Common English Bible CEB
The Message Bible MSG
1 You are the LORD's children. Don't cut yourselves and don't shave your foreheads for the dead,
1
You are children of God, your God, so don't mutilate your bodies or shave your heads in funeral rites for the dead.
2 because you are a people holy to the LORD your God. You are the ones whom the LORD selected to be his own, to be a treasured people out of all other people on earth.
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You only are a people holy to God, your God; God chose you out of all the people on Earth as his cherished personal treasure.
3 Don't eat any detestable thing.
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Don't eat anything abominable.
4 Here's a list of animals you are allowed to eat: ox, sheep, goat,
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These are the animals you may eat: ox, sheep, goat,
5 deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, ibex, antelope, and mountain sheep.
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deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, ibex, antelope, mountain sheep -
6 You are also allowed to eat any animal with a divided hoof—the hoof being divided into two parts—and that rechews food among the various kinds of animals.
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any animal that has a cloven hoof and chews the cud.
7 However, here's a list of animals that either rechew food or have hooves divided in two parts that you are not allowed to eat: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger—because these rechew food but don't have divided hoofs, they are off-limits for you;
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But you may not eat camels, rabbits, and rock badgers because they chew the cud but they don't have a cloven hoof - that makes them ritually unclean.
8 and the pig—because it has a divided hoof but doesn't rechew food, it's off-limits for you. You may not eat these animals' meat, and you must not touch their carcasses.
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And pigs: Don't eat pigs - they have a cloven hoof but don't chew the cud, which makes them ritually unclean. Don't even touch a pig's carcass.
9 Here's a list of the water animals you are allowed to eat: you can eat anything that has fins and scales.
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This is what you may eat from the water: anything that has fins and scales.
10 But you aren't allowed to eat anything that lacks scales or fins. These are off-limits for you.
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But if it doesn't have fins or scales, you may not eat it. It's ritually unclean.
11 You are allowed to eat any clean bird.
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You may eat any ritually clean bird.
12 Here's a list of those you are not allowed to eat: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey,
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These are the exceptions, so don't eat these: eagle, vulture, black vulture,
13 the red kite, the black kite, and any kind of bird of prey,
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kite, falcon, the buzzard family,
14 any kind of raven,
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the raven family,
15 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the seagull, any kind of hawk,
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ostrich, nighthawk, the hawk family,
16 the small owl and the large owl, the water hen,
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little owl, great owl, white owl,
17 the desert owl, the carrion vulture, the cormorant,
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pelican, osprey, cormorant,
18 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.
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stork, the heron family, hoopoe, bat.
19 Also, all winged insects are off-limits for you. They are not to be eaten.
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Winged insects are ritually unclean; don't eat them.
20 Any clean winged creature can be eaten, however.
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But ritually clean winged creatures are permitted.
21 You must not eat any decayed animal flesh because you are a people holy to the LORD your God. You can give decayed animal flesh to the immigrants who live in your cities, and they can eat it; or you can sell it to foreigners. Don't cook a lamb in its own mother's milk.
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Because you are a people holy to God, your God, don't eat anything that you find dead. You can, though, give it to a foreigner in your neighborhood for a meal or sell it to a foreigner. Don't boil a kid in its mother's milk.
22 You must reserve a tenth part of whatever your fields produce each year.
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Make an offering of ten percent, a tithe, of all the produce which grows in your fields year after year.
23 Eat the tenth part of your grain, wine, oil, oldest offspring of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God in the location he selects for his name to reside so that you learn to fear the LORD your God at all times.
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Bring this into the Presence of God, your God, at the place he designates for worship and there eat the tithe from your grain, wine, and oil and the firstborn from your herds and flocks. In this way you will learn to live in deep reverence before God, your God, as long as you live.
24 But if the trip is too long, because the location the LORD your God has selected to put his name is far away from where you live so that you can't transport the tenth part—because the LORD your God will certainly bless you—
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But if the place God, your God, designates for worship is too far away and you can't carry your tithe that far, God, your God, will still bless you:
25 then you can convert it to money. Take the money with you and go to the location the LORD your God selects.
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exchange your tithe for money and take the money to the place God, your God, has chosen to be worshiped.
26 Then you can use the money for anything you want: cattle, sheep, wine, beer, or whatever else you might like. Then you should feast there and celebrate in the presence of the LORD your God, along with your entire household.
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Use the money to buy anything you want: cattle, sheep, wine, or beer - anything that looks good to you. You and your family can then feast in the Presence of God, your God, and have a good time.
27 Only make sure not to neglect the Levites who are living in your cities because they don't have a designated inheritance like you do.
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Meanwhile, don't forget to take good care of the Levites who live in your towns; they won't get any property or inheritance of their own as you will.
28 Every third year you must bring the tenth part of your produce from that year and leave it at your city gates.
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At the end of every third year, gather the tithe from all your produce of that year and put it aside in storage.
29 Then the Levites, who have no designated inheritance like you do, along with the immigrants, orphans, and widows who live in your cities, will come and feast until they are full. Do this so that the LORD your God might bless you in everything you do.
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Keep it in reserve for the Levite who won't get any property or inheritance as you will, and for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow who live in your neighborhood. That way they'll have plenty to eat and God, your God, will bless you in all your work.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.