Deuteronomy 14

1 Be ye children of the Lord your God: you shall not cut yourselves, no, make any baldness for the dead;

You are the children of the Lord your God. Don't mutilate yourselves or shave your forehead like pagans do when they mourn the dead,

2 Because thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God: and he chose thee to be his peculiar people of all nations that are upon the earth.

because you are a holy people who belong to the Lord your God. The Lord chose you as his special people out of all the nations on earth.

3 Eat not the things that are unclean.

You must not eat anything repulsive.

4 These are the beasts that you shall eat, the ox, and the sheep, and the goat,

These are the animals that you are allowed to eat: cattle, sheep, goats,

5 The hart and the roe, the buffle, the chamois, the pygarg, the wild goat, the camelopardalus.

deer, gazelles, wild goats, antelopes, and mountain sheep.

6 Every beast that divideth the hoof in two parts, and cheweth the cud, you shall eat.

You can eat any animal that both has a divided hoof and also chews the cud.

7 But of them that chew the cud, but divide not the hoof, you shall not eat, such as the camel, the hare, and the cherogril: because they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof, they shall be unclean to you.

But you are not allowed to eat those that either chew the cud or have a divided hoof. This includes: camels, rabbits, and rock hyraxes. Even though they chew the cud, they don't have a divided hoof. You must treat them as unclean.

8 The swine also, because it divideth the hoof, but cheweth not the cud, shall be unclean, their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch.

The same applies to the pig. Even though it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. So you must treat it as unclean. You must not eat its meat or touch its dead body.

9 These shall you eat of all that abide in the waters: All that have fins and scales, you shall eat.

When it comes to creatures that live in the water, you are allowed to eat anything that has fins and scales.

10 Such as are without fins and scales, you shall not eat, because they are unclean.

But you must not eat anything that does not have fins and scales. You must treat them as unclean.

11 All birds that are clean you shall eat.

You are allowed to eat any clean bird.

12 The unclean eat not: to wit, the eagle, and the grype, and the osprey,

But you must not eat the following: eagle, griffon vulture, bearded vulture,

13 The ringtail, and the vulture, and the kite according to their kind:

buzzard, kites, any kind of falcon,

14 And all of the raven’s kind:

any member of the crow family,

15 And the ostrich, and the owl, and the larus, and the hawk according to its kind:

tawny owl, long-eared owl, gulls, any kind of hawk,

16 The heron, and the swan, and the stork,

little owl, eagle owl, barn owl,

17 And the cormorant, the porphyrion, and the night crow,

desert owl, Egyptian vulture, fish owl,

18 The bittern, and the charadrion, every one in their kind: the hoop also and the bat.

storks, any kind of heron, hoopoe, or bats.

19 Every thing that creepeth, and hath little wings, shall be unclean, and shall not be eaten.

All insects that fly are unclean to you; you must not eat them.

20 All that is clean, you shall eat.

But you are allowed to eat any clean animal that has wings.

21 But whatsoever is dead of itself, eat not thereof. Give it to the stranger, that is within thy gates, to eat, or sell it to him: because thou art the holy people of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of his dam.

You must not eat any animal that dies. You can give it to a foreigner in your town, and they can eat it, or you can sell it to a foreigner. You, however, are a holy people who belong to the Lord your God. Don't cook a young goat in its mother's milk.

22 Every year thou shalt set aside the tithes of all thy fruits that the earth bringeth forth,

Make sure you pay a tithe of every crop grown each year in your fields.

23 And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, that his name may be called upon therein, the tithe of thy corn, and thy wine, and thy oil, and the firstborn of thy herds and thy sheep: that thou mayst learn to fear the Lord thy God at all times.

You are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, 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 to live with you, so that you will learn to always respect the Lord your God.

24 But when the way and the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, are far off, and he hath blessed thee, and thou canst not carry all these things thither,

However, if it's too far to carry all the tithe that the Lord your God has blessed you with, because the place where the Lord your God will choose to live with you is too distant,

25 Thou shalt sell them all, and turn them into money, and shalt carry it in thy hand, and shalt go to the place which the Lord shall choose:

then you can exchange it for money, take the money with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose.

26 And thou shalt buy with the same money whatsoever pleaseth thee, either of the herds or of sheep, wine also and strong drink, and all that thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, and shalt feast, thou and thy house:

Then you can spend the money on anything you like—cattle, sheep, wine, alcoholic drink, or anything else you want. Then you can have a feast there in the presence of the Lord your God and celebrate with your family.

27 And the Levite that is within thy gates, beware thou forsake him not, because he hath no other part in thy possession.

Don't forget to take care of the Levites in your town, because they don't have any share in the allotment of land.

28 The third year thou shalt separate another tithe of all things that grow to thee at that time, and shalt lay it up within thy gates.

At the end of every third year, collect a tenth of all your produce for that year and store it in your town.

29 And the Levite that hath no other part nor possession with thee, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that are within thy gates, shall come and shall eat and be filled: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the works of thy hands that thou shalt do.

This way the Levites (who don't have any share in the allotment of land), the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows in your town will be provided with what they need. The Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.