You are to be My holy people. You must not eat the meat of a mauled animal found in the field; you are to throw it to the dogs.
Parallel translations
- WEB “You shall be holy men to me, therefore you shall not eat any meat that is torn by animals in the field. You shall cast it to the dogs.
- KJV And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
- NKJV “And you shall be holy men to Me: you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.
- NASB “You shall be holy people to Me, therefore you shall not eat any flesh torn to pieces in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.
- NLT “You must be my holy people. Therefore, do not eat any animal that has been torn up and killed by wild animals. Throw it to the dogs.
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
As holy people, Israel must not eat meat torn by wild animals but cast it to the dogs. Holiness shapes even ordinary matters of diet.
Overview
Being set apart for God meant maintaining ritual purity, including avoiding flesh not properly drained of blood. This practical holiness marked Israel as distinct and devoted to the Lord. The call to be holy because God is holy is answered in Christ, who sanctifies His people and makes them a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ezek 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.”
- Lev 19:2“Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
- 1 Pet 1:15–16But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do,
- Lev 22:8He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD.
- Deut 14:21You 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.
- Ezek 44:31The priests may not eat any bird or animal found dead or torn by wild beasts.
- Acts 15:20Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.
- Acts 10:14“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
- Lev 20:25You are therefore to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and birds. Do not become contaminated by any animal or bird, or by anything that crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you.
- Lev 11:44–45For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground.
- Lev 17:15–16And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean.
- Exod 19:5–6Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 22:31 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.