Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 15:21
But if an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses instructs Israel on the proper handling of firstborn livestock dedicated to the Lord, following the command to eat the animal annually before Him at the chosen place.
The words — The text highlights מוּם (mum), meaning blemish, and פִּסֵּחַ (pi.se'ach), meaning lame, to define the physical defects that disqualify an animal.
The thread — The restriction against offering flawed animals appears in Leviticus 22:19, Deuteronomy 17:1, and Malachi 1:7, where the latter specifically addresses presenting defiled food and treating the Lord’s table as contemptible.
Why it lands — The text commands the exclusion of any animal with a defect, lameness, or blindness from sacrifice, establishing a baseline requirement for the physical condition of offerings.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the Lord thy God.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 17:1 You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep with any defect or serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God.
- Malachi 1:7 By presenting defiled food on My altar. But you ask, ‘How have we defiled You?’ By saying that the table of the LORD is contemptible.
- Leviticus 22:19 must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf.