The priests shall not eat of anything that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it is bird or animal.
Parallel translations
- KJV The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
- BSB The priests may not eat any bird or animal found dead or torn by wild beasts.
- NKJV The priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that died naturally or was torn by wild beasts.
- NASB The priests shall not eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or has been torn to pieces by animals.
- NLT The priests may not eat meat from any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that dies after being attacked by another animal.
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
Priests must not eat any animal that died naturally or was torn by beasts.
Overview
Such meat was unclean, and the priests, as those nearest God's holiness, were held to strict purity in their food. The regulation reinforced the priests' separation and consecration to the Lord. These dietary boundaries pointed to the call to holiness, ultimately fulfilled in the purity Christ imparts to His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Lev 22:8That which dies of itself, or is torn by animals, he shall not eat, defiling himself by it. I am Yahweh.
- Exod 22:31“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.
- Deut 14:21You 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 Yahweh your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Ezek 4:14Then I said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! Behold, my soul has not been polluted; for from my youth up even until now I have not eaten of that which dies of itself, or is torn of animals; neither came there abominable meat into my mouth!”
- Rom 14:20Don’t overthrow God’s work for food’s sake. All things indeed are clean, however it is evil for that man who creates a stumbling block by eating.
- Lev 17:15“‘Every person that eats what dies of itself, or that which is torn by animals, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening: then he shall be clean.
- 1 Cor 8:13Therefore if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forever more, that I don’t cause my brother to stumble.
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 44:31 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.