Deuteronomy 12:16

Deuteronomy 12:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.
• New International Version (NIV)But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out on the earth like water.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it on the earth like water.

Context of Deuteronomy 12:16

14Only make offerings to the Lord in the place that he chooses. That will be in the land that belongs to one of your tribes. It is the place where you must do all the things that I am commanding you to do. 15But you may kill your animals and eat the meat in any of the towns where you live. When the Lord your God blesses you and he gives you animals, you may eat them as often as you want. It is the same as if you are eating meat from deer. Anyone may eat it. That includes people who are clean and people who are unclean. But you must not eat the blood of any animal. You must pour it on the ground like water. 17Do not eat any of your offerings to the Lord in the places where you live. Do not eat the tithes that you have taken from your grain, your new wine or your olive oil. Do not eat at home the firstborn animals from your cows, sheep or goats. Do not eat the gifts that you have promised, the gifts that you choose to give or any other special gifts. 18You may only eat these offerings in the place that the Lord will choose as his special home. That is true for you, your children, your servants and the Levites who live in your towns. At that place, you should meet with the Lord your God and you should enjoy the results of all your work.

Deuteronomy 12:16 word by word

רַ֥ק הַדָּ֖ם לֹ֣א תֹאכֵ֑לוּ עַל־הָאָ֥רֶץ תִּשְׁפְּכֶ֖נּוּ כַּמָּֽיִם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Only ye shall not eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• the bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• ye shall pourשָׁפַךְshâphak · to pour: pourH8210
• it upon the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
• as waterמַיmayim · waterH4325

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 12:16

• Deuteronomy 12:23But never eat the blood. The blood of an animal gives it life. You must not eat the life together with the meat!
• Deuteronomy 15:23But you must not eat the animal's blood. You must pour it on the ground like water.
• Genesis 9:4But you must not eat meat that still has the blood of life in it.
• Leviticus 7:26You must not eat the blood of an animal or of a bird even if you are living in another country.
• Leviticus 17:10An Israelite or a foreigner who lives among you must not eat blood. And they must not drink it. If somebody does, God will turn away from him. He will take that person away from his people.
• Acts 15:29Do not eat any food that people have given to their idols. Do not eat anything that still has blood in it. If people have strangled an animal to kill it, do not eat its meat. Do not have sex with anyone that you are not married to. If you obey these rules, you will do well. Goodbye.’
• 1 Timothy 4:4Everything that God has made is good. So we should not refuse anything that he has made. Instead, we should receive it and thank God for it.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 12:16

• 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. 16The rule against eating blood applied to both sacrificial animals and those killed for food. Blood represented life, so it was holy and belonged only to God. This principle existed from the beginning of creation and came before the law was given (Genesis 4:10–11; 9:4–6; Leviticus 17:11). See also study note on Leviticus 7:26–27.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-2516. ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water--The prohibition against eating or drinking blood as an unnatural custom accompanied the announcement of the divine grant of animal flesh for food (Ge 9:4), and the prohibition was repeatedly renewed by Moses with reference to the great objects of the law (Le 17:12), the prevention of idolatry, and the consecration of the sacrificial blood to God. In regard, however, to the blood of…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 12:16

• Blood
• Sanitation

In the dictionaries

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

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