Deuteronomy 15:19-23
New English Translation
Giving God the Best
19 You must set apart[a] for the Lord your God every firstborn male born to your herds and flocks. You must not work the firstborn of your bulls or shear the firstborn of your flocks. 20 You and your household must eat them annually before the Lord your God in the place he[b] chooses. 21 If one of them has any kind of blemish—lameness, blindness, or anything else[c]—you may not offer it as a sacrifice to the Lord your God. 22 You may eat it in your villages,[d] whether you are ritually impure or clean,[e] just as you would eat a gazelle or an ibex. 23 However, you must not eat its blood; you must pour it out on the ground like water.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Deuteronomy 15:19 tn Heb “sanctify” (תַּקְדִּישׁ, taqdish), that is, put to use on behalf of the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 15:20 tn Heb “the Lord.” The translation uses a pronoun for stylistic reasons. See note on “he” in 15:4.
- Deuteronomy 15:21 tn Heb “any evil blemish”; NASB “any (+ other NAB, TEV) serious defect.”
- Deuteronomy 15:22 tn Heb “in your gates.”
- Deuteronomy 15:22 tc The LXX adds ἐν σοί (en soi, “among you”) to make clear that the antecedent is the people and not the animals. That is, the people, whether ritually purified or not, may eat such defective animals.
Deuteronomy 15:19-23
New Living Translation
Sacrificing Firstborn Male Animals
19 “You must set aside for the Lord your God all the firstborn males from your flocks and herds. Do not use the firstborn of your herds to work your fields, and do not shear the firstborn of your flocks. 20 Instead, you and your family must eat these animals in the presence of the Lord your God each year at the place he chooses. 21 But if this firstborn animal has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or if anything else is wrong with it, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22 Instead, use it for food for your family in your hometown. Anyone, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat it, just as anyone may eat a gazelle or deer. 23 But you must not consume the blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water.
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