0 SAB Deuteronomy 14

God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed. 30:6

Trivia: Why does the Bible say that you shouldn't eat hares?

Deuteronomy

CHAPTER 14

The Israelites are God's favorite people
14:1-2

1Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.

Moses continues his instructions to the Israelites, saying,
You are the children of God. [1]

Don't cut yourselves or make any baldness between your eyes for dead people.

2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

You are a holy, peculiar people to God.

He likes you better than everyone else on earth.

What you may and may not eat
14:3-21

3Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.

Don't eat any abominable thing.

4 These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,

5 The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.

Eat these animals: ox, sheep, goats, harts, roebucks, deer, pygarg, and chamois.

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

Eat any beast that parts the hoof and chews the cud.

7 Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.

But don't eat camels [2],

Or hares and comeys (because they chew the cud [3] but don't divide the hoof, so they're unclean to you).

8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.

Or pigs, because they don't chew the cud. They are unclean.

Don't eat them or touch their dead bodies.

9 These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:

10 And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.

Don't eat any seafood unless it has fins and scales.

Shrimp, oysters, clams, crabs, and lobsters are "unclean" and shouldn't be eaten. [4]

11Of all clean birds ye shall eat.

You may eat clean birds.

12But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,

13 And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,

14 And every raven after his kind,

15 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,

16 The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,

17 And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,

18 And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

But these are the birds that you may not eat:

The eagle, ossifrage, ospray, glede, kite, vulture, raven, owl, hawk, cuckow, swan, pelican, eagle, cormorant, stork, heron, lapwing,

And the bat. [5]

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

Every flying creeping thing is unclean. Don't eat them. [6]

20 But of all clean fowls ye may eat.

21Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.

Don't eat dead animals that you find lying around.

(But it's OK to feed them to strangers, or sell them to foreigners.)

And don't boil a kid (baby goat) in its mother's milk.

Tithes
14:22-29, Cf. Lev 27:30-33, Num 18:21-32

22Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.

You shall truly tithe.

23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; 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; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:

25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:

Eat and drink wine [7] in front of God, in the place that he chooses, so that you will learn to fear him. [8]

26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.

28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:

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

Spend your money on whatever you'd like, including wine or strong drink.

«
»

Copyright © 1999-2024
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible

Send comments to Steve Wells
at swwells(at)gmail.com