Deuteronomy 14; Deuteronomy 15; Deuteronomy 16

1 You are the children of the LORD your God. Don't cut yourselves to honor the dead. Don't shave the front of your heads to honor them.

2 You are a holy nation. The LORD your God has set you apart for himself. He has chosen you to be his special treasure. He chose you out of all of the nations on the face of the earth.

3 Don't eat anything the LORD hates.

4 Here are the only animals you can eat. You can eat oxen, sheep, goats,

5 deer, gazelles, roe deer, wild goats, ibexes, antelope and mountain sheep.

6 You can eat any animal that has hoofs that are separated completely in two. But it must also chew the cud.

7 Some animals only chew the cud. Others only have hoofs that are completely separated in two. The camel, rabbit and rock badger chew the cud, but they don't have hoofs that are completely separated. So you can't eat them. They are not "clean" for you.

8 Pigs aren't "clean" for you either. They have hoofs that are completely separated, but they don't chew the cud. So don't eat their meat. And don't touch their dead bodies.

9 Many creatures live in water. You can eat all of the ones that have fins and scales.

10 But don't eat anything that doesn't have fins and scales. It isn't "clean" for you.

11 You can eat any "clean" bird.

12 But there are many birds you can't eat. They include eagles, vultures, and black vultures.

13 They include red kites, black kites and all kinds of falcons.

14 They include all kinds of ravens.

15 They include horned owls, screech owls, gulls and all kinds of hawks.

16 They include little owls, great owls, white owls

17 and desert owls. They include ospreys and cormorants.

18 They include storks and all kinds of herons. They also include hoopoes and bats.

19 All insects that fly together in groups are "unclean" for you. So don't eat them.

20 But you can eat any creature that has wings and is "clean."

21 If you find something that's already dead, don't eat it. You can give it to an outsider who is living in any of your towns. He can eat it. Or you can sell it to someone who is from another country. But you are a holy nation. The LORD your God has set you apart for himself. Don't cook a young goat in its mother's milk.

22 Be sure to set apart a tenth of everything your fields produce each year.

23 Here are the things you should eat in the sight of the LORD your God. You should eat a tenth part of your grain, olive oil and fresh wine. You should also eat the male animals among your livestock that were born first to their mothers. Eat all of those things at the special place the LORD your God will choose. He will put his Name there. You will learn to have respect for him always.

24 But suppose the place the LORD will choose for his Name is too far away from you. And suppose your God has blessed you. And your tenth part is too heavy for you to carry.

25 Then sell it for silver. Take the silver with you. Go to the place the LORD your God will choose.

26 Use the silver to buy anything you like. It can be cattle or sheep. It can be any kind of wine. In fact, it can be anything else you wish. Then you and your family can eat there in the sight of the LORD your God. You can be filled with joy.

27 Don't forget to take care of the Levites who will live in your towns. They won't receive any part of the land as their share.

28 At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of everything you produce that year. Store it in your towns.

29 Then the Levites can come and eat. That's because they won't receive any part of the land as their share. The outsiders and widows who live in your towns can come. So can the children whose fathers have died. Everyone can have plenty to eat. Then the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.

1 At the end of every seven years you must forgive people what they owe you.

2 Have you made a loan to one of your own people? Then forgive what is owed to you. You can't require that person to pay you back. The LORD's time to forgive what is owed has been announced.

3 You can require someone from another nation to pay you back. But you must forgive your own people what they owe you.

4 There shouldn't be any poor people among you. The LORD will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you. You will take it over as your own.

5 The LORD your God will bless you if you obey him completely. Be careful to follow all of the commands I'm giving you today.

6 The LORD your God will bless you, just as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations. But you won't have to borrow from any of them. You will rule over many nations. But none of them will rule over you.

7 Suppose there are poor people among you. And suppose they live in one of the towns in the land the LORD your God is giving you. Then don't be mean to them. They are poor. So don't hold back money from them.

8 Instead, open your hands and lend them what they need. Do it freely.

9 Be careful not to have an evil thought in your mind. Don't say to yourself, "The seventh year will soon be here. It's the year for forgiving people what they owe." If you think like that, you might treat your needy people badly. You might not give them anything. Then they might make their appeal to the LORD against you. And he will find you guilty of sin.

10 So give freely to those who are needy. Open your hearts to them. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all of your work. He will bless you in everything you do.

11 There will always be poor people in the land. So I'm commanding you to give freely to those who are poor and needy in your land. Open your hands to them.

12 Suppose Hebrew men or women sell themselves to you. If they do, they will serve you for six years. Then in the seventh year you must let them go free.

13 But when you set them free, don't send them away without anything to show for all of their work.

14 Freely give them some animals from your flock. Also give them some of your grain and wine. The LORD your God has blessed you richly. Give to them as he has given to you.

15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. The LORD your God set you free. That's why I'm giving you this command today.

16 But suppose your servant says to you, "I don't want to leave you." He loves you and your family. And you are taking good care of him.

17 Then take him to the door of your house. Poke a hole through his ear lobe into the doorpost. And he will become your servant for life. Do the same with your female servant.

18 Don't think you are being cheated when you set your servants free. After all, they have served you for six years. The service of each of them has been worth twice as much as the service of a hired worker. And the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.

19 Set apart to the LORD your God every male animal among your livestock that was born first to its mother. Don't put that kind of ox to work. Don't clip the wool from that kind of sheep.

20 Each year you and your family must eat them. Do it in the sight of the LORD your God at the place he will choose.

21 Suppose an animal has something wrong with it. It might not be able to see or walk. Or it might have a bad flaw. Then you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.

22 You must eat it in your own towns. Those who are "clean" and those who are not can eat it. Eat it as if it were antelope or deer meat.

23 But you must not eat meat that still has blood in it. Pour the blood out on the ground like water.

1 Celebrate the Passover Feast of the LORD your God in the month of Abib. In that month he brought you out of Egypt at night.

2 Sacrifice an animal from your flock or herd. It is the Passover sacrifice in honor of the LORD your God. Sacrifice it at the special place the LORD will choose. He will put his Name there.

3 Don't eat the animal along with bread that is made with yeast. Instead, for seven days eat bread that is made without yeast. It's the bread that reminds you of how much you suffered. Remember that you left Egypt in a hurry. Remember it all the days of your life. Don't forget the day you left Egypt.

4 Don't keep any yeast anywhere in your land for seven days. Don't let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day be left over until the next morning.

5 You must not sacrifice the Passover animal in any town the LORD your God is giving you.

6 Sacrifice it only in the special place he will choose for his Name. Sacrifice it there in the evening when the sun goes down. Do it on the same day every year. Be sure it's the day you left Egypt.

7 Cook it and eat it. Do it at the place the LORD your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents.

8 For six days eat bread that is made without yeast. On the seventh day come together for a service in honor of the LORD your God. Don't do any work.

9 Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to cut your grain in the field.

10 Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks in honor of the LORD your God. Give anything you choose to give as an offering. Do it in keeping with the blessings the LORD has given you.

11 Be filled with joy in the sight of the LORD your God. Be joyful at the special place he will choose for his Name. You, your children, and your male and female servants should be joyful. So should the Levites who are living in your towns. So should the outsiders and widows who are living among you. And so should the children whose fathers have died.

12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. Be careful to obey the rules I'm giving you.

13 Gather the grain from your threshing floors. Take the fresh wine from your winepresses. Then celebrate the Feast of Booths for seven days.

14 Be filled with joy at your Feast. You, your children, and your male and female servants should be joyful. So should the Levites, the outsiders, and the widows who are living in your towns. And so should the children whose fathers have died.

15 For seven days celebrate the Feast in honor of the LORD your God. Do it at the place he will choose. The LORD will bless you when you gather all of your crops. He'll bless you in everything you do. And you will be full of joy.

16 All of your men must appear in front of the LORD your God at the holy tent. They must go to the place he will choose. They must do it three times a year. They must go there to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths. No man should appear in front of the LORD without bringing something with him.

17 Each of you must bring a gift. Do it in keeping with the way the LORD your God has blessed you.

18 Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes. Do it in every town the LORD your God is giving you. They must judge the people fairly.

19 Do what is right. Treat everyone the same. Don't take money from people who want special favors. It makes those who are wise close their eyes to the truth. It twists the words of those who do what is right.

20 Follow only what is right. If you do, you will live. You will take over the land the LORD your God is giving you.

21 Don't set up a wooden pole that is used to worship the goddess Asherah. Don't set it up beside the altar you build to worship the LORD your God.

22 Don't set up a sacred stone to honor another god. The LORD your God hates Asherah poles and sacred stones.