Deuteronomy 14:3
New International Version
Do not eat any detestable thing.

New Living Translation
“You must not eat any detestable animals that are ceremonially unclean.

English Standard Version
“You shall not eat any abomination.

Berean Standard Bible
You must not eat any detestable thing.

King James Bible
Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.

New King James Version
“You shall not eat any detestable thing.

New American Standard Bible
“You shall not eat any detestable thing.

NASB 1995
“You shall not eat any detestable thing.

NASB 1977
“You shall not eat any detestable thing.

Legacy Standard Bible
“You shall not eat any abominable thing.

Amplified Bible
“You shall not eat anything that is detestable [to the LORD and forbidden by Him].

Christian Standard Bible
“You must not eat any detestable thing.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
You must not eat any detestable thing.

American Standard Version
Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.

Contemporary English Version
Don't eat any disgusting animals.

English Revised Version
Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Never eat anything that is disgusting to the LORD.

Good News Translation
"Do not eat anything that the LORD has declared unclean.

International Standard Version
"You must not eat any detestable food.

Majority Standard Bible
You must not eat any detestable thing.

NET Bible
You must not eat any forbidden thing.

New Heart English Bible
You shall not eat any abominable thing.

Webster's Bible Translation
Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.

World English Bible
You shall not eat any abominable thing.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
You do not eat any abomination;

Young's Literal Translation
'Thou dost not eat any abominable thing;

Smith's Literal Translation
Thou shalt not eat any abomination.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Eat not the things that are unclean.

Catholic Public Domain Version
You shall not eat the things that are unclean.

New American Bible
You shall not eat any abominable thing.

New Revised Standard Version
You shall not eat any abhorrent thing.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
You shall not eat any abominable thing.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
You shall not eat anything that is defiled.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Ye shall not eat any abominable thing.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Clean and Unclean Animals
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: The ox, the sheep, the goat,…

Cross References
Leviticus 11:1-47
The LORD spoke again to Moses and Aaron, telling them, / “Say to the Israelites, ‘Of all the beasts of the earth, these ones you may eat: / You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud. ...

Acts 10:9-16
The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray. / He became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. / He saw heaven open and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. ...

Mark 7:18-19
“Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, / because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.)

Matthew 15:11
A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”

Romans 14:14
I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.

1 Timothy 4:3-5
They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. / For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected, / because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Genesis 7:2
You are to take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate; a pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate;

Genesis 9:3-4
Everything that lives and moves will be food for you; just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you all things. / But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.

Isaiah 66:17
“Those who consecrate and purify themselves to enter the groves—to follow one in the center of those who eat the flesh of swine and vermin and rats—will perish together,” declares the LORD.

Ezekiel 4:14
“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.”

Acts 15:28-29
It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements: / You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.

Colossians 2:16-17
Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. / These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.

1 Corinthians 8:8
But food does not bring us closer to God: We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

Hebrews 9:10
They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform.

Romans 14:20
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block.


Treasury of Scripture

You shall not eat any abominable thing.

Leviticus 11:43
Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.

Leviticus 20:25
Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

Isaiah 65:4
Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

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Abominable Detestable Disgusting Eat
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Abominable Detestable Disgusting Eat
Deuteronomy 14
1. God's children are not to disfigure themselves in mourning
3. What may and may not be eaten
4. of animals
9. of fishes
11. of fowls
21. That which dies of itself may not be eaten
22. Tithes of Divine Service
23. Tithes and firstborns to be eaten before the Lord
28. The third year's tithe of alms and charity














You must not eat
This command is part of the dietary laws given to the Israelites, emphasizing the importance of obedience to God's instructions. These laws were intended to set the Israelites apart from other nations, highlighting their unique covenant relationship with God. The dietary restrictions served as a daily reminder of their holiness and dedication to God. In the New Testament, Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark 7:18-19), signifying a shift from external observance to internal purity and faith.

any detestable thing.
The term "detestable" refers to animals considered unclean according to the Mosaic Law. These included certain birds, fish, and animals that did not chew the cud or have split hooves (Leviticus 11). The distinction between clean and unclean animals was not only about health but also about spiritual symbolism, teaching the Israelites to discern between holy and unholy. This concept of separation is echoed in the New Testament, where believers are called to live lives distinct from worldly practices (2 Corinthians 6:17). The dietary laws foreshadowed the ultimate separation from sin achieved through Christ's sacrifice, who fulfilled the law and brought a new covenant of grace.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The author of Deuteronomy, who is delivering God's laws to the Israelites.

2. Israelites
The chosen people of God, receiving the laws and commandments as they prepare to enter the Promised Land.

3. Promised Land
The land of Canaan, which God promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

4. Mount Sinai
The place where Moses received the Law from God, which includes dietary laws.

5. Canaanite Nations
The surrounding nations whose practices and customs the Israelites are warned against adopting.
Teaching Points
Holiness and Distinction
The dietary laws were given to set the Israelites apart as a holy nation. As Christians, we are called to live distinct lives that reflect God's holiness.

Obedience to God's Commands
The command not to eat detestable things emphasizes the importance of obedience to God's instructions, even when they may not make sense to us.

Spiritual Discernment
While the specific dietary laws are not binding on Christians, the principle of discernment in what we consume—physically and spiritually—remains relevant.

Cultural Influence
The Israelites were to avoid the practices of surrounding nations. Similarly, Christians are called to be in the world but not of it, avoiding practices that contradict God's Word.

Freedom in Christ
With the coming of Christ, believers are no longer bound by Old Testament dietary laws, but this freedom should be exercised with consideration for others and in a way that honors God.(3) Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.--That is, anything which Jehovah has pronounced abominable. The distinctions between His creatures were alike established and removed by the Creator. Yet, no doubt, they had also a sanitary purpose in relation to the chosen people.

Verse 3. - Any abominable thing. Any abomination, i.e. anything which is an abomination to the Lord, having been by him pronounced unclean and forbidden; "anything which I have put far away from you (i.e. made to be abominable to you)" (Targum Jonath.). "Every creature of God is good," and "there is nothing unclean of itself" (1 Timothy 4:4; Romans 14:14); "but by the ordinance of God, certain creatures, meats, and drinks were made unclean to the Jews... and this taught them holiness in abstaining from the impure communion with the wicked" (Ainsworth).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
You must not
לֹ֥א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

eat
תֹאכַ֖ל (ṯō·ḵal)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 398: To eat

any
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

detestable thing.
תּוֹעֵבָֽה׃ (tō·w·‘ê·ḇāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8441: Something disgusting, an abhorrence, idolatry, an idol


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OT Law: Deuteronomy 14:3 You shall not eat any abominable thing (Deut. De Du)
Deuteronomy 14:2
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