Deuteronomy 14
1 Ye are the children of the Lord your God. Ye shall not cut yourselues, nor make you any baldnesse betweene your eyes for the dead.
“We are people who belong to Yahweh our God. So, when people die, do not show that you are grieving by gashing/cutting yourselves or by shaving the hair on your foreheads [like the other people-groups do].
2 For thou art an holy people vnto ye Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a precious people vnto himselfe, aboue all the people that are vpon the earth.
We belong to Yahweh alone. Yahweh chose us from all the other people-groups on the earth to be his special people.
3 Thou shalt eate no maner of abomination.
“Do not eat anything that [Yahweh] detests.
4 These are the beastes, which ye shall eate, the beefe, the sheepe, and the goate,
The animals [whose meat] you are permitted to eat are cattle, sheep, goats,
5 The hart, and the roe buck, and the bugle, and the wilde goate, and the vnicorne, and the wilde oxe, and the chamois.
deer, gazelles, wild goats, antelopes, and mountain sheep.
6 And euery beast that parteth ye hoofe, and cleaueth the clift into two clawes, and is of the beasts that cheweth the cudde, that shall ye eate.
Those are animals that have split hoofs and that also (chew their cuds/regurgitate their food [from their stomachs] to chew it again).
7 But these ye shall not eate, of them that chew the cud, and of them that deuide and cleaue the hoofe onely: ye camell, nor the hare, nor the cony: for they chewe the cudde, but deuide not ye hoofe: therefore they shall be vncleane vnto you:
But there are other animals that chew their cuds that you must not eat. Those are camels, rabbits, and rock badgers. They chew their cuds, but their hooves are not split. So they are not acceptable for you to eat.
8 Also the swine, because he deuideth the hoofe, and cheweth not the cud, shalbe vncleane vnto you: ye shall not eate of their flesh, nor touch their dead carkeises.
Do not eat pigs. They are unacceptable for you to eat; their hooves are split, but they do not chew cud. Do not eat the meat of those animals; do not even touch their dead bodies.
9 These ye shall eate, of all that are in the waters: all that haue finnes and scales shall ye eate.
You are permitted to eat any fish that has scales and fins.
10 And whatsoeuer hath no finnes nor scales, ye shall not eate: it shall be vncleane vnto you.
But anything else [that lives in the water] that does not have scales and fins, you must not eat, because [if you eat them], you will become unacceptable [to Yahweh].
11 Of all cleane birdes ye shall eate:
“You are permitted to eat the flesh of any bird that is acceptable [to Yahweh].
12 But these are they, whereof ye shall not eate: the eagle, nor the goshawke, nor the osprey,
But eagles, vultures, black vultures,
13 Nor the glead nor the kite, nor the vulture, after their kind,
buzzards, all kinds of kites,
14 Nor all kinde of rauens,
all kinds of crows,
15 Nor the ostrich, nor the nightcrow, nor the semeaw, nor the hawke after her kinde,
ostriches, seagulls,
16 Neither the litle owle, nor the great owle, nor the redshanke,
owls, hawks, falcons,
17 Nor the pellicane, nor the swanne, nor the cormorant:
pelicans, vultures that eat dead animals, cormorants,
18 The storke also, and the heron in his kinde, nor the lapwing, nor the backe.
storks, herons, hoopoes, and bats, you must not eat.
19 And euery creeping thing that flieth, shall be vncleane vnto you: it shall not be eaten.
“All insects with wings [and which walk on the ground] are unacceptable [to Yahweh]; do not eat them.
20 But of all cleane foules ye may eate.
But other insects with wings [and which hop along the ground] are acceptable to eat.
21 Ye shall eate of nothing that dieth alone, but thou shalt giue it vnto the stranger that is within thy gates, that he may eate it: or thou maiest sell it vnto a stranger: for thou art an holy people vnto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mothers milke.
“Do not eat any animal that has died naturally, [because its blood has not been drained out]. You may allow foreigners who live among you to eat those things or you may sell them to other foreigners. But you belong to Yahweh our God; [and those who belong to him are not permitted to eat the meat of animals whose blood has not been drained out]. “You must not cook a young sheep or goat in its mother’s milk.”
22 Thou shalt giue the tithe of all the increase of thy seede, that commeth foorth of the fielde yeere by yeere.
“Once each year you must set apart (a tithe/10 percent) of all the crops that are produced/harvested in your fields.
23 And thou shalt eate before the Lord thy God (in the place which he shall chose to cause his Name to dwell there) the tithe of thy corne, of thy wine, and of thine oyle, and the first borne of thy kine and of thy sheepe, that thou maiest learne to feare the Lord thy God alway.
Take those things to the place that Yahweh our God will choose [for you to worship him]. There eat the tithes of your grain, your wine, your [olive] oil, and the meat of the firstborn male animals of your cattle and your sheep. Do this in order that you may learn to always revere Yahweh, [the one who has blessed you by giving you these things].
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to cary it, because the place is farre from thee, where the Lord thy God shall chose to set his Name, when the Lord thy God shall blesse thee,
If the place that Yahweh has chosen [for you to worship him] is very far from your home, with the result that you are not able to take there the tithes [of your crops] with which Yahweh has blessed you, do this:
25 Then shalt thou make it in money, and take the money in thine hand, and goe vnto the place which the Lord thy God shall chose.
Sell [IDM] the tithes of your crops, wrap the money carefully [in a cloth], and take it with you to the place of worship that Yahweh has chosen.
26 And thou shalt bestowe the money for whatsoeuer thine heart desireth: whether it be oxe, or sheepe, or wine, or strong drinke, or whatsoeuer thine heart desireth: and shalt eate it there before the Lord thy God, and reioyce, both thou, and thine household.
There, [with that money], you may buy whatever you want to—beef or lamb or wine or fermented drinks. And there, in the presence of Yahweh, you and your families should eat [and drink] those things and be happy.
27 And the Leuite that is within thy gates, shalt thou not forsake: for he hath neither part nor inheritance with thee.
But be sure to not neglect/forget [to help] the descendants of Levi who live in your towns, because they will not own any land.
28 At the end of three yeere thou shalt bring foorth all the tithes of thine increase of the same yeere, and lay it vp within thy gates.
“At the end of every three years, bring a tithe of all your crops that have been produced/harvested in that year and store it in your towns.
29 Then ye Leuite shall come, because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee, and the stranger, and the fatherlesse, and the widowe, which are within thy gates, and shall eate, and be filled, that the Lord thy God may blesse thee in al the worke of thine hand which thou doest.
That food is for the descendants of Levi, because they do not have their own land, and for foreigners [who live among you], and for orphans and widows who live in your towns. They are permitted to come [to where the food is stored] and take what they need. Do that in order that Yahweh our God will bless you in everything that you do.”
