.

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.