Exodus 23:19

Exodus 23:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
• New International Version (NIV)“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Context of Exodus 23:19

17Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God. 18“You must not offer the blood of my sacrifices with anything leavened. The fat of my festival offering must not remain until morning. “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your land to the house of the Lord your God. “You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. 20“I am going to send an angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. 21Be attentive to him and listen to him. Do not defy him, because he will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for my name is in him.

Exodus 23:19 word by word

רֵאשִׁ֗ית בִּכּוּרֵי֙ אַדְמָ֣תְךָ֔ תָּבִ֕יא בֵּ֖ית יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ לֹֽא־תְבַשֵּׁ֥ל גְּדִ֖י בַּחֲלֵ֥ב אִמּֽוֹ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The firstרֵאשִׁיתrê'shîyth · first: bestH7225
• of the firstfruitsבִּכּוּרִיםbikkûr · firstfruitH1061
• of thy landאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
• thou shalt bringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
• into the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• Thou shalt not seetheבָּשַׁלbâshal · to boilH1310
• a kidגְּדִיgedîy · kidH1423
• in his mother’sאֵם'êm · motherH517
• milkחָלָבchâlâb · milkH2461

Cross-references for Exodus 23:19

• Exodus 22:29“You must not hold back offerings from your harvest or your vats. Give me the firstborn of your sons.
• Exodus 34:26“Bring the best firstfruits of your land to the house of the Lord your God. “You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
• Leviticus 23:10“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you and reap its harvest, you are to bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest.
• Numbers 18:12I am giving you all the best of the fresh oil, new wine, and grain, which the Israelites give to the Lord as their firstfruits.
• Deuteronomy 12:5Instead, turn to the place the Lord your God chooses from all your tribes to put his name for his dwelling and go there.
• Deuteronomy 26:10I have now brought the first of the land’s produce that you, Lord, have given me. You will then place the container before the Lord your God and bow down to him.
• Nehemiah 10:35We will bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to the Lord’s house year by year.
• 1 Corinthians 15:20But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
• Revelation 14:4These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, since they remained virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed from humanity as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb.
• Deuteronomy 14:21“You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to a resident alien within your city gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
• Proverbs 12:10The righteous cares about his animal’s health, but even the merciful acts of the wicked are cruel.
• Jeremiah 10:3for the customs of the peoples are worthless. Someone cuts down a tree from the forest; it is worked by the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.

Commentaries on Exodus 23:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk - This passage has greatly perplexed commentators; but Dr. Cudworth is supposed to have given it its true meaning by quoting a MS. comment of a Karaite Jew, which he met with, on this passage. "It was a custom of the ancient heathens, when they had gathered in all their fruits, to take a kid and boil it in the milk of its dam; and then, in a magical way, to go about and besprinkle with it all their trees…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19The first of the firstfruits of thy land - The “best,” or “chief” of the firstfruits, that is, the two wave loaves described Leviticus 23:17. As the preceding precept appears to refer to the Passover, so it is likely that this refers to Pentecost. They are called in Leviticus, “the firstfruits unto the Load;” and it is reasonable that they should here be designated the “chief” of the firstfruits. If, with some, we suppose the precept to relate to the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-19Verses 10-19 Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, and interests shall cease for ever. All respect to the gods of the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19The meaning of the command not to cook a young goat in its mother’s milk is not clear. The Bible does not explain the reason for this law. Because it appears among other worship laws, some scholars think it may have been a pagan religious practice. Pagan means related to the worship of other gods. If that is true, the command would warn Israel not to copy the worship practices of other nations.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk--A prohibition against imitating the superstitious rites of the idolaters in Egypt, who, at the end of their harvest, seethed a kid in its mother's milk and sprinkled the broth as a magical charm on their gardens and fields, to render them more productive the following season. [See on De 14:21].Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 23:19

• Church
• First Fruits
• Goat
• Lamb
• Milk

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Beware
• Book
• Countenance
• Cow
• Firstfruits
• Food
• Ingathering
• Kid

Commentaries on Exodus 23

• 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
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings