Ezekiel 44:31
in Ezekiel 44The priests may not eat any bird or animal found dead or torn by wild beasts.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The priests shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself, or is torn, whether it be bird or beast.
KJV
The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
⋯
This verse in Ezekiel 44
Commentary
5 notes on this verse(Verse 31) Every dead body and every animal caught by a beast, whether birds or livestock, the priests shall not eat. And according to the letter, this command applies to every chosen people, the royal and priestly, which properly applies to Christians who are anointed with spiritual oil, as it is written: 'God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions' (Psalm 45:7).
This site's exposition
I am their inheritance
on Ezekiel 44:28-31
The priests receive no land, for the Lord says, “I am their inheritance,” the principle fixed for Levi (Numbers 18:20, Deuteronomy 18:1-2). Their portion comes from the altar: the grain, sin and guilt offerings, everything devoted to the LORD, the firstfruits and the first batch of dough.
This site's exposition
found dead or torn by wild beasts
The ban repeats Leviticus 22:8, and Ezekiel the priest had kept it himself (4:14). John Gill adds that priests so well provided had no need of such food. Jerome extends the rule to all Christians as a royal priesthood.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The priests shall not eat of anything that is dead of itself, or torn,.... They shall have no need to eat of such things, being plentifully provided for with better; nor will it become them so to do through avarice, not allowing themselves to enjoy what is liberally given them.
Poverty has its temptations, but the priests were so well provided for that they could have no pretence for it. What the people might expect from the priest for their recompence. Those that are kind to a prophet, to a priest, shall have a prophet's, a priest's reward: That he may cause the blessing to rest in thy house (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כָּל־ | kol- | any | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| נְבֵלָה֙ | nevelah | carcass | H5038 → | |
| וּטְרֵפָ֔ה | uterefah | and torn flesh | H2966 → | |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָע֖וֹף | haof | the bird[s] | H5775 → | 71 times |
| וּמִן־ | umin- | and from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַבְּהֵמָ֑ה | habehemah | the animal[s] | H929 → | 190 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֹאכְל֖וּ | yokhelu | they will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| הַכֹּהֲנִֽים׃ פ | hakohanim | the priests | H3548 → | 750 times |
כָּל־any
kol-H3605 →5413 times
נְבֵלָה֙carcass
nevelahH5038 →
וּטְרֵפָ֔הand torn flesh
uterefahH2966 →
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָע֖וֹףthe bird[s]
haofH5775 →71 times
וּמִן־and from
umin-H4480 →1188 times
הַבְּהֵמָ֑הthe animal[s]
habehemahH929 →190 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יֹאכְל֖וּthey will eat
yokheluH398 →810 times
הַכֹּהֲנִֽים׃ פthe priests
hakohanimH3548 →750 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
Leviticus 17:15And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he…
it leads to
- Leviticus 22:8
He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 14:21
You 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…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 22:31
You are to be My holy people. You must not eat the meat of a mauled animal found in the field; you are to throw it to the dogs.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 22:8
Through
1 Corinthians 8:13Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to stumble.
it leads to
- Romans 14:21
It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble.
- 2 Corinthians 11:29
Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not burn with grief?
- Romans 14:21
Through
Deuteronomy 14:21You 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…
it leads to
- Exodus 23:19
Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Exodus 23:19
Through
Exodus 22:31You are to be My holy people. You must not eat the meat of a mauled animal found in the field; you are to throw it to the dogs.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:2
“Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
- Ezekiel 4:14
“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my…
- Leviticus 19:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.