Deuteronomy 12:23

Deuteronomy 12:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.
• New International Version (NIV)But be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat.

Context of Deuteronomy 12:23

21If the place which the Lord your God chooses to put His Name (Presence) is too far away from you, then you may slaughter [animals] from your herd or flock which the Lord has given you, just as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your [city] gates whatever you wish. 22Just as the gazelle or the deer is eaten, so you may eat it [but not make it an offering]; the [ceremonially] unclean and the clean alike may eat it. Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life (soul), and you shall not eat the life with the meat. 24You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water. 25You shall not eat it, so that all may be well with you and with your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the sight of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 12:23 word by word

רַ֣ק חֲזַ֗ק לְבִלְתִּי֙ אֲכֹ֣ל הַדָּ֔ם כִּ֥י הַדָּ֖ם ה֣וּא הַנָּ֑פֶשׁ וְלֹא־תֹאכַ֥ל הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ עִם־הַבָּשָֽׂר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Only be sureחָזַקchâzaq · to strengthen: ensureH2388
• that thou eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• not the bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• the lifeנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
• with the fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 12:23

• Genesis 9:4But you shall not eat meat along with its life, that is, its blood.
• Leviticus 3:16The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as food. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma; all the fat is the Lord’s.
• Leviticus 17:11For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life [which it represents].’
• Matthew 20:28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many [paying the price to set them free from the penalty of sin].”
• Revelation 5:9And they sang a new song [of glorious redemption], saying, “Worthy and deserving are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slain (sacrificed), and with Your blood You purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 12:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23For the blood is the life - And the life being offered as an atonement, consequently the blood should not be eaten. See the notes on Leviticus 17:11, where the subject of the vitality of the blood is largely considered.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-32Verses 5-32 The command to bring ALL the sacrifices to the door of the tabernacle, was now explained with reference to the promised land. As to moral service, then, as now, men might pray and worship every where, as they did in their synagogues. The place which God would choose, is said to be the place where he would put his name. It was to be his habitation, where, as King of Israel, he would be found by all who reverently sought him. Now, under the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23the blood is the life: This figure of speech equates the means (blood) with the effect (life). Since life is holy, blood, as the way life moves throughout a body, is also holy (see also Leviticus 17:11).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22-2822-28. Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so shalt thou eat them, &c.--Game when procured in the wilderness had not been required to be brought to the door of the tabernacle. The people were now to be as free in the killing of domestic cattle as of wild animals. The permission to hunt and use venison for food was doubtless a great boon to the Israelites, not only in the wilderness, but on their settlement in Canaan, as the mountainous ranges of…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 12:23

• Blood
• Sanitation

In the dictionaries

• Blood
• High place
• Lust
• Rest
• Atonement
• Atonement, Day of
• Criticism
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genesis
• Law in the Old Testament

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings