14 1 The manners of the Gentiles in marking themselves for the dead, may not be followed. 4 What meats are clean to be eaten, and what not. 29 The tithes for the Levites, stranger, fatherless, and widow.

Ye are the children of the Lord your God, (A)Ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make you any baldness between your eyes for the dead.

(B)For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a [a]precious people unto himself, above all the people that are upon the earth.

¶ Thou shalt eat no manner of abomination.

[b]These are the beasts, which ye shall eat, the beef, the sheep, and the goat,

The hart, and the roebuck, and the bugle, and the wild goat, and the unicorn, and the wild ox, and the Chamois.

And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and is of the beasts that cheweth the cud, that shall ye eat.

But these ye shall not eat, of them that chew the cud, and of them that divide and cleave the hoof only: the camel, nor the hare, nor the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof, therefore they shall be unclean unto you:

Also the swine, because he divideth the hoof: and cheweth not the cud, shall be unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcasses.

(C)These ye shall eat, of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat.

10 And whatsoever hath no fins nor scales, ye shall not eat: it shall be unclean unto you.

11 ¶ Of all clean birds ye shall eat.

12 But these are they whereof ye shall not eat: the eagle nor the goshawk, nor the osprey,

13 Nor the glede, nor the kite, nor the vulture, after their kind,

14 Nor all kind of ravens,

15 Nor the ostrich, nor the night crow, nor the [c]seamew, nor the hawk after her kind,

16 Neither the little owl, nor the great owl, nor the redshank,

17 Nor the pelican, nor the swan, nor the cormorant:

18 The stork also, and the heron in his kind, nor the lapwing, nor (D)the [bat].

19 And every creeping thing that flieth, shall be unclean unto you: it shall not be eaten.

20 But of all clean fowls ye may eat.

21 Ye shall eat of nothing that [d]dieth alone, but thou shalt give it unto the [e]stranger that is within thy gates, that he may eat it: or thou mayest sell it unto a stranger: for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not (E)seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

22 Thou shalt [f]give the tithe of all the increase of thy seed, that cometh forth of the field year by year.

23 And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God (in the place which he shall choose to cause his Name to dwell there) the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstborn of thy kine, and of thy sheep, that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.

24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it, because the place is far from thee, where the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name, [g]when the Lord thy God shall bless thee,

25 Then shalt thou make it in money, and [h]take the money in thine hand, and go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose.

26 And thou shalt bestow the money for whatsoever thine heart desireth: whether it be ox, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatsoever thine heart desireth: [i]and shalt eat it there before the Lord thy God, and rejoice, both thou, and thine household.

27 And the Levite that is within thy gates, shalt thou not forsake: for he hath neither part nor inheritance with thee.

28 At the end of three years thou shalt [j]bring forth all the tithes of thine increase of the same year, and lay it up within thy gates.

29 Then the Levite shall come, because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, and shall eat, and be filled, that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 14:2 Therefore thou oughtest not to follow the superstition of the Gentiles.
  2. Deuteronomy 14:4 This ceremonial Law instructed the Jews to seek a spiritual pureness, even in their meat and drink.
  3. Deuteronomy 14:15 Or, cuckoo
  4. Deuteronomy 14:21 Because their blood was not shed, but remaineth in them.
  5. Deuteronomy 14:21 Which is not of thy religion.
  6. Deuteronomy 14:22 The tithes were ordained for the maintenance of the Levites, which had none inheritance.
  7. Deuteronomy 14:24 When he shall give thee ability.
  8. Deuteronomy 14:25 Or, bind up.
  9. Deuteronomy 14:26 After the Priest hath received the Lord’s part.
  10. Deuteronomy 14:28 Besides the yearly tithes that were given to the Levites, these were laid up in store for the poor.

Clean and Unclean Food(A)

14 You are the children(B) of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead, for you are a people holy(C) to the Lord your God.(D) Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.(E)

Do not eat any detestable thing.(F) These are the animals you may eat:(G) the ox, the sheep, the goat,(H) the deer,(I) the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat,(J) 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.(K)

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(L) of falcon,(M) 14 any kind of raven,(N) 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,(O) 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.(P)

21 Do not eat anything you find already dead.(Q) 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.(R)

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

Tithes

22 Be sure to set aside a tenth(T) of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat(U) the tithe of your grain, new wine(V) and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name,(W) so that you may learn(X) to revere(Y) the Lord your God always. 24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange(Z) your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink,(AA) or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice.(AB) 27 And do not neglect the Levites(AC) living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.(AD)

28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes(AE) of that year’s produce and store it in your towns,(AF) 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment(AG) or inheritance(AH) of their own) and the foreigners,(AI) the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied,(AJ) and so that the Lord your God may bless(AK) you in all the work of your hands.

Footnotes

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