Deuteronomy 14:21
in Deuteronomy 14You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to the foreigner residing within your gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself: thou mayest give it unto the sojourner that is within thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto a foreigner: for thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.
KJV
Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 14
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk - Mr. Calmet thinks that this precept refers to the paschal lamb only, which was not to be offered to God till it was weaned from its mother; but see the note on Exo 23:19.
This site's exposition
Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself
One verse carries three rules and ties them together with the reason that Israel is a holy people. What died of itself may be given to the stranger in thy gates or sold to an alien, while Leviticus 17:15 puts washing and uncleanness on the home born and the stranger alike, and both accounts stand in the canon. The kid boiled in its mother's milk is forbidden here for the third time, after Exodus 23:19 and Exodus 34:26, and none of the three gives a reason, so the later separation of meat from milk in Jewish practice rests on the repetition. Clarke passes on Calmet's reading that the rule concerns the offering rather than ordinary cooking.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
They might feed upon that which an Israelite might not touch, which is a plain instance of their peculiarity, and their being a holy people. [2.] It is plain in the gospel that they are now antiquated and repealed.
Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself--(See on Le 17:15; Le 22:8). thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates--not a proselyte, for he, as well as an Israelite, was subject to this law; but a heathen traveller or sojourner. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk--This is the third place in which the prohibition is repeated [Ex 23:19;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-brackets
Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk - Mr. Calmet thinks that this precept refers to the paschal lamb only, which was not to be offered to God till it was weaned from its mother; but see the note on Exo 23:19.
The words behind it
23 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֹאכְל֣וּ | tokhelu | you will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | any | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| נְ֠בֵלָה | nevelah | carcass | H5038 → | 48 times |
| לַגֵּ֨ר | lager | to the sojourner | H1616 → | 92 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בִּשְׁעָרֶ֜יךָ | bishareikha | [is] in gates your | H8179 → | 374 times |
| תִּתְּנֶ֣נָּה | titenenah | you will give it | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| וַאֲכָלָ֗הּ | vaakhalah | and he will eat it | H398 → | 810 times |
| א֤וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| מָכֹר֙ | makhor | you will sell it | H4376 → | 80 times |
| לְנָכְרִ֔י | lenakheri | to a foreigner | H5237 → | 45 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עַ֤ם | ʾam | [are] a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| קָדוֹשׁ֙ | kadovosh | holy | H6918 → | 116 times |
| אַתָּ֔ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| לַיהוָ֖ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תְבַשֵּׁ֥ל | tevashel | you will boil | H1310 → | |
| גְּדִ֖י | gedi | a kid | H1423 → | |
| בַּחֲלֵ֥ב | bachalev | in [the] milk of | H2461 → | 44 times |
| אִמּֽוֹ׃ פ | ʾimo | mother its | H517 → | 220 times |
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תֹאכְל֣וּyou will eat
tokheluH398 →810 times
כָל־any
khol-H3605 →5413 times
נְ֠בֵלָהcarcass
nevelahH5038 →48 times
לַגֵּ֨רto the sojourner
lagerH1616 →92 times
אֲשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בִּשְׁעָרֶ֜יךָ[is] in gates your
bishareikhaH8179 →374 times
תִּתְּנֶ֣נָּהyou will give it
titenenahH5414 →2011 times
וַאֲכָלָ֗הּand he will eat it
vaakhalahH398 →810 times
א֤וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
מָכֹר֙you will sell it
makhorH4376 →80 times
לְנָכְרִ֔יto a foreigner
lenakheriH5237 →45 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
עַ֤ם[are] a people
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
קָדוֹשׁ֙holy
kadovoshH6918 →116 times
אַתָּ֔הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
לַיהוָ֖הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תְבַשֵּׁ֥לyou will boil
tevashelH1310 →
גְּדִ֖יa kid
gediH1423 →
בַּחֲלֵ֥בin [the] milk of
bachalevH2461 →44 times
אִמּֽוֹ׃ פmother its
ʾimoH517 →220 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 12:2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of…
it leads to
- 1 Peter 1:14
As obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
- Ephesians 4:22–24
to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
- Colossians 3:10
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
- 1 John 2:15–17
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
- 1 Peter 1:14
Through
Deuteronomy 14:2for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:6
For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of…
- Leviticus 20:26
You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.
- Exodus 19:5–6
Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- Deuteronomy 7:6
About Deuteronomy

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
