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Deuteronomy 14
Expanded Bible
Deuteronomy 14
Expanded Bible
God’s Special People
14 You are the ·children [sons] of the Lord your God. When someone dies, do not ·cut [lacerate; gash] yourselves or ·shave your heads [L set baldness between your eyes; C to show sadness; mourning customs of the pagan Canaanites]. 2 You are holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. He has chosen you from all the people on earth ·to be his very own [as his special treasure; Ex. 19:5–6].
3 Do not eat anything ·the Lord hates [L detestable; abominable; cf. Lev. 11]. 4 These are the animals you may eat: oxen, sheep, goats, 5 deer, gazelle, roe deer, wild goats, ibex, antelope, and mountain sheep. 6 You may eat any animal that has a split hoof and chews the cud [C considered a normal land animal], 7 but you may not eat camels, rabbits, or rock badgers. These animals chew the cud, but they do not have split hoofs, so they are unclean [C in a ritual sense] for you. 8 Pigs are also unclean for you; they have split hoofs, but they do not chew the cud. Do not eat their meat or touch their dead bodies.
9 There are many things that live in the water. You may eat anything that has fins and scales [C considered a normal aquatic creature], 10 but do not eat anything that does not have fins and scales. It is unclean [C in a ritual sense] for you.
11 You may eat any clean [C in a ritual sense] bird. 12 But do not eat these birds: eagles, vultures, black vultures, 13 red kites, falcons, any kind of kite, 14 any kind of raven, 15 horned owls, screech owls, sea gulls, any kind of hawk, 16 little owls, great owls, white owls, 17 desert owls, ospreys, cormorants, 18 storks, any kind of heron, the hoopoes, or bats [C the exact identification of many of these birds is disputed, but they all eat prey or dead matter and/or live in desolate places].
19 All insects with wings are unclean [C in a ritual sense] for you; do not eat them. 20 Other things with wings are clean, and you may eat them.
21 Do not eat anything you find that is already dead. You may give it to a ·foreigner living in your town [resident alien living within your gates], and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. But you are holy people, who belong to the Lord your God.
Do not cook a baby goat in its mother’s milk [C probably a pagan ritual; Ex. 23:19].
Giving a Tithe
22 Be sure to ·save [set aside/apart] ·one-tenth [T a tithe] of all ·your crops [L the produce/yield of your seed of the field] each year. 23 Eat it in the presence of the Lord your God in the place where he chooses to ·be worshiped [L cause his name to dwell; C Zion; 12:4–7]. Eat the ·tenth [tithe] of your grain, new wine, and oil, and eat the animals born first to your herds and flocks. Do this so that you will learn to ·respect [fear] the Lord your God ·always [L every day]. 24 But if the place the Lord will choose to ·be worshiped [L set his name there] is too far away and he has blessed you so much you cannot carry a ·tenth [T tithe], 25 exchange your ·one-tenth [T tithe] for silver. Then ·take [L grasp in your hand] the silver with you to the place the Lord your God shall choose. 26 ·Use [Spend; L Give] the silver to buy anything you wish—cattle, sheep, wine, ·beer [T strong drink; C an alcoholic beverage made from grain], or anything you wish. Then you and your ·family [L house] will eat and celebrate there before the Lord your God. 27 Do not ·forget [L abandon; forsake] the Levites in your ·town [L gates], because they have no land of their own among you.
28 At the end of every third year, everyone should bring ·one-tenth [T a tithe] of that year’s crop and store it in your ·towns [L gates]. 29 This is for the Levites so they may eat and be full. (They have no ·land of their own [L allotment or inheritance] among you.) It is also for ·strangers [foreigners; resident aliens], orphans, and widows who live in your ·towns [L gates] so that all of them may eat and be full. Then the Lord your God will bless you and all the work ·you do [L of your hands that you do].
Deuteronomy 14
New International Version
Deuteronomy 14
New International Version
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, 2 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)
3 Do not eat any detestable thing.(F) 4 These are the animals you may eat:(G) the ox, the sheep, the goat,(H) 5 the deer,(I) the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat,(J) the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep.[a] 6 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. 7 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. 8 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)
9 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
- Deuteronomy 14:5 The precise identification of some of the birds and animals in this chapter is uncertain.
Deuteronomy 14
English Standard Version
Deuteronomy 14
English Standard Version
Clean and Unclean Food
14 “You are (A)the sons of the Lord your God. (B)You shall not cut yourselves or make any (C)baldness on your foreheads for the dead. 2 For (D)you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
3 (E)“You shall not eat any abomination. 4 (F)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,[a] the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 6 Every animal that parts 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 (G)rock badger, because they chew the cud but do not part the hoof, are unclean for you. 8 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 (H)their carcasses you shall not touch.
9 “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 (I)“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 (J)you are a people holy to the Lord your God.
(K)“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
Tithes
22 (L)“You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. 23 And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, (M)you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, (N)and the firstborn of your herd and flock, (O)that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the Lord your God blesses you, because (P)the place is too far from you, which the Lord your God chooses, to set his name there, 25 then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses 26 and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And (Q)you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. 27 And you shall not neglect (R)the Levite who is within your towns, for (S)he has no portion or inheritance with you.
28 (T)“At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. 29 And the Levite, because (U)he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that (V)the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 14:5 Or addax
- Deuteronomy 14:12 The identity of many of these birds is uncertain
Expanded Bible (EXB)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.