Ezekiel 44:31
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The priests may not eat any bird or animal found dead or torn by wild beasts.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
In this chapter we have, I. The appropriating of the east gate of the temple to the prince (Eze 44:1-3). II. A reproof sent to the house of Israel for their former profanations of God's sanctuary, with a charge to them to be more strict for the future (Eze 44:4-9). III. The degrading of those Levites that had formerly been guilty of idolatry and the establishing of the priesthood in the family of Zadok, which had kept their integrity (Eze 44:10-16). IV. Divers laws and ordinances concerning the priests (Eze 44:17-31).
Open source ↗44:31 In their radical separation from the realm of death, they could not eat any bird or animal that died a natural death or was attacked by another animal.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD.
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.
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 a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
And 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 will be clean.
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block.
Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to stumble.
“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 mouth.”