Deuteronomy 12
12
Only One Place of Worship
1These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the Lord God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth. 2Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: 3#Deut 7.5. and ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. 4Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God. 5But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: 6and thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: 7and there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee. 8Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. 9For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord your God giveth you. 10But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety; 11then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the Lord: 12and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you. 13Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: 14but in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.
15Notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart. 16#Gen 9.4; Lev 7.26,27; 17.10-14; 19.26; Deut 15.23. Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water. 17Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand: 18but thou must eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto. 19Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.
20When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. 21If the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the Lord hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. 22Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike. 23#Lev 17.10-14. Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. 24Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. 25Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord. 26Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the Lord shall choose: 27and thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the Lord thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the Lord thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh. 28Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God.
Warning against Idolatry
29When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; 30take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. 31Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Lord which he hateth have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
32 #
Deut 4.2; Rev 22.18,19. What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
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Deuteronomy 12: KJVAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Deuteronomy 12
12
Only one place to worship the LORD
Moses said to Israel:
1Now I'll tell you the laws and teachings that you have to obey as long as you live. Your ancestors worshipped the LORD, and he is giving you this land. 2But the nations that live there worship other gods. So after you capture the land, you must completely destroy their places of worship—on mountains and hills or in the shade of large trees. 3Wherever these nations worship their gods, you must tear down their altars, break their sacred stones, burn the sacred poles#12.3 sacred poles: Or “trees”, used as symbols of Asherah, the goddess of fertility. used in worshipping the goddess Asherah, and smash their idols to pieces. Destroy these places of worship so completely that no one will remember they were ever there.#Dt 7.5. 4Don't worship the LORD your God in the way those nations worship their gods.
5-19Soon you will cross the Jordan, and the LORD will help you conquer your enemies and let you live in peace, there in the land he has given you. But after you are settled, life will be different. You must not offer sacrifices anywhere you want to. Instead, the LORD will choose a place somewhere in Israel where you must go to worship him. All your sacrifices and offerings must be taken there, including sacrifices to please the LORD#12.5-19 sacrifices to please the LORD: These sacrifices have traditionally been called “whole burnt offerings” because the whole animal was burnt on the altar. A main purpose of such sacrifices was to please the LORD with the smell of the sacrifice, and so in the CEV they are often called “sacrifices to please the LORD”. and any gift you promise or voluntarily give him. That's where you must also take one tenth of your grain, wine, and olive oil,#12.5-19 one tenth of your grain, wine, and olive oil: The Israelites had to give one tenth of their harvest of these products to the LORD each year (see 14.22-29; 26.12,13; Leviticus 27.30-33). as well as the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, and goats.#12.5-19 the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, and goats: The Israelites had to sacrifice these to the LORD (see 15.19-22). You and your family and servants will eat your gifts and sacrifices#12.5-19 sacrifices: Some sacrifices were completely burnt on the altar; in other sacrifices, part of the animal was burnt and part was given to the priests, but most of the meat was eaten by the worshippers as a sacred meal. and celebrate there at the place of worship, because the LORD your God has made you successful in everything you have done. And since Levites will not have any land of their own, you must ask some of them to come along and celebrate with you.#Gn 9.4; Lv 7.26,27; 17.10-14; 19.26; Dt 15.23.
Sometimes you may want to kill an animal for food and not as a sacrifice. If the LORD has blessed you and given you enough cows or sheep or goats, then you can butcher one of them where you live. You can eat it just like the meat from a deer or gazelle that you kill when you go hunting. And even those people who are unclean and unfit for worship can have some of the meat. But you must not eat the blood of any animal—let the blood drain out on the ground.
20-21The LORD has promised that later on he will give Israel more land, and some of you may not be able to travel all the way from your homes to the place of worship each time you are hungry for meat.#12.20-21 meat: Usually eaten only on special occasions, such as during a sacred meal when sacrifices were offered to the LORD. But the LORD will give you cattle, sheep, and goats, and you can butcher any of those animals at home and eat as much as you want. 22It is the same as eating the meat from a deer or a gazelle that you kill when you go hunting. And in this way, anyone who is unclean and unfit for worship can have some of the meat.#12.22 anyone…the meat: Only those who were properly prepared for worship, or “clean”, could eat a sacred meal, but anyone could eat this kind of meat.
23-24But don't eat the blood. It is the life of the animal, so let it drain out on the ground before you eat the meat.#Lv 17.10-14. 25Do you want the LORD to make you successful? Do you want your children to be successful even after you are gone? Then do what pleases the LORD and don't eat blood.
26-27All sacrifices and offerings to the LORD must be taken to the place where he chooses to be worshipped. If you offer a sacrifice to please the LORD, all of its meat must be burnt on the altar. You can eat the meat from certain kinds of sacrifices, but you must always pour out the animal's blood on the altar.
28If you obey these laws, you will be doing what the LORD your God says is right and good. Then he will help you and your descendants be successful.
Worship the LORD in the right way
Moses said:
29Israel, as you go into the land and attack the nations that are there, the LORD will get rid of them, and you can have their land.
30But that's when you must be especially careful not to ask, “How did those nations worship their gods? Shouldn't we worship the LORD in the same way?” 31No, you should not! The LORD hates the disgusting way those nations worship their gods, because they even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices.
32Obey all the laws and teachings I am giving you. Don't add any, and don't take any away.#Dt 4.2; Rev 22.18-19.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012