New King James Version
Exodus 22:31
31“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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)“You must be my holy people. Therefore, do not eat any animal that has been torn up and killed by wild animals. Throw it to the dogs.
Context of Exodus 22:31
29“You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. 30Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me. “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.
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 19:5Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
- Leviticus 11:45For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
- Leviticus 19:2“Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
- Deuteronomy 14:21“You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- 1 Peter 1:15but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
- Leviticus 17:15“And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean.
- Leviticus 20:25You shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean, and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
- Leviticus 22:8Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the Lord.
- Ezekiel 4:14So I said, “Ah, Lord God! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has abominable flesh ever come into my mouth.”
- Ezekiel 44:31The priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that died naturally or was torn by wild beasts.
- Acts 10:14But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”
- Acts 15:20but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries