A Forbidden Mourning Practice

1 “You are the people of the Lord your God. So when you mourn for the dead, don't gash yourselves or shave the front of your head, as other people do. 2 You belong to the Lord your God; he has chosen you to be his own people from among all the peoples who live on earth.

Clean and Unclean Animals

(Leviticus 11.1-47)

3“Do not eat anything that the Lord has declared unclean. 4You may eat these animals: cattle, sheep, goats, 5deer, wild sheep, wild goats, or antelopes— 6any animals that have divided hoofs and that also chew the cud. 7But no animals may be eaten unless they have divided hoofs and also chew the cud. You may not eat camels, rabbits, or rock badgers. They must be considered unclean; they chew the cud but do not have divided hoofs. 8Do not eat pigs. They must be considered unclean; they have divided hoofs but do not chew the cud. Do not eat any of these animals or even touch their dead bodies.

9“You may eat any kind of fish that has fins and scales, 10but anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales may not be eaten; it must be considered unclean.

11“You may eat any clean bird. 12-18But these are the kinds of birds you are not to eat: eagles, owls, hawks, falcons; buzzards, vultures, crows; ostriches; seagulls, storks, herons, pelicans, cormorants;+ hoopoes; and bats.

19“All winged insects are unclean; do not eat them. 20You may eat any clean insect.

21 “Do not eat any animal that dies a natural death. You may let the foreigners who live among you eat it, or you may sell it to other foreigners. But you belong to the Lord your God; you are his people.

“Do not cook a young sheep or goat in its mother's milk.

The Law of the Tithe

22 “Set aside a tithe—a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23Then go to the one place where the Lord your God has chosen to be worshiped; and there in his presence eat the tithes of your grain, wine, and olive oil, and the first-born of your cattle and sheep. Do this so that you may learn to honor the Lord your God always. 24If the place of worship is too far from your home for you to carry there the tithe of the produce that the Lord has blessed you with, then do this: 25Sell your produce and take the money with you to the one place of worship. 26Spend it on whatever you want—beef, lamb, wine, beer—and there, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families are to eat and enjoy yourselves.

27“Do not neglect the Levites who live in your towns; they have no property of their own. 28At the end of every third year bring the tithe of all your crops and store it in your towns. 29This food is for the Levites, since they own no property, and for the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live in your towns. They are to come and get all they need. Do this, and the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.