Deuteronomy 14

A prohibition of heathenish mourning of the dead verse1 &c. what creatures where permitted or forbidden to be eaten 3 of the bringing in and use of the tithes. 22

1. Ye are children of the Lord your God [children of grace and consequently heirs of God Romans 8:17] ye shall not cut yourselves [that is make any incision in your flesh an heathenish kind of mourning especially at the death and departure of our dearest friends see Leviticus 19:28 compare 1 Kings 18:28 Jeremiah 16:6 and 41.5 and 47.5] nor make any baldness between your eyes of a dead man [having the promise and hope of a blessed resurrection and of life everlasting it is unseemly for ye to mourn for the dead as the heathen that have no hope 1Thessalonians 4.13.]

2. For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself out of all the nations that are upon the earth [Heb. Upon the face of the earth.]

3. Thou shalt not eat any abomination [that is anything which the Lord hath forbidden thee to eat and which consequently thou oughtest to abhor and detest.]

4. These are the beasts which ye shall eat an ox small cattle of sheep and small cattle of goats.

5. A hart and roe and a buff and a wild goat a badger wild ox a fallow deer.

6. All beasts that divide the foot and cleave the Clift into two claws and chew the cud amongst the beast them ye shall eat [see hereof Leviticus 11:3 &c. and the annotate there.]

7. But these ye shall not eat of them that only chew the cud or of them that only divide the cloven hoof the camel and the hare the corny for these indeed chew the cud but they divide not the hoof they shall be unclean unto ye.

8. Also the swine that indeed divideth the hoof but it cheweth not the cud it shall be unclean unto ye, ye shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their head carcass.

9. These ye shall eat of all that is in the water all that has fins and scales ye shall eat.

10. But whatsoever all that have not fins and scales ye shall not eat it shall be unclean unto ye.

11. All or every clean bird ye shall eat.

12. But these are they which ye shall not eat the eagle the hawk and sea-eagle.

13. And the kite and the crow and vulture after his kind.

14. All or every raven after their kind.

15. And the ostrich and night-owl and the cuckow and the sparrow-hawk after his kind.

16. And the stone owl and the great owl and the Dawe.

17. And the bittern and the Pelican and the Cormorant.

18. And the stork and the hern after his kind and the Lawping and the bat.

19. Also all or every creeping fowl that shall be unclean unto ye shall not be eaten.

20. All or every clean fowl ye shall eat.

21. Ye shall not eat a dead carcass thou shalt give it to the stranger that is within thy gates that he may eat it [understand the uncircumcised stranger who had not bound himself to the keeping of Gods law conversing only among the Israelites for the uncircumcised strangers were bound to keep the law of Israel] or sell it to the alien for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God thou shalt not dress [others seeth] the kid in his mothers milk [see Exodus 23:19,34,26.]

22. Thou shalt faithfully tithe [Heb. Tithing tithe] all the increase of thy seed [see Leviticus 27 on verse 30] that proceedeth every year [Heb. Year, year that is every year, year by year or year after year] from the field.

23. And thou shalt eat before the face of the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose to cause his name to dwell there tithes of thy corn of thy new wine and of thine oil and the first born of thine oxen and of thy sheep that thou mayst learn to fear the Lord thy God all the days [to wit of thy life as above 11.1 &c.]

24. When then that there shall be too much way for thee that thou shalt not be able it thither because the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to put his name there shall be too far distant from thee [to wit so as that the tithes would be too much to carry to the place which god did choose.]

25. Then make or turn it into money and bind up the money in thine hand [that is tie it up together in bundles or bags see 2 Kings 12 on verse 10 and take it along with thee] and go to the place which the Lord thy god shall choose.

26. And give that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after for oxen and for sheep and for wine and for strong drink [see Leviticus 10 on verse 9] and for whatsoever thy soul shall desire for thee and eat there before the face of the Lord thy god and rejoice thou and thine house [see above chapter 12 on verse 7.]

27. But the Levite that is within thy gates thou shalt not forsake him for he hath neither part nor inheritance with thee [see above chapter 10 on verse 9.]

28. At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithes of thine increase [see above chapter 12 on verse 17.] the same year [to wit the last of all the three years or every third year] and thou shalt lay them up within thy gates.

29. Then the Levites because he hath know part nor inheritance with the and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow that are within the gates shall come and shall eat and be satisfied that the Lord thy god may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou shalt do.