Deuteronomy 14:3–18:14

3 You shall not eat any detestable thing. 4 These are the animals you may eat: ox, ⌊sheep, goats⌋,e 5 deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, ibex, antelope, and mountain sheep. 6 And any animal having a split hooff and so ⌊a dividing of the hoof into two parts⌋g ⌊and that chews the cud⌋h among the animalsi—that animal you may eat. 7 Only these you may not eat from ⌊those chewing the cud⌋j and from ⌊those having a division of the hoof⌋:k the camel and the hare and the coney, because ⌊they chew the cud⌋,l but they do not divide the hoof; they are therefore unclean for you. 8 And also the pig ⌊because it has a division of the hoof⌋m ⌊but does not chew the cud⌋;n it is unclean for you; from their meat you shall not eat, and you shall not touch their ⌊carcasses⌋.o

9 “This is what you shall eat from all that is in the water: ⌊everything⌋p ⌊that has fins and scales⌋q you may eat. 10 But ⌊anything that does not have⌋r fins and scales, you may not eat, for it is unclean for you.

11 “All of the birds that are clean you may eat. 12 Now these are the ones you shall not eat ⌊any of them⌋:s the eagle and the vulture and the short-toed eagle,t 13 and the red kiteu and the black kite or ⌊any kind of falcon⌋,v 14 and any kind of croww according to its kind, 15 and the ⌊ostrich⌋x and the short-eared owl and the seagully and the hawk according to its kind, 16 the little owl and the great owl and the barn owl,z 17 and the desert owla and the carrion vultureb and the cormorant,c 18 and the stork and the heron according to its kind and the hoopoe and the bat. 19 And also all of ⌊the winged insects⌋;d they are unclean for you; you shall not eat them. 20 You may eat any clean bird.

21 “You shall not eat any carcass;e you may give it to the alien who is in your ⌊towns⌋,f and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people for Yahweh your God; you may not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.

22 “Certainly you must give a tithe of all the yield of your seed, ⌊which comes forth from your field year after year⌋.g 23 And you shall eat ⌊before⌋h Yahweh your God in the place that he will choose to make to dwell his name there the tithe of your grain, your wine and your olive oil and the firstling of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to revere Yahweh your God ⌊always⌋.i 24 But if ⌊the distance is too great for you⌋,j so that you are not able to transportk it, because the place that Yahweh your God will choose to set his name there, it is too far from you, when Yahweh your God will bless you, 25 then in that case ⌊you may exchange for money⌋,l and you shall takem the money to your hand and go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose. 26 You may spend the money for anything ⌊that you desire⌋,n for oxen or for sheep or for wine or for strong drink or for anything ⌊that you desire⌋,o and you shall eat it there ⌊before⌋p Yahweh your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. 27 And as to the Levite who is in your ⌊towns⌋,q you shall not neglect him, because there is not a plot of ground for him and an inheritance along with you.

28 “At the end of three years you shall bring out all of the tithe of your yield for that year, and you shall store it in your ⌊towns⌋.r 29 And so the Levite may come, because there is no plot of ground for him or an inheritance with you, and the alien also may come and the orphan and the widow that are in your ⌊towns⌋,s and ⌊they may eat their fill⌋,t so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all of the work of your hand that you undertake.”

15 “At the end of seven years you shall grant a remission of debt. 2 And this is the manner of the remission of debt: every ⌊creditor⌋a shall remit his claim that he holds against his neighbor, and he shall not exact payment from his brother because thereb a remission of debt has been proclaimed untoc Yahweh. 3 With respect to the foreigner you may exact payment, but ⌊you must remit⌋d what shall be owed to you with respect to your brother. 4 Nevertheless, theree shall not be among you a poor person, because Yahweh will certainly bless you in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance, to take possession of it. 5 If only you listen well to the voice of Yahweh your God ⌊by observing diligently⌋f all of these commandmentsg that I am commanding you ⌊today⌋.h 6 When Yahweh your God has blessed you, just as he ⌊promised⌋i to you, then you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow from them, and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you. 7 If there is a poor person among you from among one of your brothers in one of your ⌊towns⌋j that Yahweh your God is giving to you, you shall not harden your heart, and you shall not shut your hand toward ⌊your brother who is poor⌋.k 8 But you shall certainly open your hand for him, and ⌊you shall willingly lend⌋l to him enough to meet his need, ⌊whatever it is⌋.m 9 ⌊Take care⌋n so that thereo will not be ⌊a thought of wickedness⌋p in your heart, ⌊saying⌋,q ‘The seventh year, the year of the remission of debt is near,’ ⌊and you view your needy neighbor with hostility⌋,r and so you do not give to him, and he might cry out against you to Yahweh, and ⌊you would incur guilt against yourself⌋.s 10 By all means you must give to him, and ⌊you must not be discontented⌋t at your giving to him, because on account of this very thing, Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and ⌊in all that you undertake⌋.u 11 For the poorv will not cease to be ⌊among you⌋w in the land; therefore I am commanding you, ⌊saying⌋,x ‘You shall willingly open your hand to your brother, to your needy and to your poor that are in your land.’

12 If your relativey who is a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman is sold to you, and he or she has served you six years, then in the seventh year you shall send that person out ⌊free⌋.z 13 And when you send him out free from you, you shall not send him away empty-handed. 14 You shall generously supply him from among your flocks and from your threshing floor and from your press; according to that with which Yahweh your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding you thus ⌊today⌋.a 16 And then if it will happen that he says to you, ‘⌊I do not want to go out⌋b from you,’ because he loves you and your family, because it is good for him to be with you; 17 then you shall take an awl, and you shall thrust it through his earlobe and into the door, and he shall be to you ⌊a slave forever⌋;c and you shall also do likewise for your slave woman. 18 It shall not be hard in your eyes ⌊when you send him forth free⌋,d because for six years he has served you worth twice the wage of a hired worker; and Yahweh your God will bless you ⌊in whatever you will do⌋.e

19 “Every firstling male that is born of your herd and of your flock you shall consecrate to Yahweh your God; you shall not do work with the firstling of your ox, and you shall not shear the firstling of your flock. 20 Rather ⌊before Yahweh⌋f your God you shall eat it year by year at the place Yahweh will choose, you and your household. 21 But if there is a physical defect in it, such as lameness or blindness, any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God. 22 In your ⌊towns⌋g you shall eat it, the unclean and the clean together may eat it, just as they eat the gazelle and as they eat the deer. 23 But you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.”

16 “Observe the month of Abib, and you shall keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, for in the month of Abib Yahweh your God brought you out from Egypt by night. 2 And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to Yahweh your God from among your flock and herd at the place that Yahweh will choose, to let his name dwell there. 3 You shall not eat ⌊with it⌋a anything leavened; seven days you shall eat ⌊with it⌋b unleavened bread of affliction, because in haste you went out from the land of Egypt, so that you will remember the day of your going out from the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4 And leaven shall not be seen withc you in any of your territoryd for seven days, and none of the meat that you will slaughter on the evening on the first day shall remain overnight until morning. 5 You are not allowed to offer the Passover sacrifice in one of your ⌊towns⌋e that Yahweh your God is giving to you, 6 but only at the place that Yahweh your God will choose, to let his name dwell there; you shall offer the Passover sacrifice ⌊in the evening at sunset⌋,f at the designated timeg of your going out from Egypt. 7 And you shall cook, and you shall eat it at the place that Yahweh your God will choose; and you may turn in the morning and go to your tents. 8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be an assembly for Yahweh your God; you shall not do work.

9 “You shall count off seven weeks for you; ⌊from the time you begin to harvest the standing grain⌋h you shall begin to count seven weeks. 10 And then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks for Yahweh your God with the measure of the freewill offering of your hand that you shall give just as Yahweh your God has blessed you. 11 And you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite that is in your ⌊towns⌋i and the alien and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst in the place that Yahweh your God will choose to let his name dwell there. 12 And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and so ⌊you shall diligently observe⌋j these rules.

13 “You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths for yourselvesk seven days ⌊at the gathering in of the produce⌋l from your threshing floor and from your press; 14 and you shall rejoice at your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite and the alien and the orphan and

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e	Literally “small livestock of the sheep and a small livestock of the goats”
f	Or “divides the hoof”
g	Literally “a dividing cleft creating two hoofs”
h	Literally “and that brings up the cud”
i	Hebrew “animal”
j	Literally “bringing up the cud”
k	Literally “those having a division of the hoof divided”
l	Literally “they bringing up of the cud”
m	Literally “because a division of the hoof”
n	Literally “but not a chewing cud”
o	Literally “dead body”
p	Literally “all of that”
q	Literally “for it is fins and scales,” showing possession of these features
r	Literally “all of that there is not for it,” showing lack of possession of these features
s	Literally “from them”
t	This list of birds is difficult to translate since the terms are not definitely known: e.g., some translations render the last bird as a “buzzard” (NASV); other translations give different names for all three: griffon vulture, black vulture, bearded vulture (NEB)
u	Various options are available: large bird, kite, red kite, glede, buzzard
v	Literally “or the falcon according to its kind”; other options for falcon: bird, falcon, kite (others as carrion-bird), vulture, crow or raven, buzzard
w	Or others translate as “raven”
x	Literally “daughter of the ostrich”; others “desert owl”
y	Or “long-eared owl”
z	Or “white owl”
a	Or “large bird” or “horned-owl”
b	Or “large bird”
c	Or “large bird,” or “fisher-owl”
d	Literally “the swarmers of the flyers” or “all the swarms of things that fly”
e	Or “corpse”
f	Literally “gates”
g	Literally “the going forth of the field year by year”
h	Literally “before the faces of”
i	Literally “all of the days”
j	Literally “it is great from you the journey that”
k	Or “carry”
l	Literally “you may give it in for the money/silver”
m	Or “bind”
n	Literally “that your soul/inner self desires”
o	Literally “that your soul/inner self desires”
p	Literally “to the face of”
q	Literally “gates”
r	Literally “gates”
s	Literally “gates”
t	Literally “they may eat and they may be satisfied”
a	Literally “owner of the loan of his hand”
b	Hebrew “it”
c	Hebrew “for”
d	Literally “your hand shall remit”
e	Hebrew “it”
f	Literally “to observe so as to do”
g	Hebrew “commandment”
h	Literally “the day”
i	Literally “spoke”
j	Literally “gates”
k	Literally “from among your brothers, the poor one”
l	Literally “lending you shall lend”
m	Literally “whatever is lacking for him”
n	Literally “Watch for yourself”
o	Hebrew “it”
p	Literally “a thing in your heart wickedness”
q	Literally “to say”
r	Literally “is bad your eye against your brother who is needy”
s	Literally “it will be against you a sin”
t	Literally “and not shall be bad/evil your heart at/when”
u	Literally “in all of the sending/putting forth of your hand”
v	Or “the needy person”
w	Literally “from the midst of “
x	Literally “to say”
y	Or “brother”
z	Literally “free from with you”
a	Literally “the day”
b	Literally “I will not go out”
c	Literally “a slave of eternity”
d	Literally “in/at you to send him forth free from being with you”
e	Literally “in all of that you will do”
f	Literally “in the face of Yahweh”
g	Literally “gates”
a	Literally “in addition to” or “upon it”
b	Literally “in addition to” or “upon it”
c	Or “for”
d	Or “all of” your territory
e	Literally “gates”
f	Literally “in the evening as the sun goes/sets”
g	The Hebrew word here indicates the specific time that God had chosen to bring Israel out of Egypt
h	Literally “from the beginning of the sickle against the standing grain”
i	Literally “gates”
j	Literally “you shall observe and do”
k	Hebrew “for you”
l	Literally “at your gathering of the produce”

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