Deuteronomy 14

1  YOU ARE the sons of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead,2  For you are a holy people [set apart] to the Lord your God; and the Lord has chosen you to be a peculiar people to Himself, above all the nations on the earth.3  You shall not eat anything that is abominable [to the Lord and so forbidden by Him].4  These are the beasts which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,5  The hart, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep.6  And every beast that parts the hoof and has it divided into two and brings up and chews the cud among the beasts you may eat.7  Yet these you shall not eat of those that chew the cud or have the hoof split in two: the camel, the hare, and the coney, because they chew the cud but divide not the hoof; they are unclean for you.8  And the swine, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. You shall not eat of their flesh or touch their dead bodies.9  These you may eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales you may eat,10  And whatever has not fins and scales you may not eat; it is unclean for you.11  Of all clean birds you may eat.12  But these are the ones which you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the ospray,13  The buzzard, the kite in its several species,14  The raven in all its species,15  The ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any variety,16  The little owl, the great owl, the horned owl,17  The pelican, the carrion vulture, the cormorant,18  The stork, the heron of any variety, the hoopoe, and the bat.19  And all flying insects are unclean for you; they shall not be eaten.20  But of all clean winged things you may eat.21  You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the stranger or the foreigner who is within your towns, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to an alien. [They are not under God’s law in this matter] but you are a people holy to the Lord your God. You shall not [even] boil a kid in its mother’s milk.22  You shall surely tithe all the yield of your seed produced by your field each year.23  And you shall eat before the Lord your God in the place in which He will cause His Name [and Presence] to dwell the tithe (tenth) of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstlings of your herd and your flock, that you may learn [reverently] to fear the Lord your God always.24  And if the distance is too long for you to carry your tithe, or the place where the Lord your God chooses to set His Name [and Presence] is too far away for you, when the Lord your God has blessed you,25  Then you shall turn it into money, and bind up the money in your hand, and shall go to the place [of worship] which the Lord your God has chosen.26  And you may spend that money for whatever your appetite craves, for oxen, or sheep, or new wine or strong[er] drink, or whatever you desire; and you shall eat there before the Lord your God and you shall rejoice, you and your household.27  And you shall not forsake or neglect the Levite [God’s minister] in your towns, for he has been given no share or inheritance with you.28  At the end of every three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your increase the same year and lay it up within your towns.29  And the Levite [because he has no part or inheritance with you] and the stranger or temporary resident, and the fatherless and the widow who are in your towns shall come and eat and be satisfied, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

Deuteronomy 14

Chapter 14

Ceremonially Clean and Unclean Animals

1 “Since you are the people of the LORD your God, never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead.

2 You have been set apart as holy to the LORD your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.
3 “You must not eat any detestable animals that are ceremonially unclean.4 These are the animalst you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat,

5 the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the addax, the antelope, and the mountain sheep.
6 “You may eat any animal that has completely split hooves and chews the cud,7 but if the animal doesn’t have both, it may not be eaten. So you may not eat the camel, the hare, or the hyrax.t They chew the cud but do not have split hooves, so they are ceremonially unclean for you.

8 And you may not eat the pig. It has split hooves but does not chew the cud, so it is ceremonially unclean for you. You may not eat the meat of these animals or even touch their carcasses.
9 “Of all the marine animals, you may eat whatever has both fins and scales.

10 You may not, however, eat marine animals that do not have both fins and scales. They are ceremonially unclean for you.
11 “You may eat any bird that is ceremonially clean.12 These are the birds you may not eat: the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture,13 the kite, the falcon, buzzards of all kinds,14 ravens of all kinds,15 the eagle owl, the short-eared owl, the seagull, hawks of all kinds,16 the little owl, the great owl, the barn owl,17 the desert owl, the Egyptian vulture, the cormorant,

18 the stork, herons of all kinds, the hoopoe, and the bat.
19 “All winged insects that walk along the ground are ceremonially unclean for you and may not be eaten.

20 But you may eat any winged bird or insect that is ceremonially clean.

21 “You must not eat anything that has died a natural death. You may give it to a foreigner living in your town, or you may sell it to a stranger. But do not eat it yourselves, for you are set apart as holy to the LORD your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

The Giving of Tithes

22 “You must set aside a tithe of your crops—one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year.

23 Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored—and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the LORD your God.
24 “Now when the LORD your God blesses you with a good harvest, the place of worship he chooses for his name to be honored might be too far for you to bring the tithe.25 If so, you may sell the tithe portion of your crops and herds, put the money in a pouch, and go to the place the LORD your God has chosen.26 When you arrive, you may use the money to buy any kind of food you want—cattle, sheep, goats, wine, or other alcoholic drink. Then feast there in the presence of the LORD your God and celebrate with your household.

27 And do not neglect the Levites in your town, for they will receive no allotment of land among you.
28 “At the end of every third year, bring the entire tithe of that year’s harvest and store it in the nearest town.

29 Give it to the Levites, who will receive no allotment of land among you, as well as to the foreigners living among you, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, so they can eat and be satisfied. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all your work.