Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘You shall eat no fat, of bull, or sheep, or goat.
- BSB “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘You are not to eat any of the fat of an ox, a sheep, or a goat.
- NKJV “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘You shall not eat any fat, of ox or sheep or goat.
- NASB “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall not eat any fat from an ox, a sheep, or a goat.
- NLT “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. You must never eat fat, whether from cattle, sheep, or goats.
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
Israel is forbidden to eat the fat of bull, sheep, or goat. The choice fat of sacrificial animals belonged to God alone.
Overview
The fat was regarded as the best portion and was reserved to be burned for the LORD on the altar. By abstaining, Israel acknowledged that the finest belonged to God. This trains the heart to offer God our best, anticipating the wholehearted devotion Christ embodies and calls forth in His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Lev 3:16–17And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD’s.
- 1 Sam 2:29Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?
- Rom 13:13Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
- Acts 28:27For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
- Rom 8:13For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
- 1 Sam 2:15–17Also before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.
- Lev 17:6And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the LORD.
- Lev 4:8–10And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
- Deut 32:38Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.
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 7:23 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.