Leviticus 23:14

You must not eat any bread or roasted or new grain until the very day you have brought this offering to your God. This is to be a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God speaks through Moses to Israel as the text shifts from tabernacle offerings to harvest festival instructions. This command follows the grain and drink offering details of Leviticus 23:13 and immediately precedes the directive to count seven weeks from the sheaf wave offering in Leviticus 23:15.

The words — The Hebrew uses לֹא תֹאכְלוּ (lo' to.khe.lu) for "you must not eat" and עַד־עֶצֶם הַיּוֹם (ad-etzem hayom) for "until the very day," establishing a strict temporal limit before consuming bread, roasted grain, or new crop.

The thread — The exact phrase "permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live" reappears in Leviticus 3:17 regarding the prohibition of fat and blood. The underlying principle of withholding new harvest until it is presented to God connects to the firstfruits mandate in Exodus 34:26 and Abel's offering of the best portions in Genesis 4:4.

Why it lands — The text commands a complete pause on consuming bread, roasted grain, or new crop until the day the specified offering is brought to God. Readers must apply this boundary by recognizing that prior consumption of the land's yield is forbidden until the required offering is completed.

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

וְלֶחֶם֩ve./le.Chemand/ bread וְקָלִ֨יve./ka.Liand/ roasted grain וְכַרְמֶ֜לve./khar.Meland/ new corn לֹ֣אlo'not תֹֽאכְל֗וּto.khe.Luyou will eat עַד־'ad-until עֶ֙צֶם֙'e.tzem[the] substance of הַיּ֣וֹםhai./Yomthe/ day הַזֶּ֔הha./Zeh<the>/ this עַ֚ד'aduntil הֲבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔םha.Vi.'a./Khembring/ you אֶת־'et-<obj.>קָרְבַּ֖ןkar.Ban[the] present of אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם'e.lo.hei./KhemGod/ your חֻקַּ֤תchu.Kata statute of עוֹלָם֙o.Lamperpetuity לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔םle./do.Ro.tei./Khemto/ generations/ your בְּכֹ֖לbe./Kholin/ all מֹשְׁבֹֽתֵיכֶֽם׃ סmo.she.Vo.tei./Khemdwelling places/ your

King James Version

And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Cross-references

Exodus 34:26 Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
Genesis 4:4 while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
Leviticus 3:17 This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.”
Leviticus 10:11 so that you may teach the Israelites all the statutes that the LORD has given them through Moses.”
Leviticus 19:23 When you enter the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you shall regard the fruit as forbidden. For three years it will be forbidden to you and must not be eaten.
Leviticus 25:2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD.
Numbers 15:20 From the first of your dough, you are to lift up a cake as a contribution; offer it just like an offering from the threshing floor.
Deuteronomy 16:12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and carefully follow these statutes.
Joshua 5:11 The day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land.
Nehemiah 9:14 You revealed to them Your holy Sabbath and gave them commandments and statutes and laws through Your servant Moses.