Deuteronomy 14

¹Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.

²For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

³Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.

⁴These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,

⁵The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.

⁶And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat.

⁷Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.

⁸And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.

⁹These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:

¹⁰And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.

¹¹Of all clean birds ye shall eat.

¹²But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,

¹³And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,

¹⁴And every raven after his kind,

¹⁵And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,

¹⁶The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,

¹⁷And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,

¹⁸And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

¹⁹And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.

²⁰But of all clean fowls ye may eat.

²¹Ye 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.

²²Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.

²³And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.

²⁴And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:

²⁵Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose:

²⁶And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

²⁷And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.

²⁸At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:

²⁹And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

Deuteronomy 14

¹You are the children of the Lord your God: you are not to make cuts on your bodies or take off the hair on your brows in honour of the dead;

²For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has taken you to be his special people out of all the nations on the face of the earth.

³No disgusting thing may be your food.

⁴These are the beasts which you may have for food: the ox, the sheep, and the goat;

⁵The hart, the gazelle, and the roe, the mountain goat and the pygarg and the antelope and the mountain sheep.

⁶Any beast which has a division in the horn of its foot and whose food comes back into its mouth to be crushed again, may be used for food.

⁷But even among these, there are some which may not be used for food: such as the camel, the hare, and the coney, which are unclean to you, because, though their food comes back, the horn of their feet is not parted in two.

⁸And the pig is unclean to you, because though it has a division in the horn of its foot, its food does not come back; their flesh may not be used for food or their dead bodies touched by you.

⁹And of the things living in the waters, you may take all those who have wings for swimming with and skins formed of thin plates.

¹⁰But any which have no skin-plates or wings for swimming, you may not take; they are unclean for you.

¹¹All clean birds may be used for food.

¹²But these birds you may not take: the eagle and the gier-eagle and the ospray;

¹³The falcon and the kite, and birds of that sort;

¹⁴Every raven, and all birds of that sort;

¹⁵And the ostrich and the night-hawk and the sea-hawk and birds of that sort;

¹⁶The little owl and the great owl and the water-hen;

¹⁷And the pelican and the vulture and the cormorant;

¹⁸The stork and the heron and birds of that sort, and the hoopoe and the bat.

¹⁹Every winged thing which goes flat on the earth is unclean to you and may not be used as food.

²⁰But all clean birds you may take.

²¹You may not have as food anything which has come to a natural death; the man from another country who is living with you may take it for food, or you may get a price for it from one of another nation; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The young goat is not to be cooked in its mother's milk.

²²Put on one side a tenth of all the increase of your seed, produced year by year.

²³And make a feast before the Lord your God, in the place which is to be marked out, where his name will be for ever, of the tenth part of your grain and your wine and your oil, and the first births of your herds and your flocks; so that you may have the fear of the Lord your God in your hearts at all times.

²⁴And if the way is so long that you are not able to take these things to the place marked out by the Lord your God for his name, when he has given you his blessing, because it is far away from you;

²⁵Then let these things be exchanged for money, and, taking the money in your hand, go to the place marked out by the Lord your God for himself;

²⁶And with the money get whatever you have a desire for, oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your soul's desire may be: and make a feast there before the Lord your God, and be glad, you and all your house;

²⁷And give a thought to the Levite who is living among you, for he has no part or heritage in the land.

²⁸At the end of every three years take a tenth part of all your increase for that year, and put it in store inside your walls:

²⁹And the Levite, because he has no part or heritage in the land, and the man from a strange country, and the child who has no father, and the widow, who are living among you, will come and take food and have enough; and so the blessing of the Lord your God will be on you in everything you do.

Deuteronomy 14

¹Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.

²For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

³Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.

⁴These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,

⁵The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.

⁶And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat.

⁸And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.

⁹These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:

¹⁰And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.

¹¹Of all clean birds ye shall eat.

¹²But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,

¹³And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,

¹⁴And every raven after his kind,

¹⁵And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,

¹⁶The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,

¹⁷And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,

¹⁸And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

¹⁹And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.

²⁰But of all clean fowls ye may eat.

²²Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.

²⁵Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose:

²⁷And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.

²⁸At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:

Deuteronomy 14:1

KJV

Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.

BBE

You are the children of the Lord your God: you are not to make cuts on your bodies or take off the hair on your brows in honour of the dead;

KJV

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

BBE

For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has taken you to be his special people out of all the nations on the face of the earth.

KJV

Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.

BBE

No disgusting thing may be your food.

KJV

These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,

BBE

These are the beasts which you may have for food: the ox, the sheep, and the goat;

KJV

The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.

BBE

The hart, the gazelle, and the roe, the mountain goat and the pygarg and the antelope and the mountain sheep.

KJV

And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat.

BBE

Any beast which has a division in the horn of its foot and whose food comes back into its mouth to be crushed again, may be used for food.

KJV

Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.

BBE

But even among these, there are some which may not be used for food: such as the camel, the hare, and the coney, which are unclean to you, because, though their food comes back, the horn of their feet is not parted in two.

KJV

And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.

BBE

And the pig is unclean to you, because though it has a division in the horn of its foot, its food does not come back; their flesh may not be used for food or their dead bodies touched by you.

KJV

These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:

BBE

And of the things living in the waters, you may take all those who have wings for swimming with and skins formed of thin plates.

KJV

And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.

BBE

But any which have no skin-plates or wings for swimming, you may not take; they are unclean for you.

KJV

Of all clean birds ye shall eat.

BBE

All clean birds may be used for food.

KJV

But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,

BBE

But these birds you may not take: the eagle and the gier-eagle and the ospray;

KJV

And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,

BBE

The falcon and the kite, and birds of that sort;

KJV

And every raven after his kind,

BBE

Every raven, and all birds of that sort;

KJV

And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,

BBE

And the ostrich and the night-hawk and the sea-hawk and birds of that sort;

KJV

The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,

BBE

The little owl and the great owl and the water-hen;

KJV

And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,

BBE

And the pelican and the vulture and the cormorant;

KJV

And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

BBE

The stork and the heron and birds of that sort, and the hoopoe and the bat.

KJV

And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.

BBE

Every winged thing which goes flat on the earth is unclean to you and may not be used as food.

KJV

But of all clean fowls ye may eat.

BBE

But all clean birds you may take.

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.

BBE

You may not have as food anything which has come to a natural death; the man from another country who is living with you may take it for food, or you may get a price for it from one of another nation; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The young goat is not to be cooked in its mother's milk.

KJV

Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.

BBE

Put on one side a tenth of all the increase of your seed, produced year by year.

KJV

And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.

BBE

And make a feast before the Lord your God, in the place which is to be marked out, where his name will be for ever, of the tenth part of your grain and your wine and your oil, and the first births of your herds and your flocks; so that you may have the fear of the Lord your God in your hearts at all times.

KJV

And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:

BBE

And if the way is so long that you are not able to take these things to the place marked out by the Lord your God for his name, when he has given you his blessing, because it is far away from you;

KJV

Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose:

BBE

Then let these things be exchanged for money, and, taking the money in your hand, go to the place marked out by the Lord your God for himself;

KJV

And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

BBE

And with the money get whatever you have a desire for, oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your soul's desire may be: and make a feast there before the Lord your God, and be glad, you and all your house;

KJV

And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.

BBE

And give a thought to the Levite who is living among you, for he has no part or heritage in the land.

KJV

At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:

BBE

At the end of every three years take a tenth part of all your increase for that year, and put it in store inside your walls:

KJV

And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

BBE

And the Levite, because he has no part or heritage in the land, and the man from a strange country, and the child who has no father, and the widow, who are living among you, will come and take food and have enough; and so the blessing of the Lord your God will be on you in everything you do.

Understanding King James Version vs Bible in Basic English in Deuteronomy 14

King James Version (KJV)

The classic 1611 English translation known for its majestic prose and literary influence. Ideal for traditional study and memorization thanks to its formal style. A foundational English Bible used for centuries.

Bible in Basic English (BBE)

A simplified translation using a limited English vocabulary for clarity and accessibility. Helpful for new readers, ESL learners, and quick comprehension. Great for devotional reading and getting the big picture of each passage.

You are viewing a side-by-side comparison of Deuteronomy 14 in the King James Version and Bible in Basic English. Comparing these two versions can help shed light on the nuances of the original text.