Deuteronomy 12

“These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess ^[a]as long as you live on the ^[b]earth.

These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess – as long as you live in the land.

You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.

Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, on the hills and under every spreading tree, where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods.

You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their ^[c]Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place.

Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.

You shall not act like this toward the Lord your God.

You must not worship the Lord your God in their way.

But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come.

But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go;

There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the ^[d]contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.

there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

There also you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all ^[e]your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you.

There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.

“You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes;

You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit,

for you have not as yet come to the resting place and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you.

since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you.

When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security,

But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety.

then it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the ^[f]contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the Lord.

Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name – there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord.

And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance with you.

And there rejoice before the Lord your God – you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns who have no land allotted to them or any inheritance of their own.

“Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every cultic place you see,

Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please.

but in the place which the Lord chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.

Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.

“However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, ^[g]whatever you desire, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and the deer.

Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer, according to the blessing the Lord your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it.

Only you shall not eat the blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water.

But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.

You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the ^[h]contribution of your hand.

You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your corn and new wine and olive oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts.

But you shall eat them before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all ^[i]your undertakings.

Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God will choose – you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns – and you are to rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you put your hand to.

Be careful that you do not forsake the Levite ^[j]as long as you live in your land.

Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.

“When the Lord your God extends your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because ^[k]you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, ^[l]whatever you desire.

When the Lord your God has enlarged your territory as he promised you, and you crave meat and say, ‘I would like some meat,’ then you may eat as much of it as you want.

If the place which the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter of your herd and flock which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates ^[m]whatever you desire.

If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his Name is too far away from you, you may slaughter animals from the herds and flocks the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and in your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want.

Just as a gazelle or a deer is eaten, so you will eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat of it.

Eat them as you would gazelle or deer. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat.

Only be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the ^[n]life, and you shall not eat the ^[o]life with the flesh.

But be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.

You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.

You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.

You shall not eat it, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you, for you will be doing what is right in the sight of the Lord.

Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

Only your holy things which you may have and your votive offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the Lord chooses.

But take your consecrated things and whatever you have vowed to give, and go to the place the Lord will choose.

And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, and you shall eat the flesh.

Present your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord your God, both the meat and the blood. The blood of your sacrifices must be poured beside the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat the meat.

“Be careful to listen to all these words which I command you, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God.

“When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land,

The Lord your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land,

beware that you are not ensnared ^[p]to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’

and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by enquiring about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.’

You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshipping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.

“^[q]Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.

See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.^[a]