Deuteronomy 14
1 “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].
Ye are the children of Yhwh your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
2 We belong to Yahweh alone. Yahweh chose us from all the other people-groups on the earth to be his special people.
For thou art an holy people unto Yhwh thy God, And Yhwh hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
3 “Do not eat anything that [Yahweh] detests.
Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.
4 The animals [whose meat] you are permitted to eat are cattle, sheep, goats,
These are the beasts which ye 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 Those are animals that have split hoofs and that also (chew their cuds/regurgitate their food [from their stomachs] to chew it again).
And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat.
7 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.
Nevertheless these ye 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 unto you.
8 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.
And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.
9 You are permitted to eat any fish that has scales and fins.
These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:
10 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].
And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.
11 “You are permitted to eat the flesh of any bird that is acceptable [to Yahweh].
Of all clean birds ye shall eat.
12 But eagles, vultures, black vultures,
But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
13 buzzards, all kinds of kites,
And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,
14 all kinds of crows,
And every raven after his kind,
15 ostriches, seagulls,
And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
16 owls, hawks, falcons,
The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,
17 pelicans, vultures that eat dead animals, cormorants,
And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
18 storks, herons, hoopoes, and bats, you must not eat.
And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
19 “All insects with wings [and which walk on the ground] are unacceptable [to Yahweh]; do not eat them.
And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.
20 But other insects with wings [and which hop along the ground] are acceptable to eat.
But of all clean fowls ye may eat.
21 “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.”
Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto Yhwh thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
22 “Once each year you must set apart (a tithe/10 percent) of all the crops that are produced/harvested in your fields.
Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
23 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].
And thou shalt eat before Yhwh thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy grain, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear Yhwh thy God always.
24 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:
And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which Yhwh thy God shall choose to set his name there, when Yhwh thy God hath blessed thee:
25 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.
Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which Yhwh thy God shall choose:
26 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.
And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul desires, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before Yhwh thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
27 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.
And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
28 “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.
At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
29 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.”
And the Levite, ( because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee, ) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that Yhwh thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
