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Friday, June 20th, 2025
the Week of Proper 6 / Ordinary 11
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The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Leviticus 11:9

Of all the creatures that live in the water, whether salt water or fresh water, you may eat anything with fins and scales.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Animals;   Fish;   Food;   Sanitation;   Thompson Chain Reference - Animals;   Beasts;   Fish;   Unclean;   The Topic Concordance - Abomination;   Cleanness;   Meat;   Uncleanness;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Fishes;   Rivers;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Beasts;   Clean and Unclean;   Fish, Fisher;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Manna;   Uncleanness;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Fish;   Goliath;   Leper;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Clean, Cleanness;   Fish, Fishing;   Food;   Leviticus;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Clean and Unclean;   Food;   Leviticus;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Fish, Fisher, Fishing;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Fish, Fishers, Fishing;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Fish;   Sparrow;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Clean and unclean;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Fish;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Fish;   River;   Scales;   Uncleanness;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Clean and Unclean Animals;   Commandments, the 613;   Vegetarianism;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
These you may eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, that you may eat.
King James Version
These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
Lexham English Bible
"‘These you may eat from all that are in the water: any in the water that has a fin and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams—such you may eat.
New Century Version
"‘Of the animals that live in the sea or in a river, if the animal has fins and scales, you may eat it.
New English Translation
"‘These you can eat from all creatures that are in the water: Any creatures in the water that have both fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams, you may eat.
Amplified Bible
'These you may eat, whatever is in the water: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, these you may eat;
New American Standard Bible
'These you may eat, of whatever is in the water: everything that has fins and scales, in the water, in the seas, or in the rivers, you may eat.
Geneva Bible (1587)
These shall ye eate, of all that are in the waters: whatsoeuer hath finnes & skales in ye waters, in the seas, or in the riuers, them shal ye eate.
Legacy Standard Bible
‘These you may eat, whatever is in the water: all that have fins and scales, those in the water, in the seas, or in the rivers, you may eat.
Contemporary English Version
You may eat anything that lives in water and has fins and scales. But it would be disgusting for you to eat anything else that lives in water, and you must not even touch their dead bodies.
Complete Jewish Bible
"‘Of all the things that live in the water, you may eat these: anything in the water that has fins and scales, whether in seas or in rivers — these you may eat.
Darby Translation
These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatever hath fins and scales in waters, in seas and in rivers, these shall ye eat;
Easy-to-Read Version
"You may eat everything that lives in the sea or in a river that has fins and scales.
English Standard Version
"These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat.
George Lamsa Translation
These shall you eat of all that are in the waters; whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, you shall eat.
Good News Translation
You may eat any kind of fish that has fins and scales,
Christian Standard Bible®
“This is what you may eat from all that is in the water: You may eat everything in the water that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or streams.
Literal Translation
Of all that are in the waters, you shall eat these; any one that has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the torrents, you may eat them.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
These shall ye eate of all that are in the waters: What so euer hath fynnes and scales in the waters, sees & ryuers, that shal ye eate.
American Standard Version
These may ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, that may ye eat.
Bible in Basic English
These you may have for food of all things living in the water: anything living in the water, in the seas or rivers, which has special parts for swimming and skin formed of thin plates, may be used for food.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
These shall ye eate, of all that are in the waters: whatsoeuer hath finnes and skales in the waters, seas, and riuers, that shall ye eate.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
These may ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them may ye eat.
King James Version (1611)
These shal ye eat, of all that are in the waters: whatsoeuer hath finnes and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the riuers, them shall ye eate.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And these are what ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all things that have fins and scales in the waters, and in the seas, and in the brooks, these ye shall eat.
English Revised Version
These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Also these thingis ben that ben gendrid in watris, and is leueful to ete;
Young's Literal Translation
`This ye do eat of all which [are] in the waters; any one that hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the brooks, them ye do eat;
Update Bible Version
These you may eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, that you may eat.
Webster's Bible Translation
These shall ye eat, of all that [are] in the waters: whatever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
World English Bible
These you may eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, that you may eat.
New King James Version
"These you may eat of all that are in the water: whatever in the water has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers--that you may eat.
New Living Translation
"Of all the marine animals, these are ones you may use for food. You may eat anything from the water if it has both fins and scales, whether taken from salt water or from streams.
New Life Bible
‘These you may eat, of all that are in the water. You may eat everything in the water that has fins and scales, in the seas or in the rivers.
New Revised Standard
These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams—such you may eat.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
these, may ye eat, of all that are in the waters, - all that have fins and scales in the waters, in the seas and in the rivers, them, may ye eat.
Douay-Rheims Bible
These are the things that breed in the waters, and which it is lawful to eat. All that hath fins, and scales, as well in the sea, as in the rivers, and the pools, you shall eat.
Revised Standard Version
"These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat.
THE MESSAGE
"Among the creatures that live in the water of the seas and streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. But anything that doesn't have fins and scales, whether in seas or streams, whether small creatures in the shallows or huge creatures in the deeps, you are to detest. Yes, detest them. Don't eat their meat; detest their carcasses. Anything living in the water that doesn't have fins and scales is detestable to you.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
'These you may eat, whatever is in the water: all that have fins and scales, those in the water, in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat.

Contextual Overview

9Of all the creatures that live in the water, whether salt water or fresh water, you may eat anything with fins and scales.10But the following among all the teeming life and creatures in the water are detestable to you: everything in the seas or streams that does not have fins and scales. 11They shall be an abomination to you; you must not eat their meat, and you must detest their carcasses. 12Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales shall be detestable to you. 13Additionally, you are to detest the following birds, and they must not be eaten because they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 14the kite, any kind of falcon, 15any kind of raven, 16the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Deuteronomy 14:9, Deuteronomy 14:10, Acts 20:21, Galatians 5:6, James 2:18, 1 John 5:2-5

Cross-References

Genesis 10:5
From these, the maritime peoples separated into their territories, according to their languages, by clans within their nations.
Genesis 10:10
His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Genesis 10:20
These are the sons of Ham according to their clans, languages, lands, and nations.
Genesis 10:25
And two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother was named Joktan.
Genesis 11:1
Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech.
Genesis 11:14
When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber.
Genesis 11:31
And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.
Genesis 11:32
Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.
Acts 17:26
From one man He made every nation of men, to inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.
1 Corinthians 14:23
So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who are uninstructed or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

These shall ye eat of all that [are] in the waters,.... In the waters of the sea, or in rivers, pools, and ponds; meaning fishes; for though some persons abstain from eating them entirely, as the Egyptian priests, as Herodotus m relates; and it was a part of religion and holiness, not with the Egyptians only, but with the Syrians and Greeks, to forbear eating them n; and Julian o gives two reasons why men should abstain from fishes; the one because what is not sacrificed to the gods ought not to be used for food; and the other is, because these being immersed in the deep waters, look not up to heaven; but God gave the people of Israel liberty of eating them, under certain limitations:

whatsoever hath fins and scales, in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat; some render it disjunctively, "fins or scales" p; but as Maimonides q observes, whatsoever has scales has fins; and who also says, if a fish has but one fin and one scale, it was lawful to eat: fins to fishes are like wings to birds, and oars to boats, with which they swim and move swiftly from place to place; and scales are a covering and a protection of them; and such fishes being much in motion, and so well covered, are less humid and more solid and substantial, and more wholesome: in a spiritual sense, fins may denote the exercise of grace, in which there is a motion of the soul, Godward, Christward, and heavenward; and scales may signify good works, which adorn believers, and protect them from the reproaches and calumnies of men.

m Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 37. n Plutarch. Sympos. p. 730. o Orat. 5. p. 330. p So Bootius. q Hilchot Maacolot Asurot, l. 1. sect. 24.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Any fish, either from salt water or fresh, might be eaten if it had both scales and fins. but no other creature that lives in the waters. Shellfish of all kinds, whether mollusks or crustaceans, and cetaceous animals, were therefore prohibited, as well as fish which appear to have no scales, like the eel; probably because they were considered unwholesome, and (under certain circumstances) found to be so.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Leviticus 11:9. Whatsoever hath fins and scales — Because these, of all the fish tribe, are the most nourishing; the others which are without scales, or whose bodies are covered with a thick glutinous matter, being in general very difficult of digestion.


 
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