Deuteronomy 14
Deuteronomy 14 presents Israel as a people set apart to the LORD and then gives regulations concerning mourning practices, food, and tithes. The chapter shows that Israel’s holiness is not limited to formal worship, but extends into ordinary bodily, economic, and communal life.
1verseYou are the children of the LORD your God. You shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
2verseFor you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the earth.
3verseYou shall not eat any abominable thing.
4verseThese are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat,
5versethe deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the chamois.
6verseEvery animal that parts the hoof, and has the hoof split in two and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat.
7verseNevertheless these you shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of those who have the hoof split: the camel, the hare, and the rabbit. Because they chew the cud but don’t part the hoof, they are unclean to you.
8verseThe pig, because it has a split hoof but doesn’t chew the cud, is unclean to you. You shall not eat their meat. You shall not touch their carcasses.
9verseThese you may eat of all that are in the waters: you may eat whatever has fins and scales.
10verseYou shall not eat whatever doesn’t have fins and scales. It is unclean to you.
11verseOf all clean birds you may eat.
12verseBut these are they of which you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey,
13versethe red kite, the falcon, the kite of any kind,
14verseevery raven of any kind,
15versethe ostrich, the owl, the seagull, the hawk of any kind,
16versethe little owl, the great owl, the horned owl,
17versethe pelican, the vulture, the cormorant,
18versethe stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.
19verseAll winged creeping things are unclean to you. They shall not be eaten.
20verseOf all clean birds you may eat.
21verseYou shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the foreigner living among you who is within your gates, that he may eat it; or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
22verseYou shall surely tithe all the increase of your seed, that which comes out of the field year by year.
23verseYou shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place which he chooses to cause his name to dwell, the tithe of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock; that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.
24verseIf the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry it because the place which the LORD your God shall choose to set his name there is too far from you, when the LORD your God blesses you,
25versethen you shall turn it into money, bind up the money in your hand, and shall go to the place which the LORD your God shall choose.
26verseYou shall trade the money for whatever your soul desires: for cattle, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatever your soul asks of you. You shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.
27verseYou shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion nor inheritance with you.
28verseAt the end of every three years you shall bring all the tithe of your increase in the same year, and shall store it within your gates.
29verseThe Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, as well as the foreigner living among you, the fatherless, and the widow who 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.
Verses 1–21: Food Regulations and Holy Identity
The food regulations distinguish animals that may be eaten from those that may not be eaten. Animals that chew the cud and have divided hooves are permitted, while animals such as the camel, hare, hyrax, and pig are not. Fish must have fins and scales, and various birds are listed as forbidden. The point is not only diet, but identity: Israel’s daily habits are to reflect that they belong to the LORD.
Verses 22–29: The Tithing Laws
The chapter also describes tithing from agricultural produce. The yearly tithe is associated with rejoicing before the LORD at the place He chooses, and if the distance is too great, it may be converted into money and then used there. Every third year, the tithe is stored locally for Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows. Thus worship, gratitude, and social care are joined together.
Points for Reflection
- How does the chapter connect holiness with ordinary choices such as eating, spending, and sharing?
- What does it teach about joy before God and responsibility toward vulnerable members of the community?
- How can outward practices serve inward devotion rather than replace it?
Apply It to Yourself
- Review one ordinary area of life—food, money, possessions, or habits—and ask how it reflects your values before God.
- Consider a concrete way to share resources with people who lack support.
- Practice gratitude not only privately, but also in ways that strengthen community care.
