All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are an abomination to you.
- BSB All flying insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you.
- NKJV ‘All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an abomination to you.
- NASB ‘All the winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you.
- NLT “You must not eat winged insects that walk along the ground; they are detestable to you.
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
Flying insects that walk on all fours are an abomination to Israel. Most winged insects are excluded from the diet.
Overview
The general rule forbids winged, crawling insects, again drawing a clear boundary for daily life. The phrase 'walk on all fours' reflects ordinary observation rather than precise entomology. This kept the discipline of clean and unclean ever-present, training Israel in holiness that touched even the smallest creatures, and pointing to the comprehensive holiness God desires.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Jude 1:10But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
- Deut 14:19And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.
- Lev 11:23But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
- Lev 11:27And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.
- 2 Kgs 17:28–41Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
- 2 Tim 4:10For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
- Jude 1:19These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
- Ps 17:14From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
- Phil 3:18–19(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
- Matt 6:24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
- 1 Jn 2:15–17Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 11:20 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.