Deuteronomy 14

1 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,

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

2 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.

For you are an holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a peculiar people to himself, above all the nations that are on the earth.

3 You must not eat anything repulsive.

You shall not eat any abominable thing.

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

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

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

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

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

And every beast that parts the hoof, and separates the cleft into two claws, and chews the cud among the beasts, that you shall eat.

7 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.

Nevertheless these you 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 to you.

8 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.

And the swine, because it divides the hoof, yet chews not the cud, it is unclean to you: you shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass.

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

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

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

And whatever has not fins and scales you may not eat; it is unclean to you.

11 You are allowed to eat any clean bird.

Of all clean birds you shall eat.

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

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

13 buzzard, kites, any kind of falcon,

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

14 any member of the crow family,

And every raven after his kind,

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

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

16 little owl, eagle owl, barn owl,

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

17 desert owl, Egyptian vulture, fish owl,

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

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

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

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

And every creeping thing that flies is unclean to you: they shall not be eaten.

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

But of all clean fowls you may eat.

21 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.

You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself: you shall give it to the stranger that is in your gates, that he may eat it; or you may sell it to an alien: for you are an holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

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

You shall truly tithe all the increase of your seed, that the field brings forth year by year.

23 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.

And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of your corn, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herds and of your flocks; that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.

24 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,

And if the way be too long for you, so that you are not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from you, which the LORD your God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD your God has blessed you:

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

Then shall you turn it into money, and bind up the money in your hand, and shall go to the place which the LORD your God shall choose:

26 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.

And you shall bestow that money for whatever your soul lusts after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatever your soul desires: and you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you, and your household,

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

And the Levite that is within your gates; you shall not forsake him; for he has no part nor inheritance with you.

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

At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your increase the same year, and shall lay it up within your gates:

29 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.

And the Levite, (because he has no part nor inheritance with you, ) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.