Food and dietary laws

Food and dietary laws begin with food as God's gift, to be received with thanksgiving, and the law of Moses gave Israel rules on clean and unclean animals and forbade eating blood. Christian traditions differ on whether the clean-food laws still apply: most hold that they were fulfilled or set aside in Christ, while some, such as Seventh-day Adventists and many Messianic believers, continue to keep them.

Food as God's gift

• Genesis 1:29
  And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.
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• Genesis 9:3
  Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.Everything that lives and moves will be food for you; just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you all things.
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• Psalm 104:14-15
  ¹⁴He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth: ¹⁵And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.
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• Acts 14:17
  Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”
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Clean and unclean animals in the law

• Leviticus 11:1-8
  ¹And the Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,The LORD spoke again to Moses and Aaron, telling them, ²Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.“Say to the Israelites, ‘Of all the beasts of the earth, these ones you may eat: ³Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud. ⁴Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.But of those that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, you are not to eat the following: The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. ⁵And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.The rock badger, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. ⁶And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. ⁷And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. ⁸Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.
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• Leviticus 11:9-12
  ⁹These 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.Of all the creatures that live in the water, whether in the seas or in the streams, you may eat anything with fins and scales. ¹⁰And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:But 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 even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.They shall be an abomination to you; you must not eat their meat, and you must detest their carcasses. ¹²Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales shall be detestable to you.
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• Deuteronomy 14:3-10
  ³Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.You must not eat any detestable thing. ⁴These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,These are the animals that you may eat: The ox, the sheep, 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.the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 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.You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud. 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.But of those that chew the cud or have a completely divided hoof, you are not to eat the following: the camel, the rabbit, or the rock badger. 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.Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof. They are unclean for you, as well as the pig; though it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. It is unclean for you. You must not eat its meat or touch its carcass. ⁹These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:Of all the creatures that live in the water, you may eat anything with fins and scales, ¹⁰And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.but you may not eat anything that does not have fins and scales; it is unclean for you.
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• Leviticus 11:44-47
  ⁴⁴For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground. ⁴⁵For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.For I am the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt so that I would be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. ⁴⁶This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:This is the law regarding animals, birds, all living creatures that move in the water, and all creatures that crawl along the ground. ⁴⁷To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between animals that may be eaten and those that may not.’”
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Abstaining from blood

• Genesis 9:4
  But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.
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• Leviticus 17:10-14
  ¹⁰And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people. ¹¹For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. ¹²Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.Therefore I say to the Israelites, ‘None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner living among you eat blood.’ ¹³And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.And if any Israelite or foreigner living among them hunts down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten, he must drain its blood and cover it with dirt. ¹⁴For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.For the life of all flesh is its blood. Therefore I have told the Israelites, ‘You must not eat the blood of any living thing, because the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.’
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• Acts 15:28-29
  ²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements: ²⁹That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.
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Passages cited for an end to the food laws

• Mark 7:18-19
  ¹⁸And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;“Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, ¹⁹Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.)
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• Acts 10:9-16
  ⁹On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray. ¹⁰And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,He became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. ¹¹And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:He saw heaven open and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. ¹²Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.It contained all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, as well as birds of the air. ¹³And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.Then a voice said to him: “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” ¹⁴But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” ¹⁵And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.The voice spoke to him a second time: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” ¹⁶This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.This happened three times, and all at once the sheet was taken back up into heaven.
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• Romans 14:14
  I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
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• Colossians 2:16-17
  ¹⁶Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. ¹⁷Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.
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• 1 Timothy 4:3-5
  ³Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected, ⁵For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
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Passages cited for keeping the food laws

• Matthew 5:17-19
  ¹⁷Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. ¹⁸For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
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• Acts 10:28
  And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.He said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.
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• Isaiah 66:15-17
  ¹⁵For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.For behold, the LORD will come with fire— His chariots are like a whirlwind— to execute His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire. ¹⁶For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.For by fire and by His sword, the LORD will execute judgment on all flesh, and many will be slain by the LORD. ¹⁷They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord.“Those who consecrate and purify themselves to enter the groves—to follow one in the center of those who eat the flesh of swine and vermin and rats—will perish together,” declares the LORD.
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Eating with a clear conscience

• Romans 14:1-6
  ¹Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions. ²For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.For one person has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables. ³Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him. ⁴Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. ⁵One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
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• Romans 14:20-23
  ²⁰For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.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. ²¹It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble. ²²Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.Keep your belief about such matters between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. ²³And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.But the one who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that is not from faith is sin.
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• 1 Corinthians 8:8-9
  ⁸But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.But food does not bring us closer to God: We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. ⁹But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.Be careful, however, that your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
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• 1 Corinthians 10:31
  Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.
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• Daniel 1:8
  But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.
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See also

• Law of Moses
• Gluttony
• Conscience
• Fasting
• Holiness

Notes

1. Verses are quoted in the translation chosen in the Translation menu at the top of the page. See Translations for sources and copyright notices.
2. Each reference links to the full chapter so the verse can be read in context.