3 No disgusting thing may be your food. 4 These are the beasts which you may have for food: the ox, the sheep, and the goat; 5 The hart, the gazelle, and the roe, the mountain goat and the pygarg and the antelope and the mountain sheep. 6 Any beast which has a division in the horn of its foot and whose food comes back into its mouth to be crushed again, may be used for food. 7 But even among these, there are some which may not be used for food: such as the camel, the hare, and the coney, which are unclean to you, because, though their food comes back, the horn of their feet is not parted in two. 8 And the pig is unclean to you, because though it has a division in the horn of its foot, its food does not come back; their flesh may not be used for food or their dead bodies touched by you. 9 And of the things living in the waters, you may take all those who have wings for swimming with and skins formed of thin plates. 10 But any which have no skin-plates or wings for swimming, you may not take; they are unclean for you. 11 All clean birds may be used for food. 12 But these birds you may not take: the eagle and the gier-eagle and the ospray; 13 The falcon and the kite, and birds of that sort; 14 Every raven, and all birds of that sort; 15 And the ostrich and the night-hawk and the sea-hawk and birds of that sort; 16 The little owl and the great owl and the water-hen; 17 And the pelican and the vulture and the cormorant; 18 The stork and the heron and birds of that sort, and the hoopoe and the bat. 19 Every winged thing which goes flat on the earth is unclean to you and may not be used as food. 20 But all clean birds you may take. 21 You may not have as food anything which has come to a natural death; the man from another country who is living with you may take it for food, or you may get a price for it from one of another nation; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The young goat is not to be cooked in its mother's milk.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Deuteronomy 14:3-21
Commentary on Deuteronomy 14:1-21
(Read Deuteronomy 14:1-21)
Moses tells the people of Israel how God had given them three distinguishing privileges, which were their honour, and figures of those spiritual blessings in heavenly things, with which God has in Christ blessed us. Here is election; "The Lord hath chosen thee." He did not choose them because they were by their own acts a peculiar people to him above other nations, but he chose them that they might be so by his grace; and thus were believers chosen, Ephesians 1:4. Here is adoption; "Ye are the children of the Lord your God;" not because God needed children, but because they were orphans, and needed a father. Every spiritual Israelite is indeed a child of God, a partaker of his nature and favour. Here is sanctification; "Thou art a holy people." God's people are required to be holy, and if they are holy, they are indebted to the grace God which makes them so. Those whom God chooses to be his children, he will form to be a holy people, and zealous of good works. They must be careful to avoid every thing which might disgrace their profession, in the sight of those who watch for their halting. Our heavenly Father forbids nothing but for our welfare. Do thyself no harm; do not ruin thy health, thy reputation, thy domestic comforts, thy peace of mind. Especially do not murder thy soul. Do not be the vile slave of thy appetites and passions. Do not render all around thee miserable, and thyself wretched; but aim at that which is most excellent and useful. The laws which regarded many sorts of flesh as unclean, were to keep them from mingling with their idolatrous neighbours. It is plain in the gospel, that these laws are now done away. But let us ask our own hearts, Are we of the children of the Lord our God? Are we separate from the ungodly world, in being set apart to God's glory, the purchase of Christ's blood? Are we subjects of the work of the Holy Ghost? Lord, teach us from these precepts how pure and holy all thy people ought to live!