Exodus 22 · Verse 31

Exodus 22:31

And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
Exodus 22:31, King James Version

Exodus 22:31 in other translations

BSBYou 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.
WEB“You shall be holy men to me, therefore you shall not eat any meat that is torn by animals in the field. You shall cast it to the dogs.
ASVAnd ye shall be holy men unto me: therefore ye shall not eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
YLT‘And ye are holy men to Me, and flesh torn in the field ye do not eat, to a dog ye do cast it.
DARBY— And ye shall be holy men unto me; and ye shall not eat flesh torn in the field: ye shall cast it to the dog.
BBEYou are to be holy men to me: the flesh of no animal whose death has been caused by the beasts of the field may be used for your food; it is to be given to the dogs.
WebsterAnd ye shall be holy men to me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.

What does Exodus 22:31 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 31 Neither shall ye eat - flesh - torn of beasts in the field - This has been supposed to be an ordinance against eating flesh cut off the animal while alive, and so the Syriac seems to have understood it. If we can credit Mr. Bruce, this is a frequent custom in Abyssinia; but human nature revolts from it. The reason of the prohibition against eating the flesh of animals that had been torn, or as we term it worried in the field, appears to have been simply this: That the people might not eat the blood, which in this case must be coagulated in the flesh; and the blood, being the life of the beast, and emblematical of the blood of the covenant, was ever to be held sacred, and was prohibited from the days of Noah. See Clarke's note on Gen 9:4. In the conclusion of this chapter we see the grand reason of all the ordinances and laws which it contains. No command was issued merely from the sovereignty of God. He gave them to the people as restraints on disorderly passions, and incentives to holiness; and hence he says, Ye shall be holy men unto me. Mere outward services could neither please him nor profit them; for from the very beginning of the world the end of the commandment was love out of a pure heart and good conscience, and faith unfeigned, 1Tim 1:5. And without these accompaniments no set of religious duties, however punctually performed, could be pleasing in the sight of that God who seeks truth in the inward parts, and in whose eyes the faith that worketh by love is alone valuable. A holy heart and a holy, useful life God invariably requires in all his worshippers. Reader, how standest thou in his sight?

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Exodus 22:31 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאַנְשֵׁי\־ve.'an.shei-and people ofH582
קֹ֖דֶשׁKo.deshholinessH6944
תִּהְי֣וּןtih.Yunyou will be !H1961
לִ֑יLiof me
וּבָשָׂ֨רu.va.Sarand fleshH1320
בַּשָּׂדֶ֤הba.sa.Dehin the fieldH7704
טְרֵפָה֙te.re.Faha torn animalH2966
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
תֹאכֵ֔לוּto.Khe.luyou must eatH398
לַכֶּ֖לֶבla.Ke.levto the dog[s]H3611
תַּשְׁלִכ֥וּןtash.li.Khunyou will throw !H7993
אֹתֽוֹ\׃\ \ס'o.To<obj.> itH853

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 22:31

  • Leviticus 19:2

    Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.

  • Ezekiel 4:14

    Then said I, Ah Lord God! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.

  • Leviticus 22:8

    That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the Lord.

  • Ezekiel 44:31

    The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.

  • Deuteronomy 14:21

    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.

  • 1 Peter 1:15-16

    But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

  • Acts 15:20

    But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

  • Leviticus 20:25

    Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

  • Acts 10:14

    But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

  • Leviticus 11:44-45

    For 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 that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

  • Exodus 19:5-6

    Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

  • Leviticus 17:15-16

    And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
holy.
19:5,6; Le 11:45; 19:2; De 14:21; 1Pe 1:15,16
neither.
Le 17:15,16; 20:25; 22:8; De 14:21; Eze 4:14; 44:31; Ac 10:14; 15:20

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Exodus 22:30

    Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.

  • Exodus 22:31

    And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.

Read all of Exodus 22

Exodus 22:31 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y habéis de serme varones santos: y no comeréis carne arrebatada de las fieras en el campo; á los perros la echaréis.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und heilige Männer sollt ihr mir sein, und Fleisch, das auf dem Felde zerrissen worden ist, sollt ihr nicht essen; ihr sollt es den Hunden vorwerfen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Viri sancti eritis mihi: carnem, quæ a bestiis fuerit prægustata, non comedetis, sed projicietis canibus.