Leviticus 11:20
New International Version
“’All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you.

New Living Translation
“You must not eat winged insects that walk along the ground; they are detestable to you.

English Standard Version
“All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you.

Berean Standard Bible
All flying insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you.

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

New King James Version
‘All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an abomination to you.

New American Standard Bible
‘All the winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you.

NASB 1995
All the winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you.

NASB 1977
‘All the winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you.

Legacy Standard Bible
‘All the swarming things that fly and that walk on all fours are detestable to you.

Amplified Bible
‘All winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you;

Christian Standard Bible
“All winged insects that walk on all fours are to be abhorrent to you.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
All winged insects that walk on all fours are to be detestable to you.

American Standard Version
All winged creeping things that go upon all fours are an abomination unto you.

English Revised Version
All winged creeping things that go upon all four are an abomination unto you.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Every swarming, winged insect that walks across the ground like a four-legged animal is disgusting to you.

Good News Translation
All winged insects are unclean,

International Standard Version
and any winged insect that crawls on four legs is detestable for you.

Majority Standard Bible
All flying insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you.

NET Bible
"'Every winged swarming thing that walks on all fours is detestable to you.

New Heart English Bible
"'All flying insects that walk on all fours are an abomination to you.

Webster's Bible Translation
All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination to you.

World English Bible
“‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are an abomination to you.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Every teeming creature which is flying, which is going on four [legs]—it [is] an abomination to you.

Young's Literal Translation
Every teeming creature which is flying, which is going on four -- an abomination it is to you.

Smith's Literal Translation
All creeping birds going upon four, it is an abomination to you.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Of things that fly, whatsoever goeth upon four feet, shall be abominable to you.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Of all that flies, whatever steps upon four feet shall be abominable to you.

New American Bible
The various winged insects that walk on all fours are loathsome for you.

New Revised Standard Version
All winged insects that walk upon all fours are detestable to you.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
All species that creep, going upon all fours, are unclean to you.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And every offspring of flying creatures that walks on four is defiled to you.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
All winged swarming things that go upon all fours are a detestable thing unto you.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And all winged creatures that creep, which go upon four feet, are abominations to you.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Clean and Unclean Animals
19the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. 20All flying insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you. 21However, you may eat the following kinds of flying insects that walk on all fours: those having jointed legs above their feet for hopping on the ground.…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 14:19
All flying insects are unclean for you; they may not be eaten.

Acts 10:12-15
It contained all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, as well as birds of the air. / Then a voice said to him: “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” / “No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” ...

Genesis 7:14
they and every kind of wild animal, livestock, crawling creature, bird, and winged creature.

Matthew 23:24
You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

Mark 7:18-19
“Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, / because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.)

Romans 14:14
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.

Ezekiel 8:10
So I went in and looked, and engraved all around the wall was every kind of crawling creature and detestable beast, along with all the idols of the house of Israel.

Isaiah 66:17
“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.

1 Timothy 4:4-5
For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected, / because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Colossians 2:16-17
Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. / These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.

Genesis 1:21
So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every winged bird after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

1 Corinthians 10:25-26
Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, / for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”

Hosea 9:3
They will not remain in the land of the LORD; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.

Acts 15:20
Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.

Romans 14:20
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.


Treasury of Scripture

All fowls that creep, going on all four, shall be an abomination to you.

Leviticus 11:23,27
But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you…

Deuteronomy 14:19
And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.

2 Kings 17:28-41
Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD…

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Abomination Crawling Creature Creep Creeping Detestable Disgusting Earth Flying Four Four-Footed Fours Fowls Goes Insects Swarming Teeming Walk Winged
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Abomination Crawling Creature Creep Creeping Detestable Disgusting Earth Flying Four Four-Footed Fours Fowls Goes Insects Swarming Teeming Walk Winged
Leviticus 11
1. What animals may be eaten
4. and what may not be eaten
9. What fishes
13. What fowls
29. The creeping things which are unclean














All flying insects
The Hebrew term used here is "עוף" (oph), which generally refers to creatures that fly. In the context of Leviticus, this term is used to categorize a specific group of creatures that are not to be consumed. The ancient Israelites lived in a world where the distinction between clean and unclean animals was a significant aspect of their covenant relationship with God. This distinction served as a constant reminder of their call to holiness and separation from the practices of surrounding nations.

that walk on all fours
The phrase "walk on all fours" is somewhat enigmatic, as most flying insects do not literally walk on four legs. The Hebrew phrase "הֹלֵךְ עַל אַרְבַּע" (holekh al arba) might be understood as a way to describe insects that have a certain kind of movement or posture. This could refer to the way certain insects, like locusts, move when they are not flying. The specificity of this description highlights the care with which the Israelites were to observe God's commandments, paying attention to even the smallest details in their daily lives.

are detestable to you
The Hebrew word "שֶׁקֶץ" (sheqets) is used here, which is often translated as "detestable" or "abominable." This term is used throughout Leviticus to describe things that are ritually unclean or morally repugnant. The use of such strong language underscores the importance of maintaining purity and holiness. For the Israelites, adhering to these dietary laws was a tangible expression of their obedience and dedication to God. It served as a daily discipline that reinforced their identity as God's chosen people, set apart for His purposes.

(20) All the fowls that creep.--Better, all creeping things which have wings. The swarming animals or insects, which, as we have seen, constitute the fourth class of the Hebrew division of the animal kingdom, are now discussed in Leviticus 11:20-23. From the fact that in the following verse several kinds of locusts are exempted, it is evident that the phrase "creeping things which have wings" denotes insects.

Going upon all four.--That is, the insects in question not only fly but also creep. The phrase, however, "upon all four" does not refer to the exact number of feet, but, as in some modern languages, denotes walking with its body in a horizontal position, or near the ground, in contradistinction to the two-legged birds discussed in the foregoing verses. This is the sense which the administrators of the law in the time of Christ attached to the phrase. Hence the Chaldee paraphrase of Jonathan translates it, "And all creeping-things which have wings going upon all four, the flyspecies and the wasp or hornet species and the bee species."

Shall be an abomination unto you.--As the bee species is included among "the creeping things which have wings," some have supposed that bee-honey comes within the unclean things which are here said "shall be an abomination unto you." Hence it is thought that the honey (dabesh) which is so frequently mentioned in the Bible as a special feature of the promised land (Exodus 3:8; Exodus 3:17; Exodus 13:5; Exodus 16:14; Exodus 33:3; Leviticus 20:24, etc.), and which formed an important article of food among the Hebrews, was not the natural product of the bee, but is either the grape-honey, the dibs, which is still prepared in many parts of Syria and Palestine, and is exported in great quantities into Egypt; or the vegetable ? honey, the exudation of certain trees and shrubs found in the peninsula of Sinai. Hence, too, it is supposed that the wild honey which Jonathan ate in the wood (1Samuel 14:25), and which was the meat of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:4), must refer to this vegetable-honey. But though it is true that the canon which obtained during the second Temple was "Whatsoever cometh from unclean creatures is unclean," and that in accordance with this law the milk of unclean quadrupeds and the eggs of unclean birds and fishes were forbidden, yet the honey of bees was expressly permitted. The administrators of the law in the time of Christ accounted for this exemption that it is not the direct produce of the insect itself, but is a preparation from gathered juices of clean herbs. The Chaldee paraphrase of Jonathan therefore adds, after "shall be an abomination unto you," the words, nevertheless the honey of the bee ye may eat. John the Baptist therefore acted in perfect obedience to the Law when he ate the honey which the bees deposited in the crevices of the rocks and in the hollow of trees. The prohibition to use honey in meatofferings is not owing to its being unclean, but to its producing fermentation. (See Leviticus 2:11.) . . .

Verses 20-23. - All fowls that creep should rather be rendered all winged creeping things, that is, all flying insects. None are allowed except the Saltatoria, or locust family. The word translated beetle signifies a sort of locust, like the other three words. That the locust was a regular article of food in Palestine is amply proved. "It is well known that locusts were eaten by many of the nations of antiquity, both in Asia and Africa, and even the ancient Greek thought the cicadas very agreeable in flavour (Arist. 'Hist. An.,' 5:30). In Arabia they are sold in the market, sometimes strung upon cords, sometimes by measure, and they are also dried and kept in bags for winter use.... They are generally cooked over hot coals, or on a plate, or in an oven, or stewed in butter, and eaten either with salt or with spice and vinegar, the head, wings, and feet being thrown away. They are also boiled in salt and water, and eaten with salt or butter. Another process is to dry them thoroughly, and then grind them into meal, and make cakes of them" (Keil). (Cf. Matthew 3:4.) The expression goeth upon all four, means groveling or going in a horizontal position, in contrast with two-legged birds, just spoken of.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
All
כֹּ֚ל (kōl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

flying
הָע֔וֹף (hā·‘ō·wp̄)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5775: Flying creatures

insects
שֶׁ֣רֶץ (še·reṣ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8318: A swarm, active mass of minute animals

that walk
הַהֹלֵ֖ךְ (ha·hō·lêḵ)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

on
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

[all] fours
אַרְבַּ֑ע (’ar·ba‘)
Number - feminine singular
Strong's 702: Four

are detestable
שֶׁ֥קֶץ (še·qeṣ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8263: Detestation, detestable thing

to you.
לָכֶֽם׃ (lā·ḵem)
Preposition | second person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew


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OT Law: Leviticus 11:20 All flying insects that walk on all (Le Lv Lev.)
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