Exodus 23:19

Exodus 23:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
• New International Version (NIV)“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Context of Exodus 23:19

17Three times in the year all your men are to appear before Adonai Elohim. 18“Do not offer the blood of My sacrifice with hametz. Nor is the fat of My feast to remain out all night until the morning. Bring the choicest firstfruits of your land into the House of Adonai your God. “Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk. 20“Behold, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you into the place that I have prepared. 21Watch for Him and listen to His voice. Do not rebel against Him because He will not pardon your transgression, for My Name is in Him.

Exodus 23:19 word by word

רֵאשִׁ֗ית בִּכּוּרֵי֙ אַדְמָ֣תְךָ֔ תָּבִ֕יא בֵּ֖ית יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ לֹֽא־תְבַשֵּׁ֥ל גְּדִ֖י בַּחֲלֵ֥ב אִמּֽוֹ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The firstרֵאשִׁיתrê'shîyth · first: bestH7225
• of the firstfruitsבִּכּוּרִיםbikkûr · firstfruitH1061
• of thy landאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
• thou shalt bringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
• into the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• Thou shalt not seetheבָּשַׁלbâshal · to boilH1310
• a kidגְּדִיgedîy · kidH1423
• in his mother’sאֵם'êm · motherH517
• milkחָלָבchâlâb · milkH2461

Cross-references for Exodus 23:19

• Exodus 22:29“Do the same with your cattle and with your sheep. For seven days it is to be with its mother, and on the eighth day you are to give it to Me.
• Exodus 34:26“You are to bring the choicest firstfruits of your land to the House of Adonai your God. “You must not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.”
• Leviticus 23:10“Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and tell them: When you have come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you are to bring the omer of the firstfruits of your harvest to the kohen.
• Numbers 18:12All the finest olive oil, the finest new wine and grain they give to Adonai from their firstfruits, I have given them to you.
• Deuteronomy 12:5Rather you are to seek only the place Adonai your God chooses from all your tribes to put His Name to dwell—there you will come.
• Deuteronomy 26:10So now, look! I have brought the first of the fruits of the soil that You have given me, Adonai.’ Then you are to set it down before Adonai your God and worship before Adonai your God.
• Nehemiah 10:35“We—the kohanim, the Levites and the people—have cast lots concerning the offering of wood, to bring it into the House of our God according to our ancestral house at the appointed times year by year to burn on the altar of Adonai, our God, as it is written in the Torah.
• 1 Corinthians 15:20But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
• Revelation 14:4These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been redeemed from among mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb.
• Deuteronomy 14:21You are not to eat anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the outsider within your gates so that he may eat it or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people to Adonai your God. You are not to boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
• Proverbs 12:10A righteous person cares for the life of his animal, yet even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.
• Jeremiah 10:3The customs of the peoples are useless: it is just a tree cut from the forest, the work of the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.

Commentaries on Exodus 23:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk - This passage has greatly perplexed commentators; but Dr. Cudworth is supposed to have given it its true meaning by quoting a MS. comment of a Karaite Jew, which he met with, on this passage. "It was a custom of the ancient heathens, when they had gathered in all their fruits, to take a kid and boil it in the milk of its dam; and then, in a magical way, to go about and besprinkle with it all their trees…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19The first of the firstfruits of thy land - The “best,” or “chief” of the firstfruits, that is, the two wave loaves described Leviticus 23:17. As the preceding precept appears to refer to the Passover, so it is likely that this refers to Pentecost. They are called in Leviticus, “the firstfruits unto the Load;” and it is reasonable that they should here be designated the “chief” of the firstfruits. If, with some, we suppose the precept to relate to the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-19Verses 10-19 Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, and interests shall cease for ever. All respect to the gods of the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19The meaning of the command not to cook a young goat in its mother’s milk is not clear. The Bible does not explain the reason for this law. Because it appears among other worship laws, some scholars think it may have been a pagan religious practice. Pagan means related to the worship of other gods. If that is true, the command would warn Israel not to copy the worship practices of other nations.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk--A prohibition against imitating the superstitious rites of the idolaters in Egypt, who, at the end of their harvest, seethed a kid in its mother's milk and sprinkled the broth as a magical charm on their gardens and fields, to render them more productive the following season. [See on De 14:21].Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 23:19

• Church
• First Fruits
• Goat
• Lamb
• Milk

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Beware
• Book
• Countenance
• Cow
• Firstfruits
• Food
• Ingathering
• Kid

Commentaries on Exodus 23

• 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