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DEUTER ONOM Y 15
page 173
dead. 2 You have been set apart as holy to the Lord
your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.
3 “You must not eat any detestable animals
that are ceremonially unclean. 4 These are the
animals* you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the
goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild
goat, the addax, the antelope, and the mountain
sheep.
6 “You may eat any animal that has completely split hooves and chews the cud, 7 but
if the animal doesn’t have both, it may not be
eaten. So you may not eat the camel, the hare,
or the hyrax.* They chew the cud but do not
have split hooves, so they are ceremonially
unclean for you. 8 And you may not eat the pig.
It has split hooves but does not chew the cud,
so it is ceremonially unclean for you. You may
not eat the meat of these animals or even touch
their carcasses.
9 “Of all the marine animals, you may eat
whatever has both fins and scales. 10 You may
not, however, eat marine animals that do not
have both fins and scales. They are ceremonially unclean for you.
11 “You may eat any bird that is ceremonially
clean. 12 These are the birds you may not eat:
the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the
black vulture, 13 the kite, the falcon, buzzards of
all kinds, 14 ravens of all kinds, 15 the eagle owl,
the short-eared owl, the seagull, hawks of all
kinds, 16 the little owl, the great owl, the barn
owl, 17 the desert owl, the Egyptian vulture, the
cormorant, 18 the stork, herons of all kinds, the
hoopoe, and the bat.
19 “All winged insects that walk along the
ground are ceremonially unclean for you and
may not be eaten. 20 But you may eat any winged
bird or insect that is ceremonially clean.
21 “You must not eat anything that has died a
natural death. You may give it to a foreigner living in your town, or you may sell it to a stranger.
But do not eat it yourselves, for you are set apart
as holy to the Lord your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s
milk.
The Giving of Tithes
22 “You must set aside a tithe of your crops—onetenth of all the crops you harvest each year.
23 Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for
his name to be honored—and eat it there in his
presence. This applies to your tithes of grain,
new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of
your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you
always to fear the Lord your God.
24 “Now when the Lord your God blesses you
with a good harvest, the place of worship he
14:4 The identification of some of the animals and birds listed in
this chapter is uncertain. 14:7 Or coney, or rock badger.
chooses for his name to be honored might be
too far for you to bring the tithe. 25 If so, you may
sell the tithe portion of your crops and herds,
put the money in a pouch, and go to the place
the Lord your God has chosen. 26 When you arrive, you may use the money to buy any kind
of food you want—cattle, sheep, goats, wine,
or other alcoholic drink. Then feast there in the
presence of the Lord your God and celebrate
with your household. 27 And do not neglect the
Levites in your town, for they will receive no allotment of land among you.
28 “At the end of every third year, bring the
entire tithe of that year’s harvest and store it in
the nearest town. 29 Give it to the Levites, who
will receive no allotment of land among you, as
well as to the foreigners living among you, the
orphans, and the widows in your towns, so they
can eat and be satisfied. Then the Lord your
God will bless you in all your work.
Release for Debtors
“At the end of every seventh year you
must cancel the debts of everyone who
owes you money. 2 This is how it must be done.
Everyone must cancel the loans they have made
to their fellow Israelites. They must not demand
payment from their neighbors or relatives, for
the Lord’s time of release has arrived. 3 This release from debt, however, applies only to your
fellow Israelites—not to the foreigners living
among you.
4 “There should be no poor among you, for
the Lord your God will greatly bless you in the
land he is giving you as a special possession.
5 You will receive this blessing if you are careful
to obey all the commands of the Lord your God
that I am giving you today. 6 The Lord your God
15
• Giving
DE U TE R ON OM Y 14:22-23
The Old Testament concept of the tithe
is often misunderstood. Some hold the
idea that if we give 10 percent, we are off
the hook, and the rest is ours. Actually, all
we have belongs to God. The tithe may
appear to be legalistic, but it actually was
to be an expression of joy and love and
thanksgiving. It involved a response to
God’s blessing and led to further blessing
from God.
In the New Testament, giving took on a
higher meaning—still systematic (1 Corinthians 16:2), yet generous (2 Corinthians
9:11) and cheerful (2 Corinthians 9:7).
True giving cannot be forced, because it
is motivated by love.