God’s Word Translation
Deuteronomy 12:16
16But never eat the blood. Pour it on the ground like water.
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
14Instead, sacrifice them ⌞only⌟ at the place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes. There you must do everything I command you. 15In whatever city you live, you may slaughter and eat as much meat as you want from what the Lord your God has blessed you with. Clean and unclean people may eat it as if they were eating a gazelle or a deer. But never eat the blood. Pour it on the ground like water. 17You may not eat ⌞the Lord’s offerings⌟ in your cities. Those offerings are: one-tenth of your grain, new wine, and olive oil; the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, or goats; the offerings you vow to bring; your freewill offerings; and your contributions. 18Instead, you, your sons and daughters, male and female slaves, and the Levites who live in your cities must eat these in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose. There in the presence of the Lord your God enjoy everything you’ve worked for.
Read all of Deuteronomy 12Deuteronomy 12:16 word by word
רַ֥ק הַדָּ֖ם לֹ֣א תֹאכֵ֑לוּ עַל־הָאָ֥רֶץ תִּשְׁפְּכֶ֖נּוּ כַּמָּֽיִם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 12:16
- Deuteronomy 12:23However, be sure you never eat blood, because blood contains life. Never eat the life with the meat.
- Deuteronomy 15:23But never eat the blood. Pour it on the ground like water.
- Genesis 9:4“But you are not to eat meat with blood in it. (Blood is life.)
- Leviticus 7:26“Never eat the blood of any bird or animal no matter where you live.
- Leviticus 17:10“If Israelites or foreigners eat any blood, I will condemn them and exclude them from the people,
- Acts 15:29by keeping away from food sacrificed to false gods, from eating bloody meat, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual sins. If you avoid these things, you will be doing what’s right. Farewell!
- 1 Timothy 4:4Everything God created is good. Nothing should be rejected if it is received with prayers of thanks.
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
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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