God’s Word Translation
Exodus 22:31
31“You must be my holy people. Never eat the meat of an animal that has been killed by wild animals out in the countryside. Throw it to the dogs.”
Exodus 22:31 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
- New International Version (NIV)“You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“And you shall be holy men to Me: you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.
Context of Exodus 22:31
29“Never withhold your best wine from me. “You must give me your firstborn son. 30You must do the same with your cattle and your sheep. They will stay with their mothers seven days, but on the eighth day you must give them to me. “You must be my holy people. Never eat the meat of an animal that has been killed by wild animals out in the countryside. Throw it to the dogs.”
Read all of Exodus 22Exodus 22:31 word by word
וְאַנְשֵׁי־קֹ֖דֶשׁ תִּהְי֣וּן לִ֑י וּבָשָׂ֨ר בַּשָּׂדֶ֤ה טְרֵפָה֙ לֹ֣א תֹאכֵ֔לוּ לַכֶּ֖לֶב תַּשְׁלִכ֥וּן אֹתֽוֹ׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And ye shall be holyקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
- menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- unto me: neither shall ye eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
- torn of beastsטְרֵפָהţerêphâh · torn animalH2966
- in the fieldשָׂדֶהώâdeh ώâday · land: countryH7704
- ye shall castשָׁלַךְshâlak · to throwH7993
- it to the dogsכֶּ֫לֶבkeleb · dogH3611
Cross-references for Exodus 22:31
- Exodus 19:5If you carefully obey me and are faithful to the terms of my promise, then out of all the nations you will be my own special possession, even though the whole world is mine.
- Leviticus 11:45Here is the reason ⌞again⌟: I am the Lord. I brought you out of Egypt to be your God. Be holy because I am holy.
- Leviticus 19:2“Tell the whole congregation of Israel: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
- Deuteronomy 14:21Never eat any creature that dies naturally. You may give it to the foreigners who live in your cities, and they may eat it. You may also sell it to foreigners who are visiting. But you are people who are holy to the Lord your God. Never cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- 1 Peter 1:15But because the God who called you is holy, you must be holy in every aspect of your life.
- Leviticus 17:15“Native Israelites or foreigners who eat the body of an animal that dies naturally or is killed by another animal must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. Then they will be clean.
- Leviticus 20:25Separate clean and unclean animals and birds. Never become disgusting by eating any animal or bird or anything that crawls on the ground. I have separated you from every unclean thing.
- Leviticus 22:8He must never eat the meat of an animal that dies naturally or is killed by wild animals. It will make him unclean. I am the Lord.
- Ezekiel 4:14I answered, “Almighty Lord, I have never dishonored myself. From the time I was young until now, I have never eaten an animal that died by itself or was killed by other wild animals. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.”
- Ezekiel 44:31The priests must never eat any bird or animal that has died naturally or was killed by other wild animals.
- Acts 10:14Peter answered, “I can’t do that, Lord! I’ve never eaten anything that is impure or unclean.”
- Acts 15:20Instead, we should write a letter telling them to keep away from things polluted by false gods, from sexual sins, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from eating bloody meat.
Commentaries on Exodus 22:31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31Neither shall ye eat - flesh - torn of beasts in the field - This has been supposed to be an ordinance against eating flesh cut off the animal while alive, and so the Syriac seems to have understood it. If we can credit Mr. Bruce, this is a frequent custom in Abyssinia; but human nature revolts from it. The reason of the prohibition against eating the flesh of animals that had been torn, or as we term it worried in the field, appears to have been simply…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 31The sanctification of the nation was emphatically symbolized by strictness of diet as regards both the kind of animal, and the mode of slaughtering. See Leviticus 11; 17.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 31In the Bible, blood has symbolic meaning because it represents life. For this reason, God forbade people to eat meat that still had blood in it (see Leviticus 17:10–16).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-311-4. If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep--The law respects the theft of cattle which constituted the chief part of their property. The penalty for the theft of a sheep which was slain or sold, was fourfold; for an ox fivefold, because of its greater utility in labor; but, should the stolen animal have been recovered alive, a double compensation was all that was required, because it was presumable he (the thief) was not a practised adept in dishonesty…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 22:31
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 22
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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