Leviticus 11 · Verse 20

Leviticus 11:20

All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.
Leviticus 11:20, King James Version

Leviticus 11:20 in other translations

BSBAll flying insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you.
WEB“‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are an abomination to you.
ASVAll winged creeping things that go upon all fours are an abomination unto you.
YLT‘Every teeming creature which is flying, which is going on four--an abomination it is to you.
DARBYEvery winged crawling thing that goeth upon all four shall be an abomination unto you.
BBEEvery winged four-footed thing which goes on the earth is disgusting to you;
WebsterAll fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination to you.

What does Leviticus 11:20 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
20. All fowls that creep, &c.--By "fowls" here are to be understood all creatures with wings and "going upon all fours," not a restriction to animals which have exactly four feet, because many "creeping things" have more than that number. The prohibition is regarded generally as extending to insects, reptiles, and worms.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 20 All fowls that creep - Such as the bat, already mentioned, which has claws attached to its leathern wings, and which serve in place of feet to crawl by, the feet and legs not being distinct; but this may also include all the different kinds of insects, with the exceptions in the following verse. Going upon all four - May signify no more than walking regularly or progressively, foot after foot as quadrupeds do; for it cannot be applied to insects literally, as they have in general six feet, many of them more, some reputed to have a hundred, hence called centipedes; and some a thousand, hence called millipedes; words which often signify no more than that such insects have a great number of feet.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Leviticus 11:20 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.

כֹּ֚לkoleveryH3605
שֶׁ֣רֶץShe.retz<the> swarming thing ofH8318
הָע֔וֹףha.'of<the> wingH5775
הַהֹלֵ֖ךְha.ho.Lekhwhich walksH1980
עַל\־'al-onH5921
אַרְבַּ֑ע'ar.Ba'four [legs]H702
שֶׁ֥קֶץShe.ketz[is] a detestable thingH8263
ה֖וּאhu'itH1931
לָכֶֽם\׃\ \סla.Khemto <the> you

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

Cross references for Leviticus 11:20

  • Leviticus 11:27

    And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.

  • 2 Kings 17:28-41

    Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth–el, and taught them how they should fear the Lord. Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. And the men of Babylon made Succoth–benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. …

  • 1 John 2:15-17

    Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

  • Deuteronomy 14:19

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

  • Leviticus 11:23

    But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.

  • Philippians 3:18-19

    (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

  • Psalms 17:14

    From men which are thy hand, O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

  • Jude 1:10

    But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

  • 2 Timothy 4:10

    For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

  • Matthew 6:24

    No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

  • Jude 1:19

    These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
23,27; De 14:19; 2Ki 17:28-41; Ps 17:14; Mt 6:24; Php 3:18,19
2Ti 4:10; 1Jo 2:15-17; Jude 1:10,19

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

Context

  • Leviticus 11:19

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

  • Leviticus 11:20

    All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.

  • Leviticus 11:21

    Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;

Read all of Leviticus 11

Leviticus 11:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Todo reptil alado que anduviere sobre cuatro pies, tendréis en abominación.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Tout reptile volant qui marche sur quatre pieds, vous sera une chose abominable.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Alles geflügelte Gewürm, das auf Vieren geht, soll euch ein Greuel sein.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Omne de volucribus quod graditur super quatuor pedes, abominabile erit vobis.