God’s Word Translation
Leviticus 7:23
23“Tell the Israelites: Never eat any fat from bulls, sheep, or goats.
Leviticus 7:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat.
- New International Version (NIV)“Say to the Israelites: ‘Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Speak to the people of Israel, saying, You shall eat no fat, of ox or sheep or goat.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘You shall not eat any fat, of ox or sheep or goat.
Context of Leviticus 7:23
21Those who touch anything unclean, human or animal, or any other disgusting uncleanness and still eat the Lord’s fellowship offering must be excluded from the people.” 22The Lord spoke to Moses, “Tell the Israelites: Never eat any fat from bulls, sheep, or goats. 24The fat from an animal that dies naturally or is killed by wild animals you may use for any other purpose, but you must never eat it. 25Those who eat the fat from an animal which they sacrificed by fire to the Lord must be excluded from the people.
Read all of Leviticus 7Leviticus 7:23 word by word
דַּבֵּ֛ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר כָּל־חֵ֜לֶב שׁ֥וֹר וְכֶ֛שֶׂב וָעֵ֖ז לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽלוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- unto the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Ye shall eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- no manner of fatחֵ֫לֶבcheleb chêleb · fatH2459
- of oxשׁוֹרshôr · cattleH7794
- or of sheepכֶּ֫שֶׂבkeώeb · sheepH3775
- or of goatעֵז‛êz · goatH5795
Cross-references for Leviticus 7:23
- Deuteronomy 32:12so the Lord alone led his people. No foreign god was with him.
- Leviticus 3:16Then the priest will burn them on the altar. It is food, an offering by fire to the Lord. It is a soothing aroma. All the fat belongs to the Lord.
- Leviticus 4:8He will remove all of the fat from the bull that is the offering for sin, the fat that covers the internal organs,
- Leviticus 17:6The priest will pour the blood against the Lord’s altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He will burn the fat as a soothing aroma to the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 32:38Where are the gods who ate the fat from their sacrifices and drank the wine from their wine offerings? Let them come to help you! Let them be your refuge!”
- 1 Samuel 2:15But ⌞in the case of Eli’s sons,⌟ even before the people burned the fat, their servants would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the meat to the priest to roast. He doesn’t want boiled meat from you. He wants it raw.”
- Acts 28:27These people have become close-minded and hard of hearing. They have shut their eyes so that their eyes never see. Their ears never hear. Their minds never understand. And they never turn to me for healing.” ’
- Romans 8:13If you live by your corrupt nature, you are going to die. But if you use your spiritual nature to put to death the evil activities of the body, you will live.
- Romans 13:13We should live decently, as people who live in the light of day. Wild parties, drunkenness, sexual immorality, promiscuity, rivalry, and jealousy cannot be part of our lives.
Commentaries on Leviticus 7:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat - Any other fat they might eat, but the fat of these was sacred, because they were the only animals which were offered in sacrifice, though many others ranked among the clean animals as well as these. But it is likely that this prohibition is to be understood of these animals when offered in sacrifice, and then only in reference to the inward fat, as mentioned on Leviticus 7:4. Of the fat in any other circumstances it…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23This is emphatically addressed to the people. They were not to eat in their own meal what belonged to the altar of Yahweh, nor what was the perquisite of the priests. See Leviticus 7:33-36.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-27Verses 11-27 As to the peace-offerings, in the expression of their sense of mercy, God left them more at liberty, than in the expression of their sense of sin; that their sacrifices, being free-will offerings, might be the more acceptable, while, by obliging them to bring the sacrifices of atonement, God shows the necessity of the great Propitiation. The main reason why blood was forbidden of old, was because the Lord had appointed blood for an atonement…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22-27In the sacrificial system, the fat and blood of all altar offerings belonged to God. People offered them before eating any part of the sacrifice. God forbid the Israelites of consuming blood because it represented the animal's life (Leviticus 17:10–16). The rule against eating fat might have been because fat, considered the best part, belonged to God.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22-2722-27. Ye shall eat no manner of fat--(See on Le 3:17).Read the comment
Topics related to Leviticus 7:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Leviticus 7
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries