Deuteronomy 14

1Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.

2For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

3Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.

4These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,

5The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.footnote a

6And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat.

7Nevertheless 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.

8And 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.

9These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:

10And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.

11Of all clean birds ye shall eat.

12But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,

13And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,

14And every raven after his kind,

15And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,

16The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,

17And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,

18And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

19And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.

20But of all clean fowls ye may eat.

21Ye 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 the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

22Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.

23And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.

24And 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 the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:

25Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:

26And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,footnote b

27And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.

28At 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:

29And 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 the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

Clean and Unclean Animals

1You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead, 2for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

3You must not eat any detestable thing. 4These are the animals that you may eat:footnote a
The ox, the sheep, the goat,

5the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer,
the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope,
and the mountain sheep.

6You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud.

7But of those that chew the cud or have a completely divided hoof, you are not to eat the following:
the camel,
the rabbit,
or the rock badger.footnote b
Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof. They are unclean for you, 8as well as the pig; though it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. It is unclean for you. You must not eat its meat or touch its carcass.

9Of all the creatures that live in the water, you may eat anything with fins and scales, 10but you may not eat anything that does not have fins and scales; it is unclean for you.

11You may eat any clean bird, 12but these you may not eat:
the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture,

13the red kite, the falcon, any kind of kite,

14any kind of raven,

15the ostrich,footnote c the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,

16the little owl, the great owl, the white owl,

17the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant,

18the stork, any kind of heron,
the hoopoe, or the bat.

19All flying insects are unclean for you; they may not be eaten. 20But you may eat any clean bird.

21You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to the foreigner residing within your gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God.
You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Giving Tithes

22You must be sure to set aside a tenth of all the produce brought forth each year from your fields. 23And you are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks, in the presence of the LORD your God at the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.

24But if the distance is too great for you to carry that with which the LORD your God has blessed you, because the place where the LORD your God will choose to put His Name is too far away, 25then exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. 26Then you may spend the money on anything you desire: cattle, sheep, wine, strong drink, or anything you wish. You are to feast there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your household. 27And do not neglect the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

28At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and lay it up within your gates. 29Then the Levite (because he has no portion or inheritance among you), the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates may come and eat and be satisfied. And the LORD your God will bless you in all the work of your hands.