Deuteronomy14
New King James Version
1“You are the children of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead.
2For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
3“You shall not eat any detestable thing.
4These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat,
5the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the mountain goat, the antelope, and the mountain sheep.
6And you may eat every animal with cloven hooves, having the hoof split into two parts, and that chews the cud, among the animals.
7Nevertheless, of those that chew the cud or have cloven hooves, you shall not eat, such as these: the camel, the hare, and the rock hyrax; for they chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves; they are unclean for you.
8Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh or touch their dead carcasses.
9“These you may eat of all that are in the waters: you may eat all that have fins and scales.
10And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.
11“All clean birds you may eat.
12But these you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard,
13the red kite, the falcon, and the kite after their kinds;
14every raven after its kind;
15the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after their kinds;
16the little owl, the screech owl, the white owl,
17the jackdaw, the carrion vulture, the fisher owl,
18the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the bat.
19“Also every creeping thing that flies is unclean for you; they shall not be eaten.
20“You may eat all clean birds.
21“You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
22“You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.
23And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.
24But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you,
25then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses.
26And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.
27You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.
28“At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates.
29And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Deuteronomy 14.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The Israelites to distinguish themselves from other nations. (1–21). Respecting the application of tithes. (22–29).
vv1-21
Moses tells the people of Israel how God had given them three distinguishing privileges, which were their honour, and figures of those spiritual blessings in heavenly things, with which God has in Christ blessed us. Here is election; “The Lord hath chosen thee.” He did not choose them because they were by their own acts a peculiar people to him above other nations, but he chose them that they might be so by his grace; and thus were believers chosen, Eph 1:4. Here is adoption; “Ye are the children of the Lord your God;” not because God needed children, but because they were orphans, and needed a father. Every spiritual Israelite is indeed a child of God, a partaker of his nature and favour. Here is sanctification; “Thou art a holy people.” God's people are required to be holy, and if they are holy, they are indebted to the grace God which makes them so. Those whom God chooses to be his children, he will form to be a holy people, and zealous of good works. They must be careful to avoid every thing which might disgrace their profession, in the sight of those who watch for their halting. Our heavenly Father forbids nothing but for our welfare. Do thyself no harm; do not ruin thy health, thy reputation, thy domestic comforts, thy peace of mind. Especially do not murder thy soul. Do not be the vile slave of thy appetites and passions. Do not render all around thee miserable, and thyself wretched; but aim at that which is most excellent and useful. The laws which regarded many sorts of flesh as unclean, were to keep them from mingling with their idolatrous neighbours. It is plain in the gospel, that these laws are now done away. But let us ask our own hearts, Are we of the children of the Lord our God? Are we separate from the ungodly world, in being set apart to God's glory, the purchase of Christ's blood? Are we subjects of the work of the Holy Ghost? Lord, teach us from these precepts how pure and holy all thy people ought to live!
vv22-29
A second portion from the produce of their land was required. The whole appointment evidently was against the covetousness, distrust, and selfishness of the human heart. It promoted friendliness, liberality, and cheerfulness, and raised a fund for the relief of the poor. They were taught that their worldly portion was most comfortably enjoyed, when shared with their brethren who were in want. If we thus serve God, and do good with what we have, it is promised that the Lord our God will bless us in all the works of our land. The blessing of God is all to our outward prosperity; and without that blessing, the work of our hands will bring nothing to pass. The blessing descends upon the working hand. Expect not that God should bless thee in thy idleness and love of ease. And it descends upon the giving hand. He who thus scatters, certainly increases; and to be free and generous in the support of religion, and any good work, is the surest and safest way of thriving.
Key Words
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
אֱלֹהִים: gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
לֹא: not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
גָּדַד: to crowd; also to gash (as if by pressing into)
שׂוּם: to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically)
קׇרְחָה: baldness
מוּת: to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill
כִּי: (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
עַם: a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock
קָדוֹשׁ: sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary
Cross References
Deuteronomy 14The primary parallel passage setting forth the distinction between clean and unclean land beasts.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
The parallel catalog of prohibited unclean birds and flying creatures.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
The original prohibition against boiling a kid in its mother's milk.
Supported by JFB
Repeats the cultic prohibition of seething a kid in its mother's milk.
Supported by JFB
Elaborates on the third-year tithe laid up within the gates for the Levite and poor.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Prohibits rounding the corners of the head or disfiguring oneself in mourning practices.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Forbids priests from making baldness on their heads or incisions in their flesh.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Illustrates pagan mourning rituals of cutting oneself and making baldness.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Depicts pagan idolaters cutting themselves as a standard custom of worship.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
New Testament warning against excessive, hopeless grief for the dead.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Connects dietary distinction directly with God's separation of Israel from the nations.
Supported by John Calvin
The parallel priestly instructions for identifying clean and unclean aquatic creatures.
Supported by John Calvin
The parallel categorization of unclean winged insects and creeping things.
Supported by John Calvin
Prescribes cleansing laws for eating animals that die of themselves.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Permits eating clean wild game like the roebuck and hart.
Supported by JFB