Lectionary Calendar
the First Sunday, December 28th, 2025
the Sunday after Christmas
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

Brenton's Septuagint

Ezekiel 44:31

And the priests shall eat no bird or beast that dies of itself, or is taken of wild beasts.

Bible Study Resources

Dictionaries:

- Holman Bible Dictionary - Ezekiel;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Fasting;   Moses;   Nations;   Priests and Levites;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Prince;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Temple;  

Encyclopedias:

- The Jewish Encyclopedia - Carcass;   Dietary Laws;   Hafṭarah;   Holiness;   Nebelah;   Pharisees;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The priests may not eat any bird or animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts.
Hebrew Names Version
The Kohanim shall not eat of anything that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it be bird or animal.
King James Version
The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
English Standard Version
The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn by wild animals.
New American Standard Bible
"The priests shall not eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or has been torn to pieces by animals.
New Century Version
The priests must not eat any bird or animal that died a natural death or one that has been torn by wild animals.
Amplified Bible
"The priests shall not eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or has been torn to pieces.
Geneva Bible (1587)
The Priests shal not eate of any thing, that is dead, or torne, whether it be foule or beast.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"The priests shall not eat any bird or beast that has died a natural death or has been torn to pieces.
Legacy Standard Bible
The priests shall not eat any bird or beast that has died of itself or has been torn to pieces.
Berean Standard Bible
The priests may not eat any bird or animal found dead or torn by wild beasts.
Contemporary English Version
Priests must not eat any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that has been killed by a wild animal.
Complete Jewish Bible
The cohanim are not to eat anything, bird or animal, that dies naturally or is torn to death.
Darby Translation
The priests shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself, or of that which is torn, whether of fowl or of beast.
Easy-to-Read Version
The priests must not eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or has been torn to pieces by a wild animal.
George Lamsa Translation
The priests shall not eat of anything that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
Good News Translation
The priests must not eat any bird or animal that dies a natural death or is killed by another animal."
Lexham English Bible
Any dead body or mangled carcass from the birds or from the animals, the priests shall not eat."
Literal Translation
The priests shall not eat of every corpse and torn thing, of birds, or of beasts.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But no deed carion shall the prest eate, ner soch as is deuoured of wilde beestes, foules or catell.
American Standard Version
The priests shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself, or is torn, whether it be bird or beast.
Bible in Basic English
The priests may not take for food any bird or beast which has come to a natural death or whose death has been caused by another animal.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
The priests shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself, or is torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
King James Version (1611)
The priests shall not eate of any thing that is dead of it selfe or torne, whether it be foule or beast.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
But the priestes shal eate nothing that is dead [by it selfe] or torne of foule or of beaste.
English Revised Version
The priests shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself, or is torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
World English Bible
The priests shall not eat of anything that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it be bird or animal.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Preestis schulen not ete ony thing deed bi it silf, and takun of a beeste, of foulis, and of scheep.
Update Bible Version
The priests shall not eat of anything that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it is bird or beast.
Webster's Bible Translation
The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether of fowl or beast.
New English Translation
The priests will not eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or was torn to pieces by a wild animal.
New King James Version
The priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that died naturally or was torn by wild beasts.
New Living Translation
The priests may not eat meat from any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that dies after being attacked by another animal.
New Life Bible
The religious leaders must not eat any bird or animal that has died of itself or has been torn to pieces.
New Revised Standard
The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or animal, that died of itself or was torn by animals.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Nothing that died of itself or was torn in pieces, of bird or of beast shall be eaten by the priests.
Douay-Rheims Bible
The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself or caught by a beast, whether it be fowl or cattle.
Revised Standard Version
The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn.
Young's Literal Translation
Any carcase and torn thing, of the fowl, and of the beasts, the priests do not eat.
THE MESSAGE
"Priests are not to eat any meat from bird or animal unfit for ordinary human consumption, such as carcasses found dead on the road or in the field."

Contextual Overview

17 And it shall come to pass when they enter the gates of the inner court, that they shall put on linen robes; and they shall not put on woollen garments when they minister at the gate of the inner court. 18 And they shall have linen mitres upon their heads, and shall have linen drawers upon their loins; and they shall not tightly gird themselves. 19 And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their robes, in which they minister; and they shall lay them up in the chambers of the sanctuary, and shall put on other robes, and they shall not sanctify the people with their robes. 20 And they shall not shave their heads, nor shall they pluck off their hair; they shall carefully cover their heads. 21 And no priest shall drink any wine, when they go into the inner court. 22 Neither shall they take to themselves to wife a widow, or one that is put away, but a virgin of the seed of Israel: but if there should happen to be a priest’s widow, they shall take her. 23 And they shall teach my people to distinguish between holy and profane, and they shall make known to them the difference between unclean and clean. 24 And these shall attend at a judgment of blood to decide it: they shall rightly observe my ordinances, and judge my judgments, and keep my statutes and my commandments in all my feasts; and they shall hallow my sabbaths. 25 And they shall not go in to the dead body of a man to defile themselves: only a priest may defile himself for a father, or for a mother, or for a son, or for a daughter, or for a brother, or for his sister, who has not been married. 26 And after he has been cleansed, let him number to himself seven days.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Exodus 22:31, Leviticus 17:15, Leviticus 22:8, Deuteronomy 14:21, Romans 14:20, 1 Corinthians 8:13

Reciprocal: Leviticus 7:24 - beast Leviticus 11:40 - eateth Malachi 1:13 - torn Acts 10:14 - for

Cross-References

Genesis 37:35
And the Madianites sold Joseph into Egypt; to Petephres, the eunuch of Pharao, captain of the guard.
Genesis 44:17
And Joseph said, Far be it from me to do this thing; the man with whom the cup has been found, he shall be my servant; but do ye go up with safety to your father.
Genesis 44:18
And Judas drew near him, and said, I pray, Sir, let thy servant speak a word before thee, and be not angry with thy servant, for thou art next to Pharao.
Genesis 44:26
And we said, We shall not be able to go down; but if our younger brother go down with us, we will go down; for we shall not be able to see the man’s face, our younger brother not being with us.
Genesis 44:27
And thy servant our father said to us, Ye know that my wife bore me two sons;
Genesis 44:29
If then ye take this one also from my presence, and an affliction happen to him by the way, then shall ye bring down my old age with sorrow to the grave.
1 Samuel 22:22
And David said to Abiathar, I knew it in that day, that Doec the Syrian would surely tell Saul: I am guilty of the death of the house of thy father.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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. Here the Jewish doctors t observe that it is said, the priests shall not eat of these things, suggesting that Israelites might; this puzzles them, therefore they say, Elijah will explain this verse; and the gloss says, till Elijah comes, and explains it to us, we know not how to explain it. In the mystic sense it may signify, that the priests of the Lord should have no communication with such as are dead in sin, or are given to rapine and violence, and should abstain from everything of this kind themselves.

Whether it be fowl or beast; whether Pharisees and high flown professors of religion, or earthly and worldly persons, and such that are immersed in carnal pleasures, in sensual and brutish lusts. The allusion is to the law in Leviticus 17:15, which was common to all Israelites, priests and people.

t T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 45. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Regulations as to the priests’ services. The garments of the priests are defined and various rules prescribed in the Law are repeated with some additions in order to denote additional care to avoid uncleanness.

Ezekiel 44:18

The material of which the four vestments of the ordinary priest were made was “linen,” or, more accurately, “byssus,” the cotton stuff of Egypt. The two special qualities of the byssus - white and shining - are characteristic, and on them part of the symbolic meaning depended. Compare Revelation 19:8.

Ezekiel 44:19

They shall not sanctify the people - They shall not touch the people with their holy garments. The word “sanctify” is used because the effect of touching was to separate as holy the persons or things so touched (Exodus 29:37; Exodus 30:29; compare Leviticus 6:18). The priests wore the distinctive dress, only while performing in the temple strictly sacrificial services.

The holy chambers; see Ezekiel 42:1 ff.

Ezekiel 44:22

Restrictions and exceptions intended to mark the holiness of the office of a priest, imposing on him additional (compare the marginal reference) obligations to purity, and communicating it in some degree to his wife. In the Christian Church all the members are “priests” 1 Peter 2:5; Revelation 1:6; Revelation 20:6. Hence, the directions for maintaining the holiness of the “priesthood” in the new order, represent the necessity for holiness in all Christians, and the exclusion of the “uncircumcised in heart and in flesh” is equivalent to the exclusion of “all that defileth” from the New Jerusalem Revelation 21:27.

Ezekiel 44:24

There was in Herod’s Temple a council of priests, whose special duty it was to regulate every thing connected with the sanctuary. They did not ordinarily busy themselves with criminal questions, although they took a leading part in the condemnation of Jesus Mark 15:1.

Ezekiel 44:28

It shall be unto them - The remains of the sacrifices were a chief source of the priests’ support. The burnt-offerings being entirely consumed, the priests had the skins, which yielded a considerable revenue; meat-offerings and drink-offerings belonged entirely to them. sin-offerings and trepass-offerings, except in particular cases, also belonged to the priests and were partaken of in the temple. Of the peace-offerings a portion dedicated to the Lord by waving was left for the priests, and the rest eaten by the officers and their friends, either in the courts of the temple, or at least within Jerusalem. The kitchen-courts (K, Plan II Ezek. Ezekiel 46:21-24), were provided in order to prepare these public meals.

Ezekiel 44:30

Oblation - Offering, margin “heave-offering” (see Ezekiel 45:1; Exodus 25:2; Exodus 29:27; Notes and Pref. to Leviticus).


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile