Instead, pour out the blood on the ground like water.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall not eat it. You shall pour it out on the earth like water.
- KJV Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
- BSB You must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.
- NKJV You shall not eat it; you shall pour it on the earth like water.
- NASB You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They must not eat the blood but pour it out on the ground like water. The command is repeated for emphasis.
Overview
Moses again insists that blood be drained and discarded rather than consumed, underscoring how seriously this is to be taken. The repetition reflects the importance of treating life as sacred to God. The careful reverence for blood throughout the law prepares God's people to grasp the infinite worth of Christ's shed blood.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Deut 12:16Only you shall not eat the blood. You shall pour it out on the earth like water.
- Deut 15:23Only you shall not eat its blood. You shall pour it out on the ground like water.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 12:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.